168 or 175

[trueblue]

What is the more popular bullet in the 308 Win with a barrel length of 20-24",
the 168 or the 175gr SMK?

[Moman]

Not sure which is most popular but I shoot the 175 in my 24" bbl. Ballistically, I think it does a bit better at the longer ranges, 1,000 yds +.

[Willys46]

Common thought is the 168s have a hard time at 1000, they say when they hit subsonic they do not transition well and become erratic. So most shoot either the 175's or 155.

palma guys have been shooting the 155 forever. They shoot well. The 175s are a great bullet and that is what I shoot in a 21" 308. I am switching to 155 to match my shooting partners load for team competitions.


that being said, if your shooting inside 600 yards, then go with what shoots the best. It simply will not matter.

By the way, the 168 thing might be urban legened at its finnest!

Willys

[Johnboy]

I agree.the 168 should be the go too bullet for 500 and the 175 for anything past that.but you can go to a heavier bullet if you wanted to.like a 210 smk,vld or a 208 A-max.but the 168 and 175 are my bullets of choice.

[Oliveralan]

Yes Johnboy is right on. Rule of thumb is 168 to 500-600 tops, 175 past that. Or a 155 if you have a slow twist. If you want a do it all go with a 1-14 tw and shoot 155s, or a 1-12 and shoot 175s. That's what most people do.

I shoot a 208gr Amax with my 1-11tw 28" Hart barrel. I'm using RL17 and hitting 2800fps (5.75MOA drop to 400yards, do the math if you don't believe me). Can also try the 190 VLD, or 210 VLD. Those all work great for hunting. For targets you can also try the heavy SMKs.
Powders to try would be VV-N540, VV-N550, RL17, H4350, and W760.

Hope this helps,
Oliver

[alaska]

the 175 MK bucks the wind better at longer ranges than the 168.

308 Win
175 MK
45.0 of Varget
CCI Br2 Primers
WW cases

Palma Matches are resticted to 155gr in the 308 Win.............

For years the standard load for Palma matches in the US were

308 Win
155 Sierra MK
IMR 4895
RWS Primer 5341
1992 Palma Match Brass

Today I think they use Varget or Reloader 15.

[trueblue]

thanks for the feedback guys. i will stock up on some 175's