Totally agree. Fortunately I started with .22 prone rifle 40 years ago, then .22 pistol. Eventually I got into revolvers and 1500 shooting, after handguns were banned I'm back on rifles. Lots of offhand competitions and more recently "proper" rifles, prone. When conditions are good I can shoot pretty good groups, I'm know there are small things to still improve on. I'm trying to eliminate the things I can control as much as I can. I'm enjoying the challenge of rifles at, for me, longer range. Wind seems to be an order of magnitude bigger factor in group size than anything else. I appreciate everyone's input.
Which bullet would you choose?
- Thread starter Tangent
- Start date
Well 28" is a good difference from 20" and velocities will not be that high. You have to compare apples to apples. And yes of course being able to make the shot is going to be important but if your shot can be better in the wind then that's all the better for the guy taking the shot. Wind is the biggest obstacle in long range shooting. Been doing this a few decades myself.
wboggs
Gold $$ Contributor
That sounds like a pretty stiff load to get 2700 out of a 178 20"barrel
It’s not. It’s under book max of Varget.
wboggs
Gold $$ Contributor
What chamber pressure do you calculate to launch a 178gr bullet at 2800 using varget in a 20" barrel?
Not 2800. 2700.
wboggs
Gold $$ Contributor
I just reviewed data in the Nosler and Hornady manuals.
Nosler 24" barrel 2599fps with max 43.5 varget
Hornady 22" barrel 2450fps with 42.4 varget.
Both loaded to 2.8oal
The velocity seems to be limited to the .308 case capacity using varget and the 180 class bullets.
So you may be able to compress a lot more varget and get 2700 out of the 20" if it is a rare very fast barrel but it is not going to be the norm.
Nosler 24" barrel 2599fps with max 43.5 varget
Hornady 22" barrel 2450fps with 42.4 varget.
Both loaded to 2.8oal
The velocity seems to be limited to the .308 case capacity using varget and the 180 class bullets.
So you may be able to compress a lot more varget and get 2700 out of the 20" if it is a rare very fast barrel but it is not going to be the norm.
My load is 44grns of Varget and 45grns is listed as max with 175/180grn bullets. I'm not compressing anything and this has not been this one 20" barrel. I am on my 9th barrel in just this one rifle. Longest barrel on this rifle was 24" and norm was 20-22". Been using between 44-45grns of Varget for over 20 years and shooting them in matches. I load my 178s at .020" off the lands and not at 2.800".
Take a look at the Hodgdon reloading site. They list 45grns as max.
Reloading Data Center – Hodgdon Reloading Data Center
hodgdonreloading.com
wboggs
Gold $$ Contributor
So what is your max oal of your load?My load is 44grns of Varget and 45grns is listed as max with 175/180grn bullets. I'm not compressing anything and this has not been this one 20" barrel. I am on my 9th barrel in just this one rifle. Longest barrel on this rifle was 24" and norm was 20-22". Been using between 44-45grns of Varget for over 20 years and shooting them in matches. I load my 178s at .020" off the lands and not at 2.800".
Take a look at the Hodgdon reloading site. They list 45grns as max.
Reloading Data Center – Hodgdon Reloading Data Center
Yes, everything has gone up between 2-3x if you can find any. It's mostly buy what you can find if you can afford it! I'll work up the load a bit more, I am loading at mag length 2.90" so I've got some room to play with.
With the right chamber and brass its actually not that bad, obviously this isn't 100% accurate but its a good indication that its not n pipe bomb
Something to remember though, when looking at load data the max speed/FPS is what you should keep an eye on not the max load.
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N550 would be a better choice for the heavier bullets
May be worth trying with the 178gr with it... I don't think there will be much in it at 500m between the faster 155 or a slower 178 in terms of wind drift. A rebarrel to something like 6 Creedmoor will make a big difference. I had thought about 6BR but I don't think they'd feed well from a magazine on this rifle. Yes you can single feed which I do mostly but I don't like the idea of a mag fed rifle not being able to feed from the magazine.
Remember a slow accurate bullet is better than a fast inaccurate one.
True. What if both are accurate? That's my dilemma, fast, light and accurate or heavier, slow and accurate...
Won't make much difference for your 500 yards and if you used a different powder the 178 will be faster than you have it now.
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