Help with a quick .308 load for 1000 yards

[CSACANNONEER]

If you have Lapua, LC Match, or FGMM brass go with 41.5 of H4895 with the 168 AMAXs.

I'll be using FGMM brass so, I guess I'll try 4895 under the Amaxes and see how it goes.

You can't just slap together a 1000 yard load like that.

LOL. I know. I just want something to play with Friday night and Saturday night after the match. But, to be honest, my 50BMG load was slapped together from recommendations of the owner of ALS (the person who built my upper) along with recommendations from a few other top shooters. While I have been playing with the load a little the last few years, I've only increased the charge 5 grains from where I started. I have done that so that I only have one load (I dropped my other load 3 grains) for both my rifles. The other one is an AR50. Anyway, last year this load produced a couple .4moa groups between two shooters. My .4 moa group had the 5th shot double the group. It was my fault and I knew it but didn't want conditions to change. While it is my smallest group to date, I truly think that the first four were smaller than the current World Record in the class I was shooting in. So, I've had pretty good luck just slapping together 1000 yard loads.

[J-cat]

http://practicalrifler.fr.yuku.com/topic/1924/168-Amax-H4895#.U4QBSmcU_wc

This guy found OCW was 43grs using Winchester brass. You could try 41.8grs in your FGMM brass as they have a lot less capacity.

[bsumoba]

i would go with 43.8-44.3gr of Varget and 175gr SMKs.

should get you to 1000 yards, or at least VERY close. my load is 43.8gr (was 43.5gr, but with about 500 rounds through the barrel, i adjusted my load to 43.8 and am now getting nice 0.5" groups at 100 yards...and wait for it, this is out of a 20" LR-308 platform!

whats your barrel length?

168s will probably not get there. i saw a lot of guys trying to push the 168s to 1K and they were keyhole'ing their shots. admittedly, the guy said he had mild loads.

according to my calculator, im about 1150 fps at 1000 yards with this load and my velocities.

i still wouldnt just outright load any charge. you should still do a load workup. 44 gr in your rifle could be dangerous depending on how it was chambered or it could be just a hot load, or could show no signs of pressure. you never know.

the 180s would be better if i had to guess, but depending on the BC of the bullet, it may not. case in point, i was using a 6.5 creedmoor with a high BC bullet and was getting less drop and wind drift than a guy next to me shooting a 300 ultra mag with hunting rounds. its not just about the powder and how much powder...its about the bullet too :/

[thmpr]

44 grains of Varget/175 SMK is the sweet combination for most of my 308 SA rifles.

[bubbala]

why get stuck with a 100 rounds of one load. load 20 @ 42 gr. and work up. it seems you're gonna find one that's close and you'll be killing two birds too.

[J-cat]

42grs is max in FGMM brass.

[JMP]

42grs is max in FGMM brass.

Bull.

[CSACANNONEER]

Well, I didn't have time to prep and load any .308. So, I did exactly what I laugh at others for doing. I took some cheap surplus .308 out and ran 40 rounds through my "precision" 700. But, unlike the guys I see doing that at Angeles, I could actually hit steel consistently at 500 meters and found it got boring fast. I should have tried some off hand shooting but, I was tired and it was hot and I didn't want to push myself too hard since, I still had another day shooting 50s to go. Besides, conditions this last weekend sucked at 1000 yards. No one shot as well as they normally do there. Well, I had one, good for me, 3 target relay where I shot a 146 or so with a 3 target agg. of just over 8". But, my other aggs. including my match totals were well over 1moa.

I also got to play with a Trackingpoint system in .338L. It was a very weird feeling to pull the trigger before being on target and then keeping the trigger pulled until it was lined up and decided to go off.

[CobraRed]

42grs is max in FGMM brass.

Lol. Depends on the powder, doesn't it?

[6mmintl]

Hopefully, you have at least a 24" barrel. I'd go with the 175 SMK or 178 Hornady BTHP Match to buck the wind as these have good BCs. The problem is that the 168s tend to be a bit light. Varget will work at ~44.0gr. Alternatively, you may wish to go with a lighter bullet and push it really fast. The problem with bullets heavier than ~175gr is that you can't pack enough powder into that iddy bitty .308 case to push them fast enough.

That would be in commercial/not G.I. brass.

[6mmintl]

The US Palma Team uses 47gr Varget and a 155

And i'm sure they weight/use the lightest large volume brass then discard them after 2-3 firings.

[highpower790]

And i'm sure they weight/use the lightest large volume brass then discard them after 2-3 firings.

Lapua brass and Berger Bullets.

[Boogaloo]

The problem with bullets heavier than ~175gr is that you can't pack enough powder into that iddy bitty .308 case to push them fast enough.

This just simply is not true.

I routinely shoot the 208 AMAX in 2 of my 308's and ring the 1000 yard steel with amazing regularity. I run them at 2550 FPS using 46.0 gr. Alliant Reloder 17. The 208 AMAX has a G1 BC of .645, You will be hard pressed to find a better projectile for .308 in the wind. A 26" barrel and 46.0 grains of Reloder-17 with the 208's would be ideal as you could potentially get them to the magic 2600 FPS that Hornady thinks they need to be, to be a magic bullet. I get pressure signs at anything much over 2550 FPS.

The 178 AMAX is a fantastic (308) 1000 yard bullet, as is the 178 BTHP by hornady. Another good 1000 yard bullet for the 308 is the Berger 185 Juggernaut. All 3 can be pushed to 2700 FPS in a 24" gun, and that keeps them supersonic to around 1300 yards. Making a 1000 yard shot easy enough.
Yes it is a bit of a dive bomber at 1000 yards, but totally predictable, and hard hitting enough to be very lethal at 1000 yards.

All 3 of those bullets can be pushed with Reloder 15, but I like the slower burning Reloder 17 in my 24" guns with any projectile over 155 grains..

I have never liked Varget in 308's, it works but is not ideal. I get a lot of variation in SD and avg speed. I am extremely anal about reloading for distance, and have tried quite a few combinations with little success. The Reloder powders are better in my opinion.

Here is one of my 1000 yard tools:



Here are the others.... Yes I can (and do) score regular hits at 1000 yards with the .223 AI in the thread below.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=780186

[bomb_on_bus]

what about the 190 smk, 208amax, or 210vld. They are heavier than most want to shoot but they get you out to a 1k and beyond depending on powder and rifle setup.

There's a load development page over at snipershide.com that has a .308 specific page.