What .308 bullets can I shoot to 1000 yards with this reamer?

[MoneyWaster]

Several years ago I got enamored with the thought of PRS shooting and decided to build a rifle for that purpose. I had a Remington 700 in .308 and liked that chambering, so I decided to go with that. Several years later I'm a little wiser and realize that the .308 is not a great choice for that purpose, but it's what I have and I enjoy shooting it.

I had my Rem 700 action worked over and had a Bartrlein HV contour barrel installed. The barrel is finished at 26" and has a 1:11.25" twist. The reamer that I purchased was a PTG .308 Lapua Match reamer with 0.119FB. I've been shooting 175 gn. tipped SMKs with pretty good success out to about 750 yards. Beyond that my hit percentages drop off drastically, with 1000 yard shots at a 2.5 MOA target being at about 50% if that. At that range the bullets are dropping like a rock and its actually hard to tell if I shot over or under the target when I miss. Anyway, I now realize that I may not be using the best bullet for the job and am wondering how heavy I can go in projectile weight with the 0.119FB. I haven't shot competitions, but have spent some time ringing steel at various ranges from 350-1000 yards. For me it's just something fun to do, but I'd like to get the best performance out of my rig that I can get. The 175 gn. TSMKs shoot 10 shots into a 0.625" group at 100 yards in my rifle. I'd be interested to know if I Could get similar precision out of something heavier. What do you guys recommend?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Billy 30-06]

You should be getting .325"- .375" groups and 5-8 fps SDs with the 175gr TMK or SMK. You may want to do some more load development. 2600fps with the 175gr TMK should get to 1000yds and hit a 1 moa target quite easily.
Billy

 

[Dgd6mm]

Money Waster, how good are you at reading conditions? This is the fly in the ointment.

 

[MoneyWaster]

Money Waster, how good are you at reading conditions? This is the fly in the ointment.

I'm a rank novice to be honest. My wind reading skills are pretty poor.

 

[MoneyWaster]

You should be getting .325"- .375" groups and 5-8 fps SDs with the 175gr TMK or SMK. You may want to do some more load development. 2600fps with the 175gr TMK should get to 1000yds and hit a 1 moa target quite easily.
Billy

I'm getting around 2750 fps and a SD of 10 - 12. I'm neck sizing Lapua LR primer brass and have 12 reloads on the brass.

43.8 gn. Varget

 

[David101]

Change to the Lapua Palma SR brass and use a match grade primer like the BR4 or the Federal Gold medal or equiv. Its not about the weight of the bullet so much for long range. with 4 more inches of barrel you get a bit more of velocity and velocity is where it is all at.

 

[Liven The Dream]

175 Berger OTM in 2750 area and 4320 is a good Powder ???
SP Brass will up your Velocity window .

 

[D-4297]

Obvious question at this point is ; or should be : Are you annealing your brass ? Using a expander mandrel ? 2,750 is enough velocity to get you to a Grand , but it would be a lot easier to do it more accurately with a 30" barrel . You might even consider talking to your local "Smith" about having your chamber throat extended to use 185gr Berger Juggernauts , and 185gr Hybrids .
I'm currently shooting a 26" Krieger 5r to 1,000 with reasonable success for a new L/R shooter using the Berger 185's and 200.20x . The others are correct regarding the SP Lapua brass . My primer of choice is the Rem BR 7 1/2 , and Varget . Slightly higher load than you are using . Spend time watching wind flags , and go to a few 600 yard F-TR matches .

 

[MoneyWaster]

Obvious question at this point is ; or should be : Are you annealing your brass ? Using a expander mandrel ? 2,750 is enough velocity to get you to a Grand , but it would be a lot easier to do it more accurately with a 30" barrel . You might even consider talking to your local "Smith" about having your chamber throat extended to use 185gr Berger Juggernauts , and 185gr Hybrids .
I'm currently shooting a 26" Krieger 5r to 1,000 with reasonable success for a new L/R shooter using the Berger 185's and 200.20x . The others are correct regarding the SP Lapua brass . My primer of choice is the Rem BR 7 1/2 , and Varget . Slightly higher load than you are using . Spend time watching wind flags , and go to a few 600 yard F-TR matches .

D-4297,

I am annealing my brass but am not using an expander mandrel.

