load development, new rifle

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calgarycowboy

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I finally got a chance to shoot my new rifle I pieced together over the last few months, show and tell time.
Specs;
-Rem 700 5r action and barrel .308
-XLR chassis
-Timney
-Sightron 8-32x56 LRMOA
-NF rings
-ATRS rail
-Recessed crown and knob done by ATRS
-USO anti cant
-Harris

Took it out this morning to burn some powder;
-178 AMAX
-41.5 - 43.5 varget (.5 increments)
-CCI BR4
-New lapua brass
-COAL 2.810

Did 5 shots at 100yd and 5 at 300yd. I`m happy.


41.5 and 42gr look promising, 41.5 measured out to 1.877" and 42 to 1.914" at 300yd. I don't have a chrony to verify velocity maybe someone with quickload could ballpark me? I was hoping to be around 26-2650 but I don't think Im there at 42gr varget. I think I might load by .2 from 41.6 to 42.4 and see what happens. Any advice is appreciated.

Some crappy cell phone pics of her








It was the first time I've had the pleasure of touching a nice trigger, if anyone is considering it... do it. Its awesome. I've been using the original Remington factory trigger on my other bolt gun and its good but has NOTHING on the Timney. The chassis is very different than the HS stock on my 223 but it feels good, I really like the adjustability, its built very very well but most importantly it looks badass. The total package weighs in at 14.2lbs.
Thanks to all the CGNers and site sponsors who helped me to get this bad boy together.
 
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Very nice set up and good shooting...5R's are a great factory rifle eh!!
I generally don't care for the Hornady projectiles, but the 178 A-max stands out. I run them in a couple of my rifles with Varget and they shoot very well.

Marcoman...I'm with you as well...really starting to think I need one as well.
 
calgarycowboy said:
41.5 and 42gr look promising, 41.5 measured out to 1.877" and 42 to 1.914" at 300yd. I don't have a chrony to verify velocity maybe someone with quickload could ballpark me? I was hoping to be around 26-2650 but I don't think Im there at 42gr varget. I think I might load by .2 from 41.6 to 42.4 and see what happens. Any advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...

The Hornady books lists their 178 A-Max maximum load with 43.2gr Varget at 2500 fps out of a 22" barrel (although Hodgdon lists a start load at 41.0gr at 2470 fps and a max load at 45.0 gr at 2661 fps with a 180 gr bullet). At 42 gr, I would say you would be close to 2450 fps or possibly up to 2550 fps. Hope this helps. Also, nice set up and nice shooting. :D
 
If wanting, I'd push the Varget load a lot higher. Most people find a node between 44-45. Then some push further but those require caution in knowing they are going above published safe loads.

IMO, I trust Hodgdon over Hornady. I've tested to 46 without issues in MY gun.
 
If you want to really get the best out of it, load to bullet ogive (with hornady bullet comparator, headspace gauge kits etc). If your rifle's 1:12 twist, the 168 Amax might work better. If you have the inkling, try IMR 8208 XBR, I find it better than Varget. Great shooting and beautiful rifle :)
 
I have heard of lots of people running 44-45gr varget and reviewed sierras data for their 175 SMK and they list 41.7gr as a max load, but that is usually with commercial (win, fed etc) brass. As far as I understand the lapua is thicker so Im not sure I want to go higher, I debated a good hour on loading up some 44gr rounds to try as well but decided against it. There were no sticky bolt lifts or pressure signs at 43.5 so maybe I will give it a shot. Im a fan of varget. It has produced some great results for me in 223 and when I finally found some again I bought lots. The 5r is 11.25 twist supposedly optimized for the 175gr projectiles and the goal with this rig is to get to 1000, rumor has it the 175s/178s have an advantage over the 168s at that range... according to the internet sharp shooters anyways. Thanks for the feedback and compliments guys!
I might be buying a chronograph.
 
I have a 5R and tried the same load as you, with almost the same results. 42-43gr Varget.. Then went to 175 SMK's, and it tightened up by 25%... then i tried 155 scenars, and it made almost every 100yd group well under MOA, most 1/2MOA at that distance. I loaded to ogive with all 3 bullets tested, and sorted brass (lapua)- 44-45 Varget works great with the 155's, however thats all I have so can't experiment.
 
That gun is a work of art. I also have a 5R with a Timney in .308 and I love shooting it. I too, use 43gr-44gr of Varget but I top with a Sierra 155gr Palma Match. My 100m groups are very much like yours but when I really do my part, I'm getting as low as 0.46" groups. I would love to know where that stock came from...

Top Target
-5 Rounds
-155 Sierra Match
-43 - 44 varget
-CCI BR4
-Used Winchester Brass
-COAL 2.795
-Primer pocket uniform & flash hole debur

Bottom target is 5 rounds of Federal Factory loads

IMG_0698_zpsf25a3af0.jpg
 
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calgarycowboy said:
I have heard of lots of people running 44-45gr varget and reviewed sierras data for their 175 SMK and they list 41.7gr as a max load, but that is usually with commercial (win, fed etc) brass. As far as I understand the lapua is thicker so Im not sure I want to go higher, I debated a good hour on loading up some 44gr rounds to try as well but decided against it. There were no sticky bolt lifts or pressure signs at 43.5 so maybe I will give it a shot. Im a fan of varget. It has produced some great results for me in 223 and when I finally found some again I bought lots. The 5r is 11.25 twist supposedly optimized for the 175gr projectiles and the goal with this rig is to get to 1000, rumor has it the 175s/178s have an advantage over the 168s at that range... according to the internet sharp shooters anyways. Thanks for the feedback and compliments guys!
I might be buying a chronograph.
Click to expand...

Helps to look at more then one manual. My friends manual (not sure the name) is WAY lower than my SPEERS manual, my speer more closely resembles the Hodgdon online manual. I double check those two for two references.

With 175's you'll be fine to push higher. Load some test rounds in .5 gr increments. If you want to get to 1000, velocity matters. And yes, the 175's have sizeable benefit in B.C than the 168's. I've tried the 190's in mine and I couldn't really get them to shoot with Varget, but I think that's the upper ranges of that powder. I have 168's and 180's on the way. 175's weren't availble. (I'm talking all SMK's)

Many people also say the 168's were only designed to go to ~700, but plenty of people shoot to 1000+ no problem.
 
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