155g Amax in a 308

Republic of Alberta

Republic of Alberta

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
25   0   0
Location
,location, location
Normally bench rest type shooting is not my "thing" so bear with me for a stupid question.

Is the 155g Amax considered to be a decent benchrest bullet? Like something capable of say .2 or .3 MOA type accuracy out of benchrest rifles. Specifically chambered in 308.


I am doing a little test and wanted to start off with a bullet that is reputable to be very accurate. I have a box of these and was wondering about them.
 
Shooters competing in benchrest with .30 rifles usually use lighter - 130gr. - flatbased bullets and a slow rifling twist. Doubt that you would find many benchrest competitors using the 155 AMAX, or similar Sierra, Nosler, Lapua or Berger bullets.
The 155 AMAX is an excellent target rifle bullet, used to 1000y. They ARE accurate.
 
The 155 Palma style match bullets are very accurate, and hold their BC through velocity drop better than some others such as the 168's.

Try them over top of Varget or IMR4895.
 
tiriaq said:
Shooters competing in benchrest with .30 rifles usually use lighter - 130gr. - flatbased bullets and a slow rifling twist. Doubt that you would find many benchrest competitors using the 155 AMAX, or similar Sierra, Nosler, Lapua or Berger bullets.
The 155 AMAX is an excellent target rifle bullet, used to 1000y. They ARE accurate.
Click to expand...


:redface:I didn't know "Benchrest" was a specific style of shooting competition. I thought it was a general term. I know nothing.
 
jeff338edgeai said:
I've been using 46.5grains of imr 4895 with 155 a-max 2956fps with 24" tube, good acuracy.
Click to expand...

Wow, sounds like a really hot load! Do your primers get loose after one firing?

(FWIW 44.5 grains of IMR 4895 in a 165 grain case, under a Sierra 155, giving 2925fps in a 30" barrel, was considered a hot load back in 1992. With Varget and other powders it is possible to get well over 3000fps in a 30" barrel. But I am surprised at you getting nearly 3000fps in a 24" barrel!)

I wonder if you have a long throated chamber? What is your loaded round's overall length?
 
I don't think the A-max shoots quite as well as the Sierra 150's. It definitely will shoot under .4 but not under .3. The Sierra 150 will. So will the 168. The 155 Palma will not, for me.
The Nosler 155 is a solid .350 bullet.
A real surprising bullet is, believe it or not, the Speer 125 TNT. This bullet will shoot at the 1/4 minute level at 100 and 200 yards from a 14 twist barrel. It out shoots many of the custom bullets I have tried. Too bad it isn't a bit better in the wind. It would make a good 300 meter bullet.
My first choice in powder is also 4895. Regards, Bill
 
The 155 gr Palma bullets are very popular among Bisley shooters and for people who put accuracy before bullet performance also quite popular for hunting. They do perform erattic on game, sometimes penetrating like a solid and sometimes exploding with horrific meat damage. My cz550 in 30-06 likes them all although it wont easily do better than .5 moa, but then it's not a target rifle!
 
Wally said:
I've got a box of 4895 in the garage and I'm wondering if I should try it instead of varget.
Click to expand...

I certainly would. I have settled on Varget, but wouldn't turn my nose up at 4895. Or 4064. Generally a .308 will shoot well with most any of the middle burning rate powders.
 
I think you should avoid the Varget, in fact send it to me. Terrible terrible stuff.

FYI, Yes Benchrest shooting is a discipline unto its own. (http://nbrsa.com/)

The biggest consumers of 155-ish bullets are TR/Palma shooters. The Lapua 155 is the bullet to beat. The new Berger 155.5's are also fast becoming a favorite for competitive shooting. These bullets are used in competion to 900+ meters with tremendous success.

Having a barrel optimally twisted for these length of bullets will help. There is an obsession with over-twist 308 barrels. 13 and 14" twists are all you need
 
Do you gentlemen preffer Hogdgon or IMR for 4895? I try to develop a load for a gas gun, and Varget is considered by many too slow burning (for the gas gun that is).
 
Hogdgon or IMR for 4895? I try to develop a load for a gas gun,
Click to expand...

Both are good powders.

H4895 these days is actually a re-branded Australian powder (ADI AR2206), and is in fact Varget's neighbour (Varget is ADI AR2208). H4895 is shorter-grained than IMR-4895, so it'll handle ever so slightly better. It might also be slightly less temperature sensitive (though IMR-4895 doesn't really have a problem there).

H4895 is showing some very good promise for superb 1000-yard loads (as in, IMR-4895 is very good, and H4895 is possibly great). But this won't matter at shorter ranges; even at 600 yards, thrown charges of either powder will shoot well enough to win national matches.

Choose whichever powder you have, or can get, or is cheaper, or you take a fancy to....
 
Obtunded said:
I think you should avoid the Varget, in fact send it to me. Terrible terrible stuff.

FYI, Yes Benchrest shooting is a discipline unto its own. (http://nbrsa.com/)

The biggest consumers of 155-ish bullets are TR/Palma shooters. The Lapua 155 is the bullet to beat. The new Berger 155.5's are also fast becoming a favorite for competitive shooting. These bullets are used in competion to 900+ meters with tremendous success.

Having a barrel optimally twisted for these length of bullets will help. There is an obsession with over-twist 308 barrels. 13 and 14" twists are all you need
Click to expand...
:D Not likely, nice try though ;)

So the higher twist bbls are no good for lighter bullets, eh?
 
There's nothing wrong with shooting lighter bullets (e.g. 125 grain, 110 grain, etc) in a fast-twist barrel (1-10" etc). They'll work just fine, for hunting and plinking purposes.

If you are interested in squeaking out the very last bit of target-grade accuracy, and are spec'ing a custom barrel for a particular class of bullets, *then* one can fuss about getting the twist "just right" (meaning, quick enough to stabilize the bullet, but no quicker; in this case, Ian was making the point that for pure, all-out target shooting use, if you were building a rifle to shoot 155-class bullets to the nth degree, that you should use a 1-13" or 1-14" twist barrel.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom