230 gr Projectile too heavy for a .308?

[John1999]

Hey guys, what do you think of the Berger 230 gr Match Hybrid Target? Is it too heavy for a .308? I usually stick with the 155 grain and the 175, but I feel like trying something new. If that projectile is any good what powder do you guys recommend for it? Any help would be appreciated, thanks. (I'm using a 28 inch barrel with 1:10 twist.)

 

[Jaytil]

No, it's not too heavy from what I found.

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...-30cal-230-gr-hybrid-target-range-report.html

 

[steve123]

Still shooting those 230's in my 30-375R.

Just this last weekend I shot the high score with them at the AZPRC. Man those things ravage steel at distance. One of our steels is welded to a truck suspension spring. I was laughing because the steel flapped around so much.

I'm not sure how well the 230's would work in a 308???

 

[mdmp5]

No, it's not too heavy from what I found.

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...-30cal-230-gr-hybrid-target-range-report.html

He asked about the 230 in a 308. The report is from steve123 shooting a wildcat at 3000+ fps.

Personally, I wouldn't waste the bullets in a 308. You are gonna get maybe just under 2200 fps max. It may be a great bullet, but at that velocity, your range is gonna be pretty limited for what the bullet is capable of. In other words, you can most likely get better performance with less lob with a 175. If you want to try it for kicks, that's one thing. But I don't see any practical reason to shoot that heavy through a 308. And if you do, you need at least a 10 twist barrel at the most.

 

[40xs]

You will just have to try it! Some are reporting fair to good results and some are not. a 230 gr is asking a whole lot out of a .308 velocity window. the 30-375r vs. .308 is like comparing apples to walnuts. The b.c. is dependant on exit velocity as much as the rate of twist. your twist rate is probably ok, but I'm wondering if you will have sufficient velocity to compliment the bullet's b.c. I'm guessing low 2500's to high 2400's. That bullet is going to eat up a lot of case capacity.

 

[mdmp5]

I'm guessing low 2500's to high 2400's. That bullet is going to eat up a lot of case capacity.

Just as a reference, factory FGMM 175 is about 2600. My M1A was clocked at about 2450 with 168s. 230s will be pretty slow.

 

[Down South]

I've got a barrel i chambered for my newer FTR rig especially for the 230s (switch barrel setup). I worked up a load with them using H4350 and Tula mag primers in Lapua brass (Velocity was 2440 ish with 45 gr 4350 jumping .015 to the lands and the ES was in the low teens for 10 shots, i ran them much hotter/faster in testing but this is where it really shot well, most guys are running them faster). My barrel for the 230s is a 9.25 twist Brux 30 inches long. The load shot REALLY well in load work off the bench at 200 and 300 yards with a high end front rest and rear bag but it was a different story on the bipod. On the bipod form/position is critical and issues can and will arise if everything isnt right. I shot this load in one match, the Tennessee LR Championships and had vertical problems all weekend. My wind calls were on the money and the wind bucking ability of this bullet was great but dropping many points to vertical when the shooters on the side of you are holding waterline aint a fun place to be. Long story short, i went back to the 185 and 200s (Berger hybrids and juggernauts) with my other barrel (10 twist 30 inch Brux) and life is good as it held great vertical and hammered in the last two matches i shot!

 

[gstaylorg]

There are some people shooting the 230 Hybrids in a .308 for F-TR matches. They will require a lot of freebore so you can seat them out to get enough powder in the case, and somewhere around 9.5-10 twist rate. In the neighborhood of 2450 - 2500 fps muzzle velocity can be achieved with a 30" barrel. In addition to the fairly unusual reloading requirements, a big downside is recoil. In that velocity range, recoil is substantially higher with these big pills than with a 175 to 185 gr bullet, and therefore requires a lot more consistency and focus out of the driver to get good results.

 

[ksthomas]

John1999,

Yes, it's possible, but your velocity (as the other guys have mentioned) is going to be very low. David Tubb spent a season playing with the Sierra 240 MK at long range, and is no longer going that route, if that's any indication. I'd also add, the 1x10" twist which has long been common for the .30-06, came about because the original bullet intended for those barrels was a 220 grain FMJ. It was also a RN design, making it considerably shorter than the modern HPBT configurations we're talking about. Given the longer bullet, and smaller case (308 Win), I think you're going to have some major stability problems with this combination. If memory serves, I think Tubb was using a 1x8" in his 308 when he was messing with the 240s way back when.

 

[Down South]

Hey guys, what do you think of the Berger 230 gr Match Hybrid Target? Is it too heavy for a .308? I usually stick with the 155 grain and the 175, but I feel like trying something new. If that projectile is any good what powder do you guys recommend for it? Any help would be appreciated, thanks. (I'm using a 28 inch barrel with 1:10 twist.)

If you wanna run heavier bullets, go with the 200 gr hybrids, not 230s IMO (Been there, done that as stated in my previous post about 230s). They shoot great (200s) and with your twist rate and barrel length it should work well. My older F-TR gun was a 28 inch barreled 11 twist and it shot the 200 hybrid better than anything else i ever tried in it. N-150 is my personal powder of choice for that bullet but most guys are running Varget with a few i know of even using H4350 but you gotta have a long throat to seat the bullet wayyyyy out to get enough powder in the case for 4350. A good node that won't kill your brass with the 200s is just under 2600 ftps. Im running about 2570 ish and its a absolute hammer. If you wanna try to get up to the next node 2640 ish it'll wear your brass out faster and be pretty stiff. I think the nodes over 2600 ftps are reachable with 30-32 inch barrels pretty easy. Im talking about single based stick powders (Varget, N-150 etc.) not double based powders (N-550 etc.)..........Just my .02........Good luck!

 

[mdmp5]

I didn't factor in the prospect of using a 30" barrel. I was thinking about a 20-24" barrel.

 

[mdmp5]

I'd like to hear from anyone using this bullet in a 300 win mag.

 

[MontanaMarine]

FWIW, I did some load workup using the Hornady 225gr BTHP in the 308. I moly'd them up, loaded to 3.08" oal, and fueled them with RL17. I made 2500 fps via 20.5" Rem 1/12 varmint bbl. Shot well to 1200 yards.

Pics and details here,

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...ady-225gr-bthp-308-win-rl17-range-report.html

 

[Jaytil]

I didn't factor in the prospect of using a 30" barrel. I was thinking about a 20-20" barrel.

OP states he is running a 28" barrel with a 1-10" twist.

 

[Rookie]

Trying to shoot those heavy bullets in a 20 inch barreled 308 is the worst possible combination. The bullet is designed for the magnums, not the 308. It takes a slow burning powder to launch a heavy bullet and it takes a long barrel to burn the slow burning powder. I'd be surprised if you could get more than 2000-2200fps out of a 20 incher. Stick to the light bullets and fast powders in that short gun.

 

[J-ROD]

I got them to go 2515-2530 in win brass, 47gn of H4350, 3.050"ish oal. Amazing accuracy but as mentioned, they can knock you out of position through long strings. I have a 1:10 30" criterion fwiw.
I shot them at 1,060yds and they really do buck the wind but you gotta be on point to keep vertical in check.
I'm going back to 185 & 200 hybrids as well. Not worth the loading pita.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[ZoeJaneXy]

Here’s the load data from Berger.