Remington 700 sps tactical 308 long range load

[Cameltoehunter]

Looking for a bit of help. My 700 has a 20" 1:12 twist barrel and I see a lot of people using 175 and 178 grain bullets for long range. So I loaded up some hornady 178's under 43 grains of varget and went to the range. Ok groups at 100 and 200 yards, but they sucked at 300. I had previously shot Sierra 175 under 43 grains of varget at 500 with sub MOA results. Both loads were at 2.810 OAL. Has anyone had any experience with the 178's, this is my first time loading them. My rifle loves 168's. I shot 3 shots at the same 300 yard target to make sure I wasn't the problem and all three shots were touching. I'm looking for a starting point for a 1000 yard round preferably mag length.

 

[gijoeandgijanehadtwins]

I'll be keeping my eye on this one since I'm new to the long range game. Maybe the 175's are too heavy for the 1:12.

 

[Bear24]

are you shooting the hornady BTHP or the Amax? I have a 1:12 twist 24" barrel and the Amax's shoot better than the BTHP but I do believe that is because they make the jump to the lands a little better than the BTHP. However I still get sub MOA accuracy with the BTHP out to 500 yards when they are riding on 44.4g of varget, Federal cases, and fed 210m primers. This load gives me an average of 2720 FPS.

 

[roggom]

CTH bump up to the next accuracy load. I find 44.1 under a 175 SMK or 44.4 under a 178 amax is magic. Im ringing steel at 700 its almost boring. I have to get a larget steel gong and walk out to 1000 this summer. I havent found a place where I can drive and set up, or I would have done it already. 308 1:12 cut to 22" approx 2650 fps at 5000 ft.

 

[dieselgeek]

178 HPBT has the highest BC. .530 is pretty sweet.

 

[scissorhands]

If you are only going to shoot that rifle to 500 yards, I would either stick with the SMK 168 or the SMK 175 with varget. That should do the trick.

 

[Genin]

My recipe that is dead nuts accurate in my rem 700 sps tac 20":
43.5grn RL-15, CCI LR#200 primer, 2.810" COAL (can be mag loaded), Win Brass, 175grn SMK.

Give that a try.

 

[HD1911]

168 Amax can be shot to 1K just fine....just sayin'

 

[Cameltoehunter]

I'm shooting BTHP not the A max's Because everyone went nuts buying up all the reloading supplies cause the big bad government is gonna take them all away. I will try the A MAX If I can find any anytime soon because I hear a lot of good things about them. I was gonna see if anyone had any good luck with 178 before working up a load, but it looks like plenty of people are using them.

 

[Cameltoehunter]

I also think 168 can be shot out to 1000 just fine, I've seen videos of people shooting out to a mile with a 308 and scoring hits, but my question is the 168 amax better suited for a 1000 yards, more than the Sierra 168?

 

[vinsonr]

I started loading .308 with 178 amax's. They shot fine with 44.5gr Varget at 2.80-2.81 for use in an internal mag. I moved to 178 bthp's for the higher BC and loaded them the same. They shot like shit. I measured the distance to the lands, subtracted a few thousandths and ended up with a length of 2.21 to the ogive, and about 2.90 OAL. I loaded those and my accuracy returned, albeit I was single loading. An AICS resolved that issue. I've fired the same load in 3 Rem 700's, and my current DTA SRS and they're all dead nuts accurate.

 

[Cameltoehunter]

I was thinking of loading them longer since my 168's are loaded to 2.910 oal. I didn't see any pressure signs on any if the 178 cases and was gonna go up in grains and start playing with oal. I just put badger bottom metal on my gun and was looking to use the mag instead of single feed. Ill keep posting some info of the results and hopefully find something to shoot out to a grand accurately. Anyone gone on the lower end like 155's and had any luck? I've read a little on some people using them but there isn't much info on any of there recipes.

