I am shooting a 26” .308 rifle and I’m trying to get opinions on bullet weight for 1000 yard shooting. I have shot 168grn and 175grn loads at this distance and the 168 requires less adjustment. Apart from energy in target, is there a clear cut advantage to a heavier bullet?
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Bullet weight question
- Thread starter Smurph_
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Potentially higher BC. Depending on your choice and MV. Stability also.
It will depend on your rifle set up, velocity, DA, range
It will depend on your rifle set up, velocity, DA, range
You just need to try a bunch of different ones and see what works best outta your gun. I hear the 185 jugg is a good bullet.
Yup. The 175 does better in the wind and will just perform better beyond 750 or 800.... the 168's can do it but the 175 does it better
Familiarize yourself with ballistic coefficients, and use them to compare bullets. Bullet weight is only a general indicator of how slippery a bullet will be. For example, a berger 155 hybrid has an almost identical BC to a sierra 175 smk. Launched at the same speed, they would drop and drift identically, with the 175 having more ebergy on target. But since you can launch the 155 berger roughly 150 fps faster, it will stomp the shit out of the 175. JBM has free online software to make these comparisons.
Agree with all of the above - also see the 308 thread in the reloading section. The 208 eld-m does great out of my 24" 11.25 twist.
To answer your question directly - with form factor being equal, the heavier, higher BC bullet will have a clear cut advantage in "lag time" that equates to less wind drift. This will mitigate the effects of errors in wind estimation.
The cost of this advantage is recoil and a smaller point blank range. The danger space at distance will be nearly equivalent, and with KD targets or laser range finders, range estimate errors may not be a factor for you regardless.
The cost of this advantage is recoil and a smaller point blank range. The danger space at distance will be nearly equivalent, and with KD targets or laser range finders, range estimate errors may not be a factor for you regardless.
much of it depends on your rifle
i have a rifle that will do about 1 inch groups at 100 yards with 165grain but touching holes with 175 grain
i have a rifle that will do about 1 inch groups at 100 yards with 165grain but touching holes with 175 grain
Just gotta try a bunch of ‘em. I found the Berger 210 VLD-H to be the most accurate at 1000 yards out of my 26” 308. Launching them right at 2700.
// HIJACK INBOUND //
I gotta ask... what's your load? That's about where I topped out with my .30-06 (208 ELD-M, granted), and I was a smidge over book. I would be hugely stoked to get anything 2550 or above from the 200+ class bullets from a .308 - but, it could be I'm just tame/lame.
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When max book loads are showing 2400-2450fps, and the extra 2" of barrel is worth maybe 50fps... I'm going to guess MAYBE... lol a little over pressure.
I had very good performance with my .308, shooting smk 175's using lapua brass and 43.7gr of Accurate 2520 with CCI BR-2 . I don't have the speeds written in my load book but it was moving pretty good. I think I was at 2750 or better. Drilled 1120yds repeatedly on a 10x12 plate as well as at 1000 and 700yds. 21" barrel.
OP: use one of the online resources for determination of max mass projo your twist will stabilize. Then look at BC for that upper bullet mass range. I like the Bergers. I've had no problem getting to 1K with an AR-10 shooting factory 168's but you can do better with heavier high BC bullets, especially in a longer barreled bolt action.
I shoot a 26” .308 for Tac and use a 168 ELD now. Great bullet. Get them going around 2750fps pretty easy and with a BC of .526 it does great to 1000+. Have shot them to 1250 yards in matches.
Also don’t confuse the old “168 is bad” train of thought now. As already posted here some don’t understand this. That is based on the 168 SMK which is not good at transonic and has a low .462 BC. Newer 168 bullets can do very well at long range and have better BCs than the old 175 SMK that people praise. Same for the newer 175/178 which are about the heaviest I go to in a .308. I find that weight range is a good all around for BC and flatter shooting. You can lob in heavier bullets and get some better wind or shoot flatter with lighter bullets but I find the 168-178 mid range to be a good place for the .308.
Also don’t confuse the old “168 is bad” train of thought now. As already posted here some don’t understand this. That is based on the 168 SMK which is not good at transonic and has a low .462 BC. Newer 168 bullets can do very well at long range and have better BCs than the old 175 SMK that people praise. Same for the newer 175/178 which are about the heaviest I go to in a .308. I find that weight range is a good all around for BC and flatter shooting. You can lob in heavier bullets and get some better wind or shoot flatter with lighter bullets but I find the 168-178 mid range to be a good place for the .308.
Have you tried the 169 SMK? There's been a pretty long discussion about it here. It appears to hit the sweet spot for .308 - if you can find them. I've been shooting factory FGMM 175 SMK and 185 Berger JN exclusively for the past few years as they shoot very well out of my 24" Howa .308, and I layed in a pretty deep supply, but this Sierra 169 SMK makes me want to get back into reloading again.
I'm also running 168 ELD-Ms at 2750, and that combo is pretty potent for a 308 trainer ot tac class rifle.
My load is 47.7 grains of RL-17 if my memory serves me. I’m sure it’s hot and I have to single load them. But it’s just so damn accurate. The Lapua brass seems to take it. 26” Mullerworks barrel chambered by the boys at Southern Precision Rifles. I also don’t shoot when it’s hot outside (I’ll be on a river somewhere instead) so I can’t speak to temperature sensitivity with it. Anyway that is the load I worked up for hunting. Too much money and recoil for casual target shooting so I’m currently running the 155 and 168 ELD-M’s with Shooters World Precision Rifle or RL-15.
