175 smk or 168 smk for 308 winchester?

[predator1]

had my mind made up and talked into the 168 smk but upon further research i think the 175 is a better bulletweight all around for targets to paper as long as the accuracy is there. intended use is steel and paper to 800 and deer and coyets to 600 yards max . is the 175 the best choice? mostly steel and paper as for im new to longrange shooting and want to become profficient past 400 hundred yards. i might stretch the targets to 1 k eventually but for now 800 yards and under 4 targets.

 

[Michael Eichele]

had my mind made up and talked into the 168 smk but upon further research i think the 175 is a better bulletweight all around for targets to paper as long as the accuracy is there. intended use is steel and paper to 800 and deer and coyets to 600 yards max . is the 175 the best choice? mostly steel and paper as for im new to longrange shooting and want to become profficient past 400 hundred yards. i might stretch the targets to 1 k eventually but for now 800 yards and under 4 targets.

I have tested and used both in the 308 extensivly. My $.02 is this. The 168 is a great bullet out to 600 yards. Some rifles will like the bullet well enough to keep good groups past that, some will not. If you ever shoot the 168 at medium velocities in dense air, they will not reach the 1K mark. They will go subsonic, destabilize, tumble and fall out of the sky.

The 175 has a MUCH better BC over the 168 and doesnt seem to shed its BC as fast as the 168. The 175 can be fired at almost the same speeds as the 168. IMHO the 175 makes the 168 near obsolete as a target bullet. If your 308 shootes the 168 better, then I would use that one. If it likes the 175 the same or better, obviously you should use the 175. I have fired the 175 at 2550 FPS at sealevel in -15 degrees and still made clean holes at 1K.

To sum it up, you should try both. If you dont have the time or money, I would go with the 175.

 

[nfhjr62]

This was in a 30/06 but the last time i shot at 600 yrds in a match i cleaned the target with 14 Xs (200/14Xs) the groupe was measured at 5 inches at 6 oclock of the X ring not bad for 168 SMK bullets.

 

[James Jones]

I personaly like the 175's . My new rig likes the 168's better , in factory ammo anyway but I have yet to do any load development for it , I'll probably try some 168gr and 175gr Bergers as well as some 155gr Lapua Scenar's just to see what will shoot best , all of these have BC's in the .500 range and will shoot to 1000yds at 308 velocities.

The Match King bullets are great but their are other choices out their , the Bergers have better BC's but generaly can't be loaded where they like to be shot for accuracy to fit in a short action mag cause their ogive is so long , the Hornady A-max is a good bullet , the 178 has a decient BC and will expand well on game their BC is close to the SMK at around .495

For shooting animals I'd go with the Bergers or the A-max as their jackets are thinner and the lead is softer. That said I killed a deer several years ago with a factroy loaded (BlackHills) 175gr SMK , broke a rib on the way in and shoulder on the way out , deer went maybe 40yds or so

 

[PepeLp]

The 175 is better. I like the SMK's because they aren't as depth sensitive as some of the other bullets. I live at 7,000 feet, and from a .308, they'll make it to 1,100 yards. At 1,165 yards they hit sideways. They hit my 800 yard gong a lot harder than the 168's.

I put a lot of .308s downrange learning to shoot. I was really familiar with the trajectory, so I used it as a truck gun ( I live on a ranch). On close coyotes (100 yards) I got huge exits, like 8". From there to about 250 yards, it would knock down coyotes pretty well. Past that, the 175's would just pencil through jackrabbits and coyotes and they would run off. Coyotes especially.

I switched to .243 and found my Holy Grail. I've been shooting the 87gr. VMax with great results. For the past year, everything I've shot, from 10 yards to 300+, 1 pound to 65+ pounds, has dropped right there. Trajectory is +/- 2" to almost 300 yards.

A guy gave me some 95gr. Berger VLDs to play with. My first group (3 shots) was .052"! Now I have to see if they'll expand on coyotes.

