Savage 12 308 cal 1:10 twist which weight of bullet for Accuracy Long range ?

[chris8639]

What are you guys finding as far as what weight seems to be more accurate ??

 

[Slopok]

i use 150gr hornady sst's out to 300 with good results. your going to probly hear alot of ppl say 168 gr... i didnt like them much. but aperently the 10 twist is spose to like heavy bullets. if it shoots it, its good in my book. i had 110gr TAP's doing MOA at 300 so... its up to you and what you want to shoot...

 

[Tomochan]

The SMK 175 over 43-44 Varget is a well-established load that performs well in pretty much every rifle. The Berger 185 BT is also a very good bullet and from the same make the 185 Hybrid is excellent - IF you can get it to work in your rifle. My 1:10 Coyotes and Defiance don't like the Hybrid but, quite odly, my 1:12 RPA does. If you want to go lighter remember that 155's still win matches so shouldn't be overlooked. IMO the 168' while still a fine bullet out to 600 or so, has been overtaken by others.

 

[FTRRookie]

I was just going to add that while I am quite partial to the 200 Hybrids the fact that more than half of the top 15 finishers at F Class Nationals were shooting 185 BTLRs would suggest it should be at or near the top of your list. In fact I may have to pick up a box to play with over the winter...

 

[Bakersfield7.62]

I will second that the 175 and up show better ballistics beyond 600 ... I have had great results with 168 handloads with imr8208 rem cases and cci lr .200 primers but my currant long range load is 185 Berger VLD hunting bullet with rl 17 and cci br2 primers... The longish throght in my M700 doesn't like 150 gr as well too far of a jump I guess

 

[Haagen_Dazs]

With a 1:10 twist you'll 'want' the heaviest bullet you can get your hands on, well maybe not the 230s but a 210 for sure. The trend these days is to almost understabalize the bullet so it's spinning at the minimum rpm in order to be stable. This supposedly results in tighter groups and is why I chose a 1:11 twist barrel for my next build instead of a 1:10 (this will be for 185s). There are stories of people using a 1:12 twist with 210-230gn bullets and getting good results (must be at high altitudes).


Anyway, do the math yourself on JBM. A stability factor between 1.0 and 1.3 is ideal, any higher than 1.4-1.5 is overkill. Make sure you estimate your average shooting atmosphere because it has a large effect on it.


http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi

...the fact that more than half of the top 15 finishers at F Class Nationals were shooting 185 BTLRs would suggest it should be at or near the top of your list.

Good news for me, that's the same bullet I am planning on using. The BT is shorter than the Hybrid/VLD so I'll be giving up BC, but gaining case capacity and thus velocity.



PS: good choice with the Savage 12. My 223 VLP (no upgrades but bedded) averaged 0.5MoA during load development at 100 yards (5 shots) with top notch components.

 

[paperslayer]

bullet weight has NOTHING to do with stability in a given twist. It has everything to do with length and with what the bullet is made.

10 twists will lend themselves to longer bullets, but they can work with anything 155 and heavier in most common commercial bullets. 10 inch twists create a great deal of torque, so consider then in selecting a rest or bipod system.

Not every gun likes all bullets so find something that works and stick with it. learn to use one load really well.

 

[rimfiremac]

The savage 10fp I used to have shot everything well. I settled on 178 and 208 Amaxs in my final loads. They both sailed to 1k easily and delivered 1k energy past 600 yards for hunting applications.

 

[BigUglyMan]

I've had very good luck with 168 AMax in my 10FP LE2B. That said I do have some 208 AMax and N550 to try out as well. Hopefully December in Saskatchewan isn't too cold for load development!