What bullet/powder recomendation? 308win, 1in9" twist, 22" barrel

[ultra25-06]

I got curious about my wifes Remington M700 in 308 win. It is a plain jane m700 barrel is 22" and marking is AX so I am dating it as a 2003. It originally had a synthetic stock. My guess it is a ADL. I checked the twist rate 6 times and it came out as 1 in 9". This seems strange to me for some reason as far as I have found Remingtons 308 win are usually 1 in 10" or 1 in 12". Any how I want to load what would be the potentially most accurate hunting round/target round for her without breaking the bank. So again the specs are 308 win with a 1 in 9" twist and 22" barrel. What weight bullet and what brand would you use for a big game/target rifle? How about powder? I look forward to the replies particularly any shooting a 1in9" twist 308 win. Thanks. P.S. I will also be posting this same question on a couple other forums to broaden my answers.

 

[TonyR]

I worked up loads for a Ruger 77 308 Win with a 22 inch barrel and found a nice load with IMR-3031 and the Sierra 165gr GameKing. Sits slightly off the lands but still feeds through the magazine. The first two off a cold bore have been consistently within half an inch vertically at 100 yards. That bullet should be fine with the 1:9 twist.

 

[Johnboy]

my question to you would be this.just how much recoil can she handle.if she handles recoil really well then I would use something around 175gn-180gn's.this will get out their with alot of energy for knock down power.and I would run them around 2600 fps.

my powder choices would be Varget,4895(either one),4064,and R15.all are great powders for the 308.and you should be able to get the 2600 or a little faster FPS with a 1:9 twist barrel.again if she can handle recoil great then I might would try useing a 210gn Berger with R17 starting at 44gn's working up.but useing the 210gn bullet will eat up your mag length not allowing you to mag feed.but that combo works great for me in my 308,and its a 11.250 twist.but hey this is my thinking so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[whiskey08]

180 gk for hunting and 175 mk for matches, or 180's for both, they shoot as good as the mk and have same trajectory. after a 4 shot group of .14" using 44.5 gr of varget and 175mk's thats what i stuck with. Out of a 26 inch barrel im doing 2750fps. Also the 180's will shoot flatter than the 165 all day long. I have an oryx hunt this weekend with the 180's we'll see how they do.

 

[300Ultra]

For me it has always been 48gr of W748 and a good 150gr bullet. Personally I have been big on the Ballistic Tip and Hornady Spire Point in the 308,but I've hunted only whitetail with one. This load has shot very very well for me in 5 different 308s. I just finished up with a friends Tikka,and it settled on this same recipe. 4 shot groups were 1/2" and under @ 100 yds. He's tickled with the performance. I've always had other 30s around for the bigger bullets,so I never devoted much time to them in the 308. I feel the150 grainers are the best blend of velocity and weight for the 308. However,I wouldn't hesitate to load a 180 if I had to for heavier critters at shorter distances. Be sure to match your bullet to your velocity to get the best terminal performance.

 

[treeman]

my load for 308 hunting has been 150 gr sierra pro hunter with 45 grs varget at .020 off the lands ;D. awesome performance out to 400 yrds and has thicker jacket for less meat damage at closer ranges. most hunters shouldn't be shooting deer past 250-300 yrds any way. I shot a white tail buck at 50yrds and the pro hunter made a quarter-sized hole on both sides ( entrance and exit) and trashed the lungs. another shot at 328 yrds showed the same performance. what more can you ask for in a hunting bullet?
treeman