long range 308 win

[tjen]

A friend just bought a 3-barrel set rifle 308win/300win/338lapua. For the 308 what wieght bullet should he load, 175, 190, or heavier? He can shoot up to 500 yards localy and His is going to take a sniper/reloading class for long range shooting too.

I told him Lapua brass and Federal 210M primers. Powder and bullets are the next choices. I forget the rifle make but its a Military grade boltaction.

 

[Guy Miner]

Nice! Do you know the twist rate of the barrel?

Palma shooters compete with .308's at 800, 900 and 1,000 yards. They typically use the 155 grain match bullets from Nosler and Sierra. I happily used those bullets, particularly the Noslers, for most of my NRA long-range match shooting.

Avoid the 168 Sierra for 1,000 yard stuff. It's a great bullet, but when it goes trans-sonic, while slowing down below the speed of sound at about 900 yards, it can de-stabilize.

The 175's may well be the best compromise. Easy to develop a great load. Figure on Varget, RL-15...

190's are good, but can be hard for some rifles to stabilize, depending on rate of twist. Also, the .308 doesn't usually boot them out with much velocity - though careful handloading can make 'em work.

I'd stick with the 155's on the light side, or the 175's on the heavier side.

Link to an excellent article (not just because I contributed to it) on loading the .308 Win for match purposes:

http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html

It's a peach of a cartridge to load and shoot. I think you guys are going to enjoy.

Regards, Guy

 

[Guy Miner]

BTW - if he can't get Lapua brass, an awful lot of match shooters, myself included, have built really good ammo using Winchester bulk brass - it just takes a little more case prep work, but it's been very good in my .308 rifles.

Regards, Guy

 

[hunting1]

I use IMR4064 and 175's for long range. Varget for 155/168's.

 

[tjen]

Thanks guys for the advise, I have no knowlodge on the 308win specialy for long rage shooting. Wish I remembered the rifles make which would help on ID-ing the twist rate.

 

[Guy Miner]

Typically a standard 1:12 twist on many .308's, and I've found that sufficient to stabilize the 175 gr match bullets, no problem.

Hodgdon & Nosler both have some EXCELLENT loads in their manuals (and on line) that will get your project going. I've found the heavier charges of Varget to be very good, for accuracy and velocity.

Regards, Guy

 

[Wincheringen]

Some recent research has shown the 155s to be better than 175s all the way out to 1000 yards. I'm also a fan of Win commercial cases.

 

[CMBTshooter]

I love Lapua brass but that Winchester bulk brass is better than I thought it would be. It outlasted Hornady in my M1 and was several dollars cheaper per 50.

155s or 175s work great in a .308 but I think the 155s are the place to start. You can buy Nosler 155s by the thousand but 175s are only sold per 100 or 250.