300 Berger Otm

[martyj]

How come the Berger seem so much harder to get an accurate load vs the SMK.
I have 338 edge 1-9.3 and they shoot fair but the Smk will shoot circles around them out past a mile.
I have the same deal with 33 xc 1-9 that does the same thing.

 

[QuietTexan]

BC isn't a static number, different bullets go through the transonic shift differently. I don't what velocities you're running, but about a mile is where a 300gn 338 LM will start going transonic. I shoot 300 SMKs, 250 SMK, and 300gn A-Tips.

There's some truth to the old 308 Myth of the 168 SMK hitting a wall at 800 yards, while the 175 SMK will push through. Only very minor differences in bullet design and velocity there, but enough to matter.

The Berger Elite hunter has better paper BC specs than the OTM, but with the longer bearing surface it might be running slower to start, minor stuff like that gains an outsized importance at real long-range.