Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

C

CenterMassHit

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Minuteman
Jun 5, 2012
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Arkansas
#1
I have a Remington 700 SPS Tactical .308 with a 20" barrel and a 1:12 right hand twist. I would like to make an experimental hand load using 110 grain Hornady V-Max projectiles. I'll be picking up some kind of primers, and about a pound of varget, prior to this weekend where I will drive to my father's property to do some shooting at 212 yards across a draw in the Ozarks. He said he just polished some brass (commercial brass) today that I could use, so he'll provide that. I got 100 of these projectiles on the way from midway and should be in by Friday. The reason I'm doing this is because I'm purposely building a load for plinking at that range & vaporizing 12 oz. aluminum soft drink cans filled with water. I wanted something with the lowest recoil possible (mainly so I can spot my own hits as easily as possible), flat shooting, high velocity, yet being able to group well (1 MOA or less at 212 ideally; I think beer cans are about 4.5 inches wide so 2.25 inches tolerance to either side and up and down should give me a theoretical 100% hit rate on a beer can at that range if I do my part)

So my questions are:

1. Is this projectile too light for my barrel's twist rate or is there such a thing as it being too light, and if so, will this cause stability issues for the projectile and cause it to wobble and/or not group well at about 212 yards?

2. I know that it is a flat based, relatively low BC projectile. However, has anyone got experience with this projectile on just how far you can get it to hold 1 MOA or under groups under average conditions?

3. I know this bullet is pretty short from tip to base, and although I'm inexperienced at hand loading, I already wonder how far my jump will be for the projectile before it engages the lands. Even if it does jump a bit more than the ideal range, hopefully that won't cause too much in-bore yaw. Anyhoo, as you can see I'm concerned about this. So does anyone have experience with this projectile in knowing how close you can get to the lands without compromising bullet seat depth? Maybe it won't even be an issue but I'd like to know beforehand. It's just an odd hand load and any advice from someone who is either an expert or has experience with it or both would be appreciated. What sort of issues might I run into?, etc.
 
#2
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

Don't worry about how far it's jumping to lands. If you haven't bought powder yet, I would suggest 4895 over the Varget you mentioned.

I've never used that bullet, but I've played around w/ 125gr Nos. BT's. They shoot sub-M.O.Crow out to a few hundred yds.
 
#3
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

If the V-max doesn't work out, you might try some Sierra Pro-Hunters or Hornady hollow points. I've had poor luck with V-max's in my 30-06 and several .270s. While not exactly what you are planning, I'm running 110 Pro Hunters out of 3 different .270s at about 3,400 fps and they are working very well on mule deer - within 3" of point of aim out to about 325 yards, and under (in one rifle, well under) 1 MOA. My '06 loads were reduced, but the Sierras worked well for that, too.
Good luck!
 
#5
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

Look at the Hornady or the Sierra loading manual online for that bullet and work up a load using the ladder test or Optimum charge weight method. The twist rate is fine for that size pill.
 
#7
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

I used to shoot alot of the Speer 130 grain bullets. They worked great out to the 300 yards I was shooting at the time. Low recoil, yet long enough for the neck to get a decent grip on them.
 
#8
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

I would not choose Varget. XBR-8208 works really well within that bullet weight and is super accurate, and it meters well even with a Dillon. The 110 should work ok, however my best overall light bullet has been the Speer 125 TNT, it seems to shoot well in both bolt guns and AR-10s.
 
#9
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

I had a light load in 308 that used 125 ballistic tips that was fun to shoot and accurate. It consisted of a 125 grain Hornady ballistic tip over 38 grains of IMR 4895. Velocity was 2150 fps out of a 16" barrel. Very little recoil even though the gun weighed about 6.5 lbs scoped.

Don't worry about having too much twist. I shoot 110 V-max's out of my 300 BLK, and it's a 1 in 8 twist. They shoot around 1.5" at 100, with a velocity of 2150 fps. The wind will kill you though. I've shot them out to 350 yards at that velocity, and they are all over the place even in a relatively light breeze. Should make for good wind call practice.
-Dan
 
#10
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

i shoot the sierra 110 hp. Using h335 in winchester brass gets me 3500fps out of a 24 inch barrel. shoots 1/2 moa at 100 and sub moa to 400yds.
 