 

[Niles Coyote]

I run 44.5 varget under the 175smk loaded to 2.825 with winchester brass and primer in my rem tac, that gives me an average of 2547fps. Work up your 178's with the bullet seated to max mag length. Once you find the best performing powder charge play with the seating depth, moving it in .005" at a time. The sweet spot I have found with every bullet I have tried has been between 2.810 and 2.830

 

[Twisted]

My results are similar to everyone else. I started with 168SMK's and shot great groups out to 600. I had some 300 yard groups that were touching and was easily shooting sub moa at 600. I did ok beyond that but switched to 175's and while my groups out to 600 opened up a little, beyond that I had better results. I hit 1200 several times on different occasions and 1000 numerous times.

175 SMK
Win Brass
CCI 200 Primer
45gr Varget
Loaded at 2.815 OAL

I was getting about 2600 FPS, a bit over it on hot days in thin air. Keep in mind I also only got about 1500 rounds before things really opened up. Hence the reason it is now a .260. I still have that old 20" barrel, might make a lamp or something out of it.

 

[JGorski]

Looking for a bit of help. My 700 has a 20" 1:12 twist barrel and I see a lot of people using 175 and 178 grain bullets for long range. So I loaded up some hornady 178's under 43 grains of varget and went to the range. Ok groups at 100 and 200 yards, but they sucked at 300. I had previously shot Sierra 175 under 43 grains of varget at 500 with sub MOA results. Both loads were at 2.810 OAL. Has anyone had any experience with the 178's, this is my first time loading them. My rifle loves 168's. I shot 3 shots at the same 300 yard target to make sure I wasn't the problem and all three shots were touching. I'm looking for a starting point for a 1000 yard round preferably mag length.

Last time I shot the 178HPBTs in my SPSS I got diagonal stringing for some reason, sent some bullets back to Hornady and got a target back that was less than an inch @200yds, and that was with a flier out 3/4" from the rest. Otherwise they shot really good from the first lot#, Im using Win brass and 47.5grs. 2000MR, Id like to get a hold of some 178AMAXs, but the 168s shoot so good I may not need the 178s.

 

[bornhunter04]

I was thinking of loading them longer since my 168's are loaded to 2.910 oal. I didn't see any pressure signs on any if the 178 cases and was gonna go up in grains and start playing with oal. I just put badger bottom metal on my gun and was looking to use the mag instead of single feed. Ill keep posting some info of the results and hopefully find something to shoot out to a grand accurately. Anyone gone on the lower end like 155's and had any luck? I've read a little on some people using them but there isn't much info on any of there recipes.

I run 155 A-maxes in a stock rem 700 sps-v with 1:12 twist.

155gr. A-max
LC Brass
44.5gr. Varget
Fed 210
2.80
2769

This load will shoot under .5 MOA consistently. I also run 168 A-Maxes with 43.3 gr. varget @ 2632. Little slow, might try to work up the load a bit, but it'll hold .5-.7MOA @ 100. Also, the amaxes shoot better in my rifle than the hornady bthp's. I tried the factory hornady blend and received better results with the a-maxes.

I've tried some barnes match burner 155 gr. bullets and they showed a bit of promise, but I haven't been able to repeat the results. I also tried some nosler 155's the other day, but I shot like hot mess, so I'm going to try it again. Also, have some 155gr sierra matchkings to try. Hope to get out and run them this weekend. But so far, the 155 a-maxes are gold in my gun. They really seem to make the jump well.

I've run them all the way out to 800 yards have yet to take them to 1k.

I'd say if you can find some 155's give them a shot, just leave some for me to buy

Also, I've tried some ammo from Southwest Ammunition, the 168's did good. Just like my handloads .5-.75 with an average in the .6's I also got a box of 175's from them. Didn't shoot for shit in my rifle. So my sample size of 1 I believe that 175's are just a bit too heavy.

 

[Maestro Pistolero]

Last time I shot the 178HPBTs in my SPSS I got diagonal stringing for some reason, sent some bullets back to Hornady and got a target back that was less than an inch @200yds, and that was with a flier out 3/4" from the rest.

The only time I ever saw diagonal stringing was when my scope mounting job started to fail, i.e. no locktite.

