bullets for 308 win

[pjracer]

Newby here. I am currently working up loads for my 700 pss for long range deer hunting. I have berger vld 155, horn 150 sp, 150 ballistic tip. Has anyone used these bullets or can suggest something else?

[linksmechanic]

I shoot the berger 190's out of mine and love them. Excellent accuracy and they kill stuff bang flop.

[pjracer]

Will those stabilize out of a 1 in 12 twist barrel?

[landcbeitner]

In a 1:12 twist the Berger 168gr VLD's will shoot well. Try them behind 42.5gr of IMR 4064 (very accurate).

I have a 1:10 twist and use the Berger 185gr VLD's wich didn't shoot to hot with a 1:12 twist.

Not sure how the 155gr Lapua Scenar does on deer but for target shooting I'm getting about 2900fps out of a 25" Shilen barrel with superb accuracy even beyond 700yds (45gr Varget *max is 44.8 according to Sierra manual) no pressure signs.

[linksmechanic]

land is right they won't stabilize in a 1:12 mine is a 1:10. I would try what he said the 168's.

[Rymart]

FWIW, the 190 SMK's stabilize and shoot well out of my 1:11 twist 308 barrel.

[landcbeitner]

Originally Posted by Rymart

FWIW, the 190 SMK's stabilize and shoot well out of my 1:11 twist 308 barrel.

Sweet, that's good to know. Sierra bullets seem to be much easier to develop consistant accurate loads for, plus mag feeding can become optional due to jump tollerance. The Berger VLD's are quite a bit longer than SMK's of the same weight, requiring a faster twist to fully stabilize. In fact I've found that BC is often a better indicator of needed twist over bullet weight. The 190gr SMK has a BC of .533 vs Bergers 190gr VLD's BC of ..574. Barnes Greenhill formula is a safe bet when in doubt. Although you can often get away with a slightly slower twist.

Here's a line up of a few 308 bullets I've used (sorry it's blurry).

They are in order of weight from left to right 155gr Lapua Scenar (.508 bc), 168gr Hornady A-max (.475 bc), 170gr Lapua Lock base (.525 bc), 175gr SMK (.505 bc) and the 185gr Berger VLD (556 bc).