.308WIN Sierra 155gr Palma (2156) vs Hornady 168gr ELD-M from a 20" barrel?

[Basher]

So I've listened to Episode 99 of the Every Day Sniper regarding short barreled .308s (it's been awhile, and I plan to re-listen to it tomorrow), and how well the 168gr ELD-M performed. I've got a few hundred headed my way, but I'm curious about Sierra's 155gr Palma (the newer 2156). I don't have an issue shooting heavies (shooting mostly FGMM 175 right now), but pushing the lighter pills faster apparently got good results for Frank and Mike. For the Sierra Palma, it seems the intended use is in longer barrels at higher velocities (2900fps or above, with lots of guys running looong barrels at 3000 or above), but if I put the basics into JBM I find that the 155 at even just 2800fps outperforms the 168 ELDs. Maybe not by a ton, but it's there.

Has anyone used them from a shorter barrel and had consistently good results out to 1000? Most of the targets at our club matches are 600 and in with only a handful being farther, but there ARE several between 600 and a grand (and the 1K is used almost every match). I have no wild ideology that I'm going to win a match any time soon, especially with a short barreled .308 and my current skill set , but I also don't want to waste my time/money trying the 155s if I'm going to be running on pure luck to get hits at distance regardless of my own abilities or lack thereof. The 168 ELDs seem to be proven performers at that distance out of short barrels, but my searching (at least thus far) has shown very little on the 155s from a 20". I'd love to hear anyone else's experience with them, or heck, throw the 155 ELDs in there as well. I'm not recoil shy, but if I can push the lighter stuff fast enough and enjoy a performance advantage (as suggested by JBM) at distance, that would be welcomed.

 

[Petrov]

I run the OLD sierra 155gr palmas out of a 24"ish barrel.
Heavier bullet will do better in the wind generally speaking comparing lets say 155 gr berger bullet to 185 jugg.

 

[FishDr]

You won't know until you try them out... What is the twist of that 20" barrel?
I have used the 2156 in two barrels.. 26" with 1"12 twist (factory Remmy) got me about 2960
Have a shorty 16.5" with 1:10 twist.. same load gets me about 2830.
130fps difference over 10" barrel length is about 13fps/inch. I would expect a 20' barrel will be in the 2900 range.
NOTE: these loads are a bit stiff, but not over pressure. Been accurate in several 308s

 

[MaximusDecimusMeidius]

The Hornady factory 168 ELD Superperformance is really a great factory ammo choice if trying to narrow the gap some between 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor. I've always had great luck out of it in several different 308 barrels both factory and custom 1:11.25 twist and faster.

 

[MaximusDecimusMeidius]

The recoil in the super performance load does sort of start to feel like it's approaching 30-06 territory though.

 

[Basher]

I run the OLD sierra 155gr palmas out of a 24"ish barrel.
Heavier bullet will do better in the wind generally speaking comparing lets say 155 gr berger bullet to 185 jugg.

I’ll have to run the numbers again tonight, but I could swear the 155 Palmas were neck and neck with regard to wind, and over a mil better with drop. I’ll run them again and post the results JBM spits out.

You won't know until you try them out... What is the twist of that 20" barrel?
I have used the 2156 in two barrels.. 26" with 1"12 twist (factory Remmy) got me about 2960
Have a shorty 16.5" with 1:10 twist.. same load gets me about 2830.
130fps difference over 10" barrel length is about 13fps/inch. I would expect a 20' barrel will be in the 2900 range.
NOTE: these loads are a bit stiff, but not over pressure. Been accurate in several 308s

I’m running an FN SPR w/ 1:10 twist. Those numbers are encouraging for the 155s. Still slower than the actual Palma guys with 30” barrels, but pretty good for a 20”. And I’m fine with stiff loads if the rifle likes them, just looking to get as much performance as I can with what I have. This Corona stuff has me cutting back and re-prioritizing, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be listing my 6.5CM soon. I just can’t afford to feed all the calibers I have, and with most of our targets being 600 and in as noted in the OP, I think a high performance load from my .308 will work just fine until things improve and I can justify building a 6.5 again.

 

[Sixfivesavage]

I'm running 185 jugs at 2585 fps from an AX that's about 18" including the tenon. So roughly 16" of rifling. What do those bullets need to be moving at to beat the jug?

 

[FishDr]

Shooting a stiff 308 will make you a better shooter... must be solid on the fundamentals to control recoil well. And wind reading becomes a bit more important. 600 and in will be no problems. Enjoy and have fun.
I think there were some 2156 palmas listed in the PX....

 

[Kimber.204]

I've got two .308's that really like the 155's (2156) - but they also like the 168's (Amax/Zmax/SMK/TMK) and the 185 Jug's....recoil with the 155's feels about the same as the 168's out of my 24" FN....but it is less than the 185's. But honestly, I haven't shot any of them beyond 450yds....so I can't speak to that side of things. I seem to recall I'm getting around 2900 - 2925 with the 155's and the 24" FN A5M.

 

[918v]

The 168 is easier to tune and can easily get up to 2700 FPS with superb accuracy in a 20” barrel. You can get to 2800 with the 155 but how will it shoot? That bullet is kinda picky in my experience. The ELD is easy to work with.