 

[JGorski]

The only time I ever saw diagonal stringing was when my scope mounting job started to fail, i.e. no locktite.

As you can see by this target there was nothing wrong with my scope mounting, note the target in the upper right, this was shot right after I shot the 178HPBTs.

 

[Boogaloo]

As you can see by this target there was nothing wrong with my scope mounting, note the target in the upper right, this was shot right after I shot the 178HPBTs.

I love the 178 BTHP's, they are extremely accurate when you find the right load for them in your rifle.
For me, that is loaded .015 off the lands and loaded to fly at 2650 fps. If loaded on the lands or jammed, I could not get them to group well at all. But once I started backing them off, slightly, they started to come around really nicely. This is in a Surgeon Scalpel with a Kreiger 24" 1:10.

In a stock (brand new) Remington 700 SPS tactical, the closest I could get the 178 BTHP's to the lands was .110" (one hundred thousandths), which might as well be a mile as far as I am concerned. The rifle in general was barely an MOA rifle @ 100 yards, which is why it went to Chad's place for a make over. The reason I am telling you this is that your factory Remington just might not like the 178 BTHP's. Mine sure didn't but it liked the 168 AMAX's ok. You might have better results sticking with the AMAX's until you get the barrel set back and re-chambered. Have you confirmed that you can seat to the lands with either the AMAX or the BTHP's ? My guess is no, because the last several factory Remy's I have touched were all impossibly deep throated. Does yours perhaps suffer the same malady?

 

[Cameltoehunter]

It is very long throated. It is definitely a half MOA gun out of the box. Shoots 168's like a champ!

 

[JGorski]

I love the 178 BTHP's, they are extremely accurate when you find the right load for them in your rifle.
For me, that is loaded .015 off the lands and loaded to fly at 2650 fps. If loaded on the lands or jammed, I could not get them to group well at all. But once I started backing them off, slightly, they started to come around really nicely. This is in a Surgeon Scalpel with a Kreiger 24" 1:10.

In a stock (brand new) Remington 700 SPS tactical, the closest I could get the 178 BTHP's to the lands was .110" (one hundred thousandths), which might as well be a mile as far as I am concerned. The rifle in general was barely an MOA rifle @ 100 yards, which is why it went to Chad's place for a make over. The reason I am telling you this is that your factory Remington just might not like the 178 BTHP's. Mine sure didn't but it liked the 168 AMAX's ok. You might have better results sticking with the AMAX's until you get the barrel set back and re-chambered. Have you confirmed that you can seat to the lands with either the AMAX or the BTHP's ? My guess is no, because the last several factory Remy's I have touched were all impossibly deep throated. Does yours perhaps suffer the same malady?

Indeed I have tried seating the Hornadys out to the lands and mine are .110" away, too. The first lot# of the 178hpbts shot pretty well with 47.5grs 2000MR, 2nd lot I got what you saw in the pic, I now use them in my Classic stocked/stainless 10 twist 700 deer rifle and they shoot really well in that rig. My SPSS likes having all the Hornady bullets(155-178) seated anywhere from 2.820-2.850", so thats where I seat them, I can honestly say this rifle is a .5moa rifle. This is the best group Ive shot to date with the SPSS, just a tad over an inch @300yds. The other target is typical from my classic 308.
<a href="http://s1113.beta.photobucket.com/user/JGorski80/media/IMG_0450.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k513/JGorski80/IMG_0450.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_0450.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1113.beta.photobucket.com/user/JGorski80/media/IMG_0446-1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k513/JGorski80/IMG_0446-1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_0446-1.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s1113.beta.photobucket.com/user/JGorski80/media/IMG_0580.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k513/JGorski80/IMG_0580.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_0580.jpg"/></a>

 

[Maestro Pistolero]

In a stock (brand new) Remington 700 SPS tactical, the closest I could get the 178 BTHP's to the lands was .110" (one hundred thousandths), which might as well be a mile as far as I am concerned. The rifle in general was barely an MOA rifle @ 100 yards, which is why it went to Chad's place for a make over.

