7.62- 168gr vs 175gr?
- Thread starter 2680fps
- Start date
I prefer the 175/178's as they generaly shoot just as good as the 168's yet buck the wind better and remain stable past the 168's max range. I have shot the 178 AMAX from my 20" AR to 1000 with no problems at all. Even going transonic around 900-950, all bullets went in straight at 1000 where as 168's start to loose it.
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I shoot both out of my gas and bolt guns. The 168's are fine but in windy ass Wyoming once you get out there the 175's help a lot.
Are you using a mild load? Mine are still supersonic to 1100-1150 for my 178 AMAX @ 2644 muzzle. I'm using a 1-10 twist 20in barrel.
I just spent all Friday and Saturday watching both bullets go downrange through the spotting scope while coaching for 6 different shooters at our Precision Rifle Clinic up at BoomerShoot. If we're talking factory loads, the 175gr is much less affected by wind. Two equal rifles....I would choose the 175gr all day long, although I got totally out of .308 personally.
When I did shoot .308, it was the 155gr Scenar, and I would use it or one of the new 155gr Sierra's #2156 Palma bullet with the higher BC of .504 (not the old Palma). You can drive it to over 2800fps from a 22" no problem in most rifles, and the .504 BC applies at over 2700fps.
You need to be very experienced with your wind calls to be successful with any of these bullets. The 175gr SMK at 2700fps is a very solid shooter, while the factory 168's from Federal tend to be anemic in velocity at 2530-2550fps. I personally shoot the .260 in this class of rifle, which is a wind-cheater, and has a very flat trajectory, especially with 123gr, 129gr, and 130gr pills. I loaded up some 129gr SST's and had very good performance from them, even though the BC is .485 G1.
When I did shoot .308, it was the 155gr Scenar, and I would use it or one of the new 155gr Sierra's #2156 Palma bullet with the higher BC of .504 (not the old Palma). You can drive it to over 2800fps from a 22" no problem in most rifles, and the .504 BC applies at over 2700fps.
You need to be very experienced with your wind calls to be successful with any of these bullets. The 175gr SMK at 2700fps is a very solid shooter, while the factory 168's from Federal tend to be anemic in velocity at 2530-2550fps. I personally shoot the .260 in this class of rifle, which is a wind-cheater, and has a very flat trajectory, especially with 123gr, 129gr, and 130gr pills. I loaded up some 129gr SST's and had very good performance from them, even though the BC is .485 G1.
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I use that scope on top of an m1a and with 175 grain bullets at about 2550-2600 it is pretty dead on to 600 or so. However no BDC dial will be exact and the farther you get out the greater the difference will be. Hot loads really outrun it at 1000 or so I think I was 4ft high.
I concur with this.
I only shoot 168s through the SCAR. My loads tend to be a hair more consistent than the 175s, and it never sees anything past 400yds.
Sergeant, Can I come back to this......
I'm new to this forum and would like to ask you; what barrel lenght do you have for the 175 Grain SMK's? What do you load?
In Europe we hardly see 175 grain SMK's on long distance in .308 ( say 700 - 1000 yards or meters.)
Wind is pulling them more asside than the 155 scenars. If it would be possible to shoot it supersonic at 1000 mtrs. I will try them.
Have you any experiance with the new SMK 155 nr. 2156?
Thanks for your update.
Dutch shooter
Most people in america who shoot long distance seriously will be using berger bullets. They have really high BCs and are manufactured to very tight tolerances.
175 sierra's strength is that it is jump tolerant. You can load them to the magazine and still get good to great accuracy out of them. So for a semi-auto rifle they are great and you don't have to push it very hard to get adequate performance at long range. A typical factory match loading of the 175 sierra will be 2600fps average from a 22-24" barrel.
2156 sierra is for palma shooting. They are supposed to work as well as the 155 scenars and load the same but my experience with them is very limited so I can't say for sure about that.
175 sierra's strength is that it is jump tolerant. You can load them to the magazine and still get good to great accuracy out of them. So for a semi-auto rifle they are great and you don't have to push it very hard to get adequate performance at long range. A typical factory match loading of the 175 sierra will be 2600fps average from a 22-24" barrel.
2156 sierra is for palma shooting. They are supposed to work as well as the 155 scenars and load the same but my experience with them is very limited so I can't say for sure about that.
