Range Report Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

[Gravity_Knight]

Talking Hornady SST Superformance in particular although I have seen similar results with other ammo as well....

According to several calculators (JBM, gseven etc.)
The 150gr in a 308 drops less than the 165, stays supersonic longer, and is only effected by wind ever so very slightly worse than the 165s. I'm having trouble finiding a reason to stay with the 165s I've been shooting.... (unless I was hunting an animal beyond 300 yards and was looking for a little more knockdown.. which 165 barely edges out the 150 here too).

I am shooting out to 600 yards right now, I'd like to go as far as 800. I'm not shooting game. Seems to me the 150gr is a better choice because it's flatter and faster.. less chance for scope adjustment error if the exact distance isn't known?

Only other argument would be which works better with my gun. Rem 700 SPS Tactical w/ 20" barrel. I am happy with the 165's, more accurate than any other brand I've tried personally. I'm thinking of ordering a couple boxes of 150's but I'd hate to make a mistake here, what am I missing??

Sorry for the long post, thanks for any advice/opinions!

Todd

 

[flar10]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

won't cost much to give it a try....then you'll have your answer

 

[BobinNC]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Granity_Knight</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Talking Hornady SST Superformance in particular although I have seen similar results with other ammo as well....

According to several calculators (JBM, gseven etc.)
The 150gr in a 308 drops less than the 165, stays supersonic longer, and is only effected by wind ever so very slightly worse than the 165s. I'm having trouble finiding a reason to stay with the 165s I've been shooting.... (unless I was hunting an animal beyond 300 yards and was looking for a little more knockdown.. which 165 barely edges out the 150 here too).

I am shooting out to 600 yards right now, I'd like to go as far as 800. I'm not shooting game. Seems to me the 150gr is a better choice because it's flatter and faster.. less chance for scope adjustment error if the exact distance isn't known?

Only other argument would be which works better with my gun. Rem 700 SPS Tactical w/ 20" barrel. I am happy with the 165's, more accurate than any other brand I've tried personally. I'm thinking of ordering a couple boxes of 150's but I'd hate to make a mistake here, what am I missing??

Sorry for the long post, thanks for any advice/opinions!

Todd </div></div>

Todd,

Is Hornady Superperformance ammo is your thing, you should really take a gander at this round:

178 Gr Match Superperformance

It puts the 150 grain offering to shame at range:

For example at 1000 yds:

150 gr Superperformance SST @3000 fps

1000 yds drop -9.5 Mils -32.7 MOA drift 3.0 Mils 10.3 MOA

178 gr Superperformance Match @2775 fps

1000 yds Drop -9.4 Mils -32.4 MOA 2.4 Mils 8.2 MOA

Now that's a LR round....

 

[Gravity_Knight]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

That does sound like a good performing cartridge!! I guess my only concern is that it's a match bullet and the SST "could" be used to shoot an animal. I'm not a big hunter but I do go after coyotes around my land (80 acres so it can be fairly long distance). Obviously I wouldn't be taking a shot at one at 800 yards, but I might at 400-600 at some point. Am I right thinking those match bullets are probably not the right thing to fling at a coyote?

I'd like to stick with one bullet for a little of everything.. (that way I can memorize most of the dope needed for my scope and do it on the fly) maybe I'm dreaming with that goal? (I'm still learning lol)

Thanks for the info and help

 

[BobinNC]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

Todd,

Stick a 178 gr Match bullet into a coyotes boiler room and the only place he's going is on a celestial dirt nap.

 

[Gravity_Knight]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

HAHA!! I would have thought so but hate to ASSume.

It does outperform the 150gr in wind by far too which would be nice around here.

 

[Gravity_Knight]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

Well I live in the middle of nowhere so making a trip to town to buy ammo wasn't happening this week. Only way to order and make it worth while is to get a few....

So I bought 3 boxes of the 178gr SF and 2 boxes of 150gr SST SF... and I will be comparing it to the 165gr SST SF I've grown to like.. I have a feeling the 165 is out regardless, both the 150 and 178 look better on paper, but we'll see what my rifle thinks.

 

[Shooter21]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

A 178 AMAX will expand like a varmint projectile... They kill quite well

 

[Grump]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

Centerpunched a 2-liter soda jug full of water at 518 yards last Saturday, and the 178 A-Max blew it open rather nicely, splitting both entry and exit.

A-Maxes might be a bit lightly-built for elk, but for coyotes, I believe that expansion is important only at 6mm and smaller caliber, and farther away than 250 yards...but that's just me guessing. They are just not that big.

 

[Gravity_Knight]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

Would one of these 178g superformance BTHP match bullets take down a deer/antelope? (if so what kind of range) Or is that pushing the limits of whats ethically decent to do to an animal.. I don't plan to hunt any, just getting an idea of this bullets capability.

I really hope this stuff shows up soon, really looking to do some comparisons and get some dope worked out!

According to paper balisitcs, the 150gr SST Superformance will make a fast flat no/low wind bullet. But it looks like the 178 will provide some super long range performance and would be the bullet of choice if there is decent wind present.

 

[Gravity_Knight]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

Just wanted to give some updates on this-

I got 3 boxes of 150g SST Superformance and 3 boxes of 178g Superformance HPBT and I have shot some of each.

The 150's shoot flatter than anything else I have tried. Cool... however at 600 and 700 yards I start to see less accuracy vs. the 165g SST Superformance. Maybe it's just me, I'm no expert by any means, but so far this has been the case.

The 178's which on paper outperform the 165's did not in real life (with my 20" barrel rifle) For whatever reason these had the most drop out of these 3 ammos... Like 15" more drop at 700 yards vs. the 150g.

I wasn't real impressed with their accuracy out there either... again, it "seems" like the 165's just group better with my gun. I have a few more boxes of this stuff so I will be doing some more testing before I give up on these 178's

I'm wondering if my 20" 1:12 barrel just isn't enough to really get these 178's out fast and stabilized??

 

[Scouter19D]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

Thanks for all the great info. Now if only you could use any of those loads in an M14....

 

[CleanMoostang]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

Me and a few other Hide members shot this past weekend. The 150gr's SST's did great in my SPS Tactical 20''. I got a ridicously small group at 508 yards with 3 shots, close to an inch.

And I was ringing the still at 954 yards no problem..

 

[Lukas Koukal]

Re: Superformance 150gr vs 165 (308) why use 165's??

Not wanting to introduce a new thread, would anyone happen to have the G7 for the .308 150grs SST? Hornady lists only the G1 on their web and my google-fu´s failing me.