 

[eshell]

I have tested and used both in the 308 extensivly. My $.02 is this. The 168 is a great bullet out to 600 yards. Some rifles will like the bullet well enough to keep good groups past that, some will not. If you ever shoot the 168 at medium velocities in dense air, they will not reach the 1K mark. They will go subsonic, destabilize, tumble and fall out of the sky.

The 175 has a MUCH better BC over the 168 and doesnt seem to shed its BC as fast as the 168. The 175 can be fired at almost the same speeds as the 168. IMHO the 175 makes the 168 near obsolete as a target bullet. If your 308 shootes the 168 better, then I would use that one. If it likes the 175 the same or better, obviously you should use the 175. I have fired the 175 at 2550 FPS at sealevel in -15 degrees and still made clean holes at 1K.

To sum it up, you should try both. If you dont have the time or money, I would go with the 175.

This is spot on. Unless the 168 is driven faster than practical length .308s will go, it is surpassed by the 175 at mid-range distances (600-700 yards) in all aspects. As soon as the 168s go trans-sonic, they usually destabilize.

This was in a 30/06 but the last time i shot at 600 yrds in a match i cleaned the target with 14 Xs (200/14Xs) the groupe was measured at 5 inches at 6 oclock of the X ring not bad for 168 SMK bullets.

The .30-06 is entirely different and will get more from the 168s than the OP's .308 will.

I personaly like the 175's . My new rig likes the 168's better , in factory ammo anyway but I have yet to do any load development for it . . .

My experience in three .308 rifles as well.

. . . I'll probably try some 168gr and 175gr Bergers as well as some 155gr Lapua Scenar's just to see what will shoot best , all of these have BC's in the .500 range and will shoot to 1000yds at 308 velocities.

I tried my best to shoot 155 Scenars, but none of my .308 rifles like them. A friend shoots them with Varget out of an FN SPR and they deliver 1/2 MOA groups and he easily gets them to 2,975 - makes the .308 a whole new proposition. I did get them to shoot well from my .30-06 AI, which will comfortably run them at 3,100, but I'm not confident in their ability to expand reliably. I shot a bedded deer at 392 yards through both shoulders and only got about 1-1/2" exit after breaking one shoulder and barely missing the bone on the off side.

The Match King bullets are great but their are other choices out their , the Bergers have better BC's but generaly can't be loaded where they like to be shot for accuracy to fit in a short action mag cause their ogive is so long . . .

I'd like to run Bergers myself, but see the same problem, they'd have to be single-loaded in a short action.

The 175 is better. I like the SMK's because they aren't as depth sensitive as some of the other bullets.

The SMKs ARE very flexible bullets with regard to throating and seating depth.

I live at 7,000 feet, and from a .308, they'll make it to 1,100 yards. At 1,165 yards they hit sideways. They hit my 800 yard gong a lot harder than the 168's.

I get sideways hits with 168s as soon as 800 at sea level (DA @ -500 to +1,000) sometimes, and they'll go as far as 1,150 for me when we shoot at 3,000 ASL (DA @ +4,500)

I put a lot of .308s downrange learning to shoot. I was really familiar with the trajectory, so I used it as a truck gun ( I live on a ranch). On close coyotes (100 yards) I got huge exits, like 8". From there to about 250 yards, it would knock down coyotes pretty well. Past that, the 175's would just pencil through jackrabbits and coyotes and they would run off. Coyotes especially.

I switched to .243 and found my Holy Grail. I've been shooting the 87gr. VMax with great results. For the past year, everything I've shot, from 10 yards to 300+, 1 pound to 65+ pounds, has dropped right there. Trajectory is +/- 2" to almost 300 yards.

A guy gave me some 95gr. Berger VLDs to play with. My first group (3 shots) was .052"! Now I have to see if they'll expand on coyotes.

I've got my daughter shooting a fast twist (1:7.5 Schneider) .243 with 105 Scenars at 2,975 and they are VERY accurate and have been stable to 1,200, the furthest we've shot them.

 

[nolo263]

Use the 175's for deer and try loading the 155 scenars for everything else. Same BC as the 175 but can be loaded to 2900fps +.

This will kill the 175's and the 168's for paper or steel.