I own a Remington 700 sps tac. 20" barrel with a 1 in 10 twist. What is the best bullet, powder and primer combo for a 600-800 yard shot? I have been saving up brass for about a year now and finally decided to get into reloading. Im quite new to reloading so tips and tricks are also welcome.
Best .308 win rounds for longerish range shooting
- Thread starter BangSwitch
- Start date
Try factory loaded Lapua 155, 167, and 185 grainers. Peter at Hirsch Precision is the man for Lapua products. Lapua ammo tends to run a higher muzzle velocity than the big three. This is beneficial in short barreled guns for long range shooting. Cheers!
CNDShooter94
Member
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
I've had good luck with SMK 168 and Hornady's BTHP Match with IMR 4320 all in Lapua brass
- Location
- Jameson, SK
185 Berger Juggernauts pushed by varget.... but I'm not sure how that'll behave in that 20" barrel.
Ar180shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ottawa, ON
I've been shooting 155gr Sierra Palma Match bullets behind 44gr Varget. Velocity is pretty good (2700 fps), accuracy is sub MOA, and the BC of the bullets is high for their weight. The only downside is the rounds are too long to feed from the magazine (I'm seating them just off the lands).
There is no such thing as a "best" load. There are all kinds of trade offs in every choice you make. Shooters tend to be quite conservative and thus will cluster around generally held beliefs. There is no reason those beliefs are true and most shooters will never experiment to see if they are.
Heavier bullets cost more and will generate more recoil.
Personally I have had great results using 125gr Ballistic Tips in my 20" 308 all the way out to 800 yds. These bullets are fast and flat and don't generate a big wallop on my shoulder. The combination of the Nosler 125s and Varget produces 5/8" 5-shot groups for me.
Heavier bullets cost more and will generate more recoil.
Personally I have had great results using 125gr Ballistic Tips in my 20" 308 all the way out to 800 yds. These bullets are fast and flat and don't generate a big wallop on my shoulder. The combination of the Nosler 125s and Varget produces 5/8" 5-shot groups for me.
600 yards is considered medium range by target rifle standards.
Avoid the Sierra 168 match. It has an abrupt boattail, as for a 300 yard bullet. The Sierra 175 is the same bullet with a longer boattail.
For short ranges like 600, any match bullet (except the Sierra 168) will work well. It is just a question of what works in your rifle.
I use 155s of various flavours, but my barrels are in the 1:13 range. For a 1:10, I would first try the Sierra 175 or 190, or a similar Lapua or Berger or Hornady.
Avoid the Sierra 168 match. It has an abrupt boattail, as for a 300 yard bullet. The Sierra 175 is the same bullet with a longer boattail.
For short ranges like 600, any match bullet (except the Sierra 168) will work well. It is just a question of what works in your rifle.
I use 155s of various flavours, but my barrels are in the 1:13 range. For a 1:10, I would first try the Sierra 175 or 190, or a similar Lapua or Berger or Hornady.
Ballistically the best Berger Target bullet that your 1:10 barrel can use is the Berger 200.20X gr Hybrid Target. In the Berger Hunting bullet line, you could try the 180 grain Elite Hunter. And you might get away with the Hornady ELD - X 200 grain, or the ELD Match 208 grain.
Velocity? As much as you can get with accuracy!
Velocity? As much as you can get with accuracy!
If you are new to reloading, then I would pick something thats cheap. Sierra makes good quality bullets for the price, so I would probably start there. If Ganderite says the 168 is bad, then trust him.
It will take a bit of practice and experience, not to mention load testing, to really get the hang of reloading, at which point you'll be churning out match-grade ammo for much cheaper than buying it, and then getting into long-range precision shooting is a whole other step above that where you can start worrying about all the other little things that can be done to try and squeeze a tiny bit more accuracy out of the ammo.
It will take a bit of practice and experience, not to mention load testing, to really get the hang of reloading, at which point you'll be churning out match-grade ammo for much cheaper than buying it, and then getting into long-range precision shooting is a whole other step above that where you can start worrying about all the other little things that can be done to try and squeeze a tiny bit more accuracy out of the ammo.
The 168 is not a "bad" bullet. It is superb for what it was designed for - a cheap (easy to make) bullet for short range.
For long range shooting Sierra makes the 190 gr bullet. It has a long boattail. When the US Army wanted a long range bullet for 1,000 yards, the first thing Sierra tried was making the 168 with the 190 boattail. I have a few boxes of the prototypes they sent me. With the longer boattail, the bulled weighed 175 gr and it works much better at longer range.
So why buy 168s when the 175 makes a better general purpose match bullet? Less wind drift.
For long range shooting Sierra makes the 190 gr bullet. It has a long boattail. When the US Army wanted a long range bullet for 1,000 yards, the first thing Sierra tried was making the 168 with the 190 boattail. I have a few boxes of the prototypes they sent me. With the longer boattail, the bulled weighed 175 gr and it works much better at longer range.
So why buy 168s when the 175 makes a better general purpose match bullet? Less wind drift.
- Location
- Victoria BC
185 should handle just flying out of a 20 inch barrel , I'm currently doing test loads with 208 grain ELD match with good success so far just in the refining process - shooting out of a savage 10 BA stealth with 20 inch barrel .
I really need to find someone with a chronograph so I can see what my feet per second drop is compared to the 24 inch barrel testings....
My best load is for my MDT custom 28" heavy. It's a 208gr ELD match and I can't remember the Varget charge (I'm at work). Seated .005" off the lands. Great load out to 1200m.
And my best load for my Coyote (24" barrel) is 155gr Scenars with 47.2gr of Varget seated .005" off the lands for up to 1km.
And my best load for my Coyote (24" barrel) is 155gr Scenars with 47.2gr of Varget seated .005" off the lands for up to 1km.
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I shoot 155 Sierra match kings with a stiff load of varget out of a 28" barrel. My load wouldnt work well in a 20" barrel so there no point in me posting it.
I'm sure most good quality match bullets from 155 grain up will perform fine at 600 yards with a 20" barrel as you don't need crazy speed at medium ranges.
I shoot everything from 303s to 43 Mauser rounds at medium range and I find they all do the job. It's after 600 yards that I find thats where you really need a slippery bullets and more velocity to make hits regularly.
Basically only your gun will he able to tell you what powders and bullets are the best combo for the ranges and conditions that you will be shooting.
I'm sure most good quality match bullets from 155 grain up will perform fine at 600 yards with a 20" barrel as you don't need crazy speed at medium ranges.
I shoot everything from 303s to 43 Mauser rounds at medium range and I find they all do the job. It's after 600 yards that I find thats where you really need a slippery bullets and more velocity to make hits regularly.
Basically only your gun will he able to tell you what powders and bullets are the best combo for the ranges and conditions that you will be shooting.