So glad to read this, because that is exactly what I am doing right now for my first bolt gun, an SPS in 300WM. It's going right to Krieger, though. I definitely would not have been satisfied with a barely MOA rifle.

 

[JGorski]

So glad to read this, because that is exactly what I am doing right now for my first bolt gun, an SPS in 300WM. It's going right to Krieger, though. I definitely would not have been satisfied with a barely MOA rifle.

maybe i mentioned this before but my SPSS is a .5MOA gun, all factory barrel, seated a longs ways from the lands. Try it first before you send it away, you might be surprised. Load up some 178AMAXs and 75.5grs RE22, Win primers. If that dont shoot, send it up north.

 

[Mike0341]

What are you considering long range? 168s will get you out to 600 all day. I have shot them pretty often when i cant find the 175s. 175s shoot a bit better out of mine though. At 400 i do not notice much of a difference between the two unless its a windy day.

 

[HD1911]

I also think 168 can be shot out to 1000 just fine, I've seen videos of people shooting out to a mile with a 308 and scoring hits, but my question is the 168 amax better suited for a 1000 yards, more than the Sierra 168?

Absolutely it is.

 

[Mike0341]

i would have to say it depends on the weapon system, the powder used, and even the shooting conditions at times. Im sure some have better luck with one over the other but thats not to say that the other can't be made to shoot well if you developed a load for it. if your going to make up a load of Hornady and a load of SMK then you'll have to adjust everything from powders to seating depth until each one works the way you want it to in YOUR rifle.

 

[HD1911]

168smk was developed over 50yrs ago for international 300m competition. That bullet flat out sucks past 800yrds. It starts to tumble even before it goes subsonic.

 

[Mike0341]

168smk was developed over 50yrs ago for international 300m competition. That bullet flat out sucks past 800yrds. It starts to tumble even before it goes subsonic.

I do not have any experience with the 168 past 600 so that is good information to know. However if the 168 was fired out of a 30-06 or a 300 win then I'm sure it would have better performance than if fired from a 308. I have seen some pretty nice shots taken with 175s out of a 300 win mag and have heard about people using 150gn bullets as well on the win mag platform.

out of a .308 i will agree though since i do start seeing inconsistency at 600 which is the furthest i have been able to shoot so far.

 

[Cameltoehunter]

I've only been shooting past 300 yards for the last year, and was so amazed that it was even possible to hold any kind of group at 500 yards. 175's were really accurate at 500 and it just shocked me to see that 178's loaded the same way shot like shit. It just goes to show that any time I reload a different bullet, no matter how small the change in grains, ill have to start all over with powder and OAL. Guess its a good thing I love this hobby!!!!

 

[Sidk]

175 SMK's
42.7 Ramshot Tac or H4895 almost exactly the same burn rate, colder weather under 55 degrees
any primer
20k of jump

 

[CSAR]

My go to 168smk load is 43.5gr varget loaded way long, Ogive 2.310 (not mag length). Still trying to find a decent 175smk load and so far it's 43.7 varget with the same length as my 168 load. I've tried 175smk over 45gr varget loaded to 2.800 COAL and my SPS-t didn't like it at all. 200yd group looked like a shotgun pattern. I've shot the 168's out to 625yds with excellent results. After reading Litz's book I'd like to switch away from the 168s but just haven't found a 175 combo yet that will shoot on par with the 168's. I may try some Amax's when their available.

 

[lwssdk]

Looking for some help along the lines you have been talking about. I'm new to this forum, been hangin' in the M14 forum. I have a SPS currently w/26" barrel, looking to have it taken down to 24". Also am currently shooting 165g sst's with 44 gr varget. Shoots clover leafs @ 100y. Great load for wht tails. At just less than 100y an 8 pointer's back shoulder hit the ground. Virtually no meat loss, but to the point. I have purchased some 175 grn Graff hpbt to play with. According to what I have read in this forum I want to stick with Varget and a similar load. (44gr+-), O.A.L. should be 2.81-2.830. Sound like a good starting place to you? Also, can you recommend a solid gun smith for the barrel length modification.