.308 win 185gr berger

[Canadian Bushman]

Anyone else shooting the 185gr bergers out of a 308 win.

Any one shooting them out to or past 1000yds?

If so i would like the hear your opinions and even some load data.

 

[backwoods83]

I'm not sure which 185s you are reffering to, if you have a 12 twist 308 it may not stabilize the 185 hybrid otm as it is longer than the 190 hunting vld, if you're using the 185 hunting vlds you will be fine, or if you have a 10 twist you will be fine with either 185. I have tested a few of the hybrids in a 24" 10 twist, with 2 different powders but only at 300yrds. I have used 2 different seating depths as well, .010" jam and .010" jump, I started at 41grns of Imr4064 in winchester brass, topped out at 44 and some change, 43.7grns with the jam was the best for accuracy but velocity suffered at 2570fps, the fastest load which was still under half moa was 47.3grns of RE17 with a jam, I used Fed210M primers for all testing. The RE17 ran at 2730fps but had a spread over 30fps. In a nutshell I didn't do any further testing because it didn't have the workings of a long range load IMO. If your punching paper the 168 hybrid otm in win brass over 47grns of varget with a CCI BR2 primer is a better choice with a .010-.030" jump, gets close to 2850fps in my rifle, and will do good to 600yrds as far as I've tested it, maybe even decent at 1k, they have a .519 G1 BC. These loads are not tame, start atleast 3grns LOWER!

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Im shooting the 185 hunting vld, and using a remington factory barrel with 1-12 twist.

Im also a big fan of this load with 43.8 gr of imr 4064 inside winchester brass and a cci 200 lr primer. Except i jump it .06

How many reloads can you get outta your brass?

 

[backwoods83]

Typically for me, winchester brass 10-12, rem, fed, or lake city about 8 or 9, norma about 15, and upwards of 20 with lapua, but I anneal and neck size only until its a must to push the shoulder back.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Thats where im struggling. im getting about 6-8 but i full length size so i guss that could do it. I wonder if backing down a bit like 43.5 or 43.2 may help but im worried ill suffer trying to shoot 1000yds.

 

[backwoods83]

It depends on what brass you're using and which part isn't holding up, is it losing neck tension or loosening primer pockets?

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Primer pockets got loose first. Then it felt as if neck tension was varying so i began annealing more often until last weekend when i started splitting cases about a quarter inch from the head. Right where the full length sizing die stops.

Do you think the 185 bergers are great rounds for 800 plus or is there something else you would favor. I decided to run the heavier lead because i face alot of crosswind and the heavier bullets also retain a bit more energy, for hunting.

 

[backwoods83]

Honestly I feel that the best hunting bullet for the 308 is the 168grn Nosler BT, and a 308 should not be used at 800 yards for hunting. Spliting the brass in that area is from work hardening the brass by fl sizing it constantly, neck size and partially anneal (stress relieve) the necks every other firing at about 550* for 5 or 6 seconds instead of a full anneal, only fully anneal about every 5th firing and use Norma or Lapua brass and your problem will go away, if you use Lapua brass back your charge off about 6 tenths.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Alright good deal. Im gonna heed your advice it makes perfect sense. Thanks a lot i appreciate your time and input. Trying to sift through this stuff with my limited knowledge can get a bit confusing.

 

[davkrat]

Honestly I feel that the best hunting bullet for the 308 is the 168grn Nosler BT, and a 308 should not be used at 800 yards for hunting. Spliting the brass in that area is from work hardening the brass by fl sizing it constantly, neck size and partially anneal (stress relieve) the necks every other firing at about 550* for 5 or 6 seconds instead of a full anneal, only fully anneal about every 5th firing and use Norma or Lapua brass and your problem will go away, if you use Lapua brass back your charge off about 6 tenths.

+1

Anything above the 168gr pills seems too large for a .308 in my opinion. The 150-168 range is perfect for .308, 168-180 for the .30-06 and the 180+ bullets do best in the .300 Win Mag and larger cartridges.

 

[mikebob]

Alot of people are shooting 208 Amaxes in 308 these days. I have seen several take deer at 900 yards with complete pass throughs and DRT. I shoot 168 vld in mine and I have to keep it around 600 max for hunting to get good expansion. Im thinking of switching to 178 Amax or maybe even try the 208.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Ive been wondering about how the heavy bullets do in the 308. Most about whether or not the would stabilize from a factory barrel like mine a 26" 1-12. I would think that retained energy and high bc of some of the new bullet designs guys are coming up with, that they could be pretty lethal to soft skin animals at long ranges.

 

[davkrat]

What kind of velocity are people getting with those heavy bullets out of a .308? Seems like there's a point where you would not be able to get enough velocity to really take advantage of the higher BC. Never say never.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Hodgdon has some data showing a 200gr leaving at mid to upper 2400's all the way to 2580 with their new cfe powder.

I imagine those speeds with a high bc could buck wind really well. Im sure someone on this forum has played with them and probably has some solid real world data.