What FB would I need to shoot the 185 gn. Berger Juggernauts and/or Hybrids? Will a 1:11.25" twist stabilize them?

 

[memilanuk]

Will a 1:11.25" twist stabilize them?

Yes. The US FTR team used them in 2013 with 12 tw Kriegers.

 

[Dgd6mm]

My Criterion .308 had a .093 freebore when I got it. I shoot the barrel just as it came with the 185 Berger Juggernaut and H4895, 30" barrel. It definitely out shoots me at 1000 yards.

 

[Billy 30-06]

I'm getting around 2750 fps and a SD of 10 - 12. I'm neck sizing Lapua LR primer brass and have 12 reloads on the brass.

43.8 gn. Varget

Have you tried slowing down a bit to around 2600 fps using a quicker burn powder like H-4895? Varget seems to work better at high pressure in longer 28-30" barrels. Heaver bullets can be harder to tune especially in shorter barrels so I would stick with 175gr. Check your runout.
Billy

 

[MoneyWaster]

Have you tried slowing down a bit to around 2600 fps using a quicker burn powder like H-4895? Varget seems to work better at high pressure in longer 28-30" barrels. Heaver bullets can be harder to tune especially in shorter barrels so I would stick with 175gr. Check your runout.
Billy

Billy,

I did do some load development with H-4895, but it just wasn't as accurate in my rifle as Varget.

 

[Tempest]

Try a Berger 200-20X around 2600-2650 FPS. They will have less muzzle velocity but will have a hell of lot more at the target than a 175 SMK.

 

[shooter65]

Wind

 

[David101]

With his 26 inch barrel I dont think the 200s are really going to get up enough speed to out shine a 155 going a heck of a lot faster. If you do load up for 200s to get going fast enough the brass is really only good for one maybe 2 shots and the primers will be too loose.

 

[NickB1075]

I shoot Palma so maybe I am biased but I feel like the 155 grain category is highly overlooked for the 308 sized cartridge. I dont have any experience with anything over the 190s in a 308. and to be honest I always found the 155 smk (2156) to shoot better at 1000 then the 185 and up.

It may be worth trying to go to a faster lighter bullet.

Just my 2 cents

Nick

 

[Dgd6mm]

Nick, I can see where your bias comes into play here. I also understand how the 155 (2156) works for you. The serious and middle to top of the FTR class shooters know what works best for them and their scores with the equipment they are running. But with that being said I would not rule a good 155 class weight bullet out without trying it out of a 26" barrel. I have a 26" Shilen with a Palma chamber. I shoot 175 SMK out of it to 1000 on steel very good. The bullet is shoved back in the case a bit but it's what I chose and it works for me.

 

[memilanuk]

Maybe we need to backtrack a little here... what exactly does the OP (@MoneyWaster ) want to do with this gun? Plink at steel? Shoot an occasional PRS type match? Shoot FTR?

Running 200s effectively really needs a dedicated chamber, and a little longer barrel, for best performance. That said, it'll still shoot pretty well as is. Same with the 155's... for years 'Palma' shooters swore that there was no way they'd make it to 1k supersonic unless pushed at least to 2950 fps, and that to do that required a 30" barrel, minimum. Both of which have been proven false, numerous times in numerous guns.

All the stuff about annealing, using mandrels, holding your nose just so... are all well and good, but to be honest, largely irrelevant to this discussion. Those things are useful if you're trying to dial in the final accuracy to where you can put more shots in the 1/2 moa X-ring on an F-class target - they aren't what's killing your hit percentage on a *2.5 moa* steel target.

I think what you really need is just practice, in the wind. The .308 Win is plenty capable, with any of the bullets mentioned in this thread - 155, 175, 185, 200, etc. - but you *have* to call the wind better than folks running more forgiving calibers, whether they be 6/6.5 or magnums. And that takes practice - lots of it.

 

[Billy 30-06]

Billy,

I did do some load development with H-4895, but it just wasn't as accurate in my rifle as Varget.

I'd try some 175gr SMKs and some H-4895 or IMR-4064. I never could get the tiped match kings to shoot. The 175gr SMK @ 2600-2650 fps will work @ 1000yds. I've found H-4895 to be one of the most stable powders out there with some of the lowest SDs. 38*F -98*F I can use the same load.
Billy