Remington 700 SPS Varmint Reload Help!

[ngodwetrust21]

I am looking for some advice with reloads on my remington 700 sps varmint chambered in 308. Barrel length is 26" with a 12" twist. I have changed out the stock with a Bell and Carlson Medalist Light Tactical Rifle Stock Remington 700 BDL Short Action with Aluminum Bedding and the trigger with a Jewel, 1lb trigger pull.


The load I am using is a SMK 175 gr with 41 gr Varget and a COAL of 2.90 sitting .15 off the lands. I am using remington brass and winchester large rifle primers. FPS is around 2400. Currently I am getting 1" groups or less at 200 yds.


I want to get the best accuracy that I can out of this rifle and any advice that the LRH community can give would be helpful. My main concern is the twist rate and the weight of the bullet I am using. Is this bullet to heavy is the FPS too little? Help!


Thanks,


Andy

 

[roninflag]

ANDY- NO. what are you shooting at? i do not shoot game with MKS. ron

 

[Muttt]

No, it's not too heavy. But, I wouldn't go heavier than 175 with the 1:12 twist.


I use the 168 gr AMAX using 42.7 grains of AA2520 in my SPS Tac with a 20 inch barrel and it's running at 2558 fps. I'm getting .5 MOA and better. I'd think you would get a little higher velocities out of the longer barrel. But, you are using heavier bullets, so that's probably not so.

But, none of that really matters. What matters is how well they shoot. I run 42.7 grains but I could go as high as 44 - 44.5 , but the rifle doesn't groups as well at the higher velocities. So, if it's shooting well and it doesn't groups as well at higher velocities, then shooting it hotter is of no use to you.

When I decided what load I was going to use (and it doesn't matter what powder or bullet), load 3 to 5 bullets at min and then work your way up to max in .2 or .3 grain increments. You will notice that it shoots really well at one or more loads. Pick the highest one (if it shoots better) and load for that. The velocity shouldn't matter much as long as it is accurate.