#11
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

smile.gif
Awesome information guys, thanks. Gives me a lot more confidence about giving this a try. My dad will help me through the simple stuff; he's real old fashioned, and even though he's got a ton of experience, I think perhaps to a certain extent he's been drinking his own bathwater so to speak with some of his knowledge. He's got his old tried and true ways of doing things that seem to work for him, with his little 20 year old reloading equipments and what not, and so I bring all this internet stuff and what about this, what about that at him. Haha, it's just funny when you think about it. Anyway, he's taught me a ton about internal and exterior ballistics which I value a lot despite his old timer superstitions, skepticism about "new fangled" things, and quirks.

I will definitely try those other powders you guys mentioned, and hopefully I can get fps somewhere close to 3400 or so with my 20" barrel. I'll definitely check the factory recommended ladder procedure with the loads for that projectile. Now that I think of it I wonder just how much you can push that puppy before stuff starts getting out of hand.
grin.gif
 
#12
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Now that I think of it I wonder just how much you can push that puppy before stuff starts getting out of hand.</div></div>

If you want to get crazy, load a really light bullet over Varget in a 300wm. A 125gr Nosler BT @ 3,600fps makes soup out of critters
smile.gif
 
#13
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

Btw, here's one of the only negative reviews I found for the projectile (110 Grain Hornady V-Max) on midwayusa, it sort of relates to the velocity question and makes me wonder what this guy's deal was:

***********
Brent DeMuth of Tryon, OK
3 stars
Date Posted: 5/19/2011
I tried these in my custom 300 Win Mag with a 1:10 twist, over IMR4350 trying to develop a varmint load. In a 20 shot test 9 of them came apart in flight at around 3620 FPS from the muzzle. The 11 that made it to the target grouped 1.4 inches on average. My bore was clean and free of any obstruction that would cause excessive friction. I think I'll try the Nosler 125 grain ballistic tips next time.
**********

Now, was that you? lol, just joking. He went with the Noslers. I'll have to try them out too now I guess. Perhaps if you put 110 grain 30 cal varminter projos into 300 win mag, 30-378, etc, they just don't have enough mass to stay in one piece at 3600+ ? Curious physics subject here. I haven't looked at the factory maximum load recommendations for this yet but perhaps the recommended max load gets nowhere near what this guy was doing.

Update: Just went and tried to find loading data for this bullet, and didn't find any official hornady pdf files on it online. But, while googling I did run into this single load recommendation from 6mmBR dot com:

"Reloader 15 47.0 F210m Hornady 110 V-Max Win 3200 fps Accurate, hard-hitting Varmint Load. Try .010" into lands"
 
#14
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

Ive had excellent accuracy with the vmax in several rifles. My little 308 rem vtr has put out some +2" groups @ 350yds. Its also very sccurate with plinking loads using trailboss.
 
#16
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

When you get into the 3400 fps and higher, it isn't the pure mass of the bullet but the revolutions per minute that makes them come apart. The old .220 Swift had that problem with the light jacketed bullets it used at first.
 
#17
Re: Low recoil 110 gr. projectile in .308 - questions

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MontanaMarine</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Rem 700 SPS Varmint, 308 Win
26" bbl
1/12 twist

110gr VMax, moly'd
Win brass
CCI 200 primer
45gr RL-7
2.75" oal
3400 fps

5 shots, 105 yards,
308110grVMax.jpg
</div></div> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: former naval person</div><div class="ubbcode-body">When you get into the 3400 fps and higher, it isn't the pure mass of the bullet but the revolutions per minute that makes them come apart. The old .220 Swift had that problem with the light jacketed bullets it used at first. </div></div>

I appreciate the info. Nice group. This is bad news for the beer cans filled with water. Hopefully the People's movement for the Ethical Treatment of Beer cans filled with water (PETB) won't report me. Also, thanks former naval person. Don't know where I got the mass notion, I mean I guess if I spun myself fast enough at some point my arms would come off haha.
 
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