Going to start reloading for my .300 wsm and would like to develope a load for some long range shooting. I am using a 26" barrel with a 1 in 10" twist. I have seen some guys shooting 168gr - 200+gr bullets. How do I choose? I have optics with lots of elevation sitting on a 25moa base so bullet drop can be dialed in quite a bit. I supposed I should pick a heavier bullet then to help buck the wind??
Determining bullet weight??
- Thread starter logan1080
- Start date
The gun has a heavy barrel and a wood stock so it has quite a bit of weight (I think it is around 12-13 lbs with scope, more with bipod) and I can shoot it all day with 180gr ammo with nothing but a t-shirt on. I think it should be ok with the heavier bullet. How would the berger 210 match hunting VLD work out? I want to use a bullet that I can use to hunt with also a couple times a year. I realize 210gr is a lot of bullet for most game but I want to stick with 1 load and 95% of my shooting is done at the range.
ultimate_monkey
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- victoria BC
or he can go with a lighter bullet, at higher velocity and get to the target quicker, also less affected by wind
heavier bullet reatian more energy and velocity for longer, so it really comes down to how far do u want to shoot?
thunderstruck
Regular
- Location
- Northern B.C.
The way I decide on what bullet to use is by looking at the particular bullits G7 form factor. The G7 form factor is the bullet's sectional density over the G7 BC. This is a good indicator of a bullets long range performance. Generally you are looking for a G7 form factor of over 1. In the 30 cals usually only the heavier bullits have a good G7 form factor. Yes the 210 hunting VLD has a good G7 form factor.
190gr Sierra Match kings will take you to 1000 and beyond. I use them with great success in my 300wm.
LongBomber
CGN Regular
- Location
- Fernie, bc
I would take a hard look at the Hornady 225gr match, the 208 A-max or the 210 or 230 Berger. Most important is to find a bullet that your rifle shoots well. A high BC does nothing for you if you don't get top accuracy.
Wind drift is really a function of having a high BC. You really can't push a light moderate BC bullet fast enough to equal out with a very high BC bullet once you pass 800-900 yards. For example take a 168gr amax vs a 208gr amax. You should be looking at roughly 20" of difference in the wind drift at 1000. My wind reading is not great (yet) and I can notice a difference in hits when I switch to a high BC setup. It is just more forgiving in variable wind conditions.
Wind drift is really a function of having a high BC. You really can't push a light moderate BC bullet fast enough to equal out with a very high BC bullet once you pass 800-900 yards. For example take a 168gr amax vs a 208gr amax. You should be looking at roughly 20" of difference in the wind drift at 1000. My wind reading is not great (yet) and I can notice a difference in hits when I switch to a high BC setup. It is just more forgiving in variable wind conditions.
- Location
- victoria bc
I vote 208AMAX, i have a buddy that uses these in his 300wm and it blows my 175HPBT out of the water from my 308...
redshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Central Ontario
I read something recently about the diff. I found the link on the Berger homepage. This is the article http://02b0516.netsolhost.com/blog1/?p=150.
thunderstruck
Regular
- Location
- Northern B.C.
The difference is jacket thickness. From my experience they both performed the same in my rifle.
Hmmm I do plan on spending extended periods of time at the range so I wonder if the hunting vld would be affected by a hotter barrel after a while? It sounded like even the target VLD could very well be used on game. I might not go after a moose with one but maybe something like a deer would be fine if not a little excessive once you go to a 210gr.
I was just looking at bergers target bullets, what would the difference be between the target BT long range and the target VLD besides the .005 BC difference?
edit: I read a little bit about the differences in ogive between the two bullets. BT bullet has a tangent ogive (10) and the vld has a secant ogive (15). How do the different o-gives affect the bullet?
I was just looking at bergers target bullets, what would the difference be between the target BT long range and the target VLD besides the .005 BC difference?
edit: I read a little bit about the differences in ogive between the two bullets. BT bullet has a tangent ogive (10) and the vld has a secant ogive (15). How do the different o-gives affect the bullet?
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Finger Toes
Regular
- Location
- Yellowhead County
don't have to walk to far if you can shoot 1000 yards..use salted bullets
thunderstruck
Regular
- Location
- Northern B.C.
The ogives effect the BC. Generally (not in all cases) the secant ogive bullets have a higher BC. They can be picky on bullet seating and can take a bit of messing around to get it right to produce tight groupings. The tangent ogives not nearly as picky for bullet seating depth.
I have lugged it around quite a bit and yes, it can get heavy but not to the point that I am no longer enjoying myself. I wanted a rifle that had enough weight that the recoil wouldn't beat me up at the range and I didn't have the cash to buy two rifles at the time so I chose a rifle that would suit me for the shooting I would be doing 95% of the time but yet I can carry around for a hunt. I wouldn't want to carry a rifle that is any heavier though haha. I had a .300wsm that weighed under 7lbs without scope. It was a bit too much to shoot all day at the range. I sold it and bought a better rifle that was more suited to the range.
I think I will just stick with the VLD round as it should fit my requirements. I am sure it will not fly apart on me.
thunderstruck
Regular
- Location
- Northern B.C.
A example of a secant ogive bullet that has a lower BC then a tangent ogive bullet is bergers 185 gr bullets. The VLD "secant ogive" has a G7 BC of .281 and the target BT "tangent ogive" has a BC of .283. This is unusuall. But in this case I would shoot the target boat tail unlless I planed on having a target/hunting round.
A good way that I have used to decide on the bullet to shoot is to use a balistic calculator. Take knowen muzzel velocities for a given weight bullet. Run the numbers through the program, access the performance, compare different weight and design bullets. It is certainly not exact but it gives you a good idea.
A good way that I have used to decide on the bullet to shoot is to use a balistic calculator. Take knowen muzzel velocities for a given weight bullet. Run the numbers through the program, access the performance, compare different weight and design bullets. It is certainly not exact but it gives you a good idea.
