Anybody shooting 178 amax and varget combos?

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duncansuds

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Hey there. This will sound awfully specific.... But here it goes... I am using a SPS varmint in .308, I have been monkeying around with the powder and seating depths a bit with decent results ranging .8 to 1.2 ". I am really hoping to beat the .5 range and have on a few groups. I am currently shooting 178 gr amax with varget and cci primers with federal gmm brass. Any suggestions? Maybe one of you has found a beauty blend with a very similar blend with this rifle you can share. Thanks and any suggestions are very welcome. Ps.... I have enough of these components to produce 700 rds due to a prize won, so I would like to keep as many of these components as possible.
 
I had good luck with varget behind 178Amax in a 32 inch 1:10 twist barrel. Norma brass all fireformed and the chamber was a snug Obermeyer .308. I don't know if it''s fair to use that setup as a standard to compare an off the rack gun to --- but for the record it used 44.6gr Varget behind the Amax bullet (moly coated). On the bench at 100y it was consistently under 1 MOA and usually 1/2 MOA was possible. More importantly, off a bipod it could hold around a minute at 300-600y if you let it. And it was decent at 800m as well. I originally loaded Sierra 175s for that rig and had some supply problems so I started using the Hornady Bullet. I think I liked the Sierra better - but Hornady was good enough and easier to get at the time so I stuck with them.

A buddy of mine used same bullets in a conventional 26 inch 1:12 twist barrel, and found that 44.4 gr Varget was happier for him. (also with the moly)

Another buddy with an SPS with 1:10 has been playing around with the same 178 AMax moly bullets and Varget -- and getting "okay" results -- but on a whim he tried Sierra 175s and his gun just seems to like them better. You might try them as well. They fit in the mag better than the AMax bullets did, too.

Looking at the pile of components you have - my info might not be too helpful -- but I can tell you that I seated the Hornady bullet something like 10 thou back off the lands. And I seem to recall that my best load fired around 2850fps. Perhaps you could meddle with your loads to try and match that muzzle velocity and see if that's the ticket???
 
43g of varget. Not a hot load but not to light either. Likes any rifle I put it in from sps, ltr to custom rigs. Give it a whirl. It has been interchangeable with both 175 smk's and 178 amax. Of course each rifle is different but when I am testing or a buddy asks for a load I always start there.
 
Thanks for the help so far, I believe I am correct but a varminter has a 1:12 twist right? Do you think 178 may be a bit heavy for it? And surprisingly enough I have had the best erupts so far in the 2750-2850 load range. So I will try that. Do you think primers could be a solution as well (maybe the cheapest)? If so what kind is seeming to be a good match for the varget?
 
duncansuds said:
Thanks for the help so far, I believe I am correct but a varminter has a 1:12 twist right? Do you think 178 may be a bit heavy for it? And surprisingly enough I have had the best erupts so far in the 2750-2850 load range. So I will try that. Do you think primers could be a solution as well (maybe the cheapest)? If so what kind is seeming to be a good match for the varget?
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Off the shelf varminter probably has 1:12. 178's are probably fine. Not for me to say - let the gun tell you what it likes and don't try to argue with it.

The big 32 inch 1:10 barrel I had was that rifle's second barrel and it replaced a factory 1:12 that was 24 inches. (Varmint barrel from 1992) The original 1:12 also liked the Sierra 175s better than anything. I never fired 178 AMax in the 1:12 so I can't say -- but they ought to stabilize. When I went on to barrel #3 I went back to a 1:12 (but 32 inches) for a long confusing list of reasons -- and this one has a penchant for the Sierra 155s. Although it eats up the 178s I tried in it, too. Curiously it DOESN'T shoot the 175s as well. (???) It also likes the 168s - but I don't like them.

Primers -
I use only Federal GMM primers. Not sure why - but a lot of it has to do with "it aint broke, so I'm not gonna try to fix it." I use the GMM205Ms in .223 with Varget, and the GMM210M's in .308 with Varget and in 6.5x284 with H1000. I've never used any other primers except for a brief experiment with 80gr Sierras in .223 for a National Match AR15. I had a pile of 1000 CCI primers that I bought because I had a hard time finding a big enough pile of Federal Small Rifle primers to suit me. The CCIs worked fine - but when I got an opportunity to pick up 30,000 Federal primers I jumped at it and they work better for that load. I loaded up the remaining CCIs into some 62gr crap that I practice standing with.

Hint - if you find the Federal 210 instead of the (match) GMM 210M -- they're fine. They might have looser quality control on the "non-match" production - but the primers are the same "recipe" so you can use either primer interchangeably without any impact on the load pressure/velocity. I'd stick with the GMM's if you can find them.
 
My FN SPR will shoot 175SMK's and 178 Hornady's very well. Slight nod to SMK's but to be fair I just seated the Hornadys in usual 44.2 Varget/LC match or Lapua, and let her fly. Also tried different primers and didn't seem to make much difference, SD's always stayed acceptable. SMK stays 1/2 MOA and Hornady just a little larger. Tried some remington brass and group just over the inch, winchester brass just under inch to 3/4 inch.
 
my buddy has the 700 xcr tactical long range which i believe has the same twist rate. And I have a 700 5R, were both currently shooting 45 grains of reloader fifteen and 178 amax. I'm using lapua brass and federal match primers and my buddy is using cci bench rest primers and hornady brass and both loads are .5 moa at 100 yards.
 
I shoot Moly Coated 178gr AMAX bullets with 44.5 grs of Varget........Norma Match Brass and a Federal 210M primer.........Bullet seated to 2.800" OAL

I try to stay away from Federal match brass as the cases are known to be "soft" and the primer pockets can loosen up even after the first firing........I have found Winchester brass to be excellent........

This is being shot out of a McPhee 26.5" barrel with a 1 in 11.3" twist, chambered with a M852 match reamer........
 
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