Berger .338 250gr OTM Hydrid

[DTRG42]

Hi

I have been loading Berger 250gr OTM in my Sako TRG 338 Lapua.

I was really struggling to get the rifle to shoot until I went down to minimum loads. As soon as the bullet goes over 2750 f/sec, the groups open up exponentially.

I have read online that the Berger 300gr has that problem - apparently the nose of the bullets collapses at high speeds.

Did anyone experience the same with the 250gr?

The other thing I notice is the overall length at which the bullet touches the lanes:

Berger 250gr 3.85" ( way way way way longer than any published length)

At first I thought it might be my chamber until I measured the following:
250 gr Scenar 3.66"
225gr Hornady 3.66"

As you can see the Bergers are 0.19" longer and will thus cause that the bullets are not fitting into the magazine at all when loading them close to the lanes.

My question: At what length do you load the Bergers?

Thanks

 

[Bullet bumper]

The 250 grain Berger OTM is supposed to have a thick jacket and I can't see 2750 fps collapsing anything .
I think the issue may be related to the hybrid ogive which is a Tangent blended with a Secant ogive .
Which makes it , not a Tangent ogive . So being more Secant than Tangent means it may be very touchy with too much jump to the lands.
Try a few hand fed rounds with the bullet out as close to the lands as is practical and see if accuracy improves.
Also as the velocity increases so does the recoil , so make sure you are controlling recoil properly .
If you can't get them to shoot and you want to use the magazine then maybe try some Tangent ogive bullets .
Case fit is important to make sure you are launching the bullet in centre each time . Make sure you are not over sizing the case each time and creating a round that lays in the bottom of the chamber .
If using a bi-pod in the ground make sure as the recoil rises you are loading the bi-pod forward before each shot . If you don't it can dig the feet into the back of a hole with each shot .
Lots of people can shoot well with low recoil but few can do it really well with high recoil .

 

[canderson]

There may have been a problem with the very first hybrid bullets that Berger produced. The newer bullets will do just fine. I have shot many out of a 338 edge without any problems. My gun shoots the 300 at 2800 fps. with great accuracy.

 

[MMERSS]

I shoot the 300gr Gen II Berger and SMK loaded to just fit in the TRG magazine, 2.715". Both shoot well with 1/3 MOA potential. I have not considered the 250 Berger with the 10 twist capable of stabilizing the 300gr with high BC.

 

[angus-5024]

i shoot the 250 OTMs out of my .338 RUM and they do very well. I was very pleased with them because they fit the factory Remington magazine. I found that they shot very well with a very mild load or a hot load and nothing in between.

I was actually very surprised that they did so well seated so far off the lands.

I have shot them out to 1000 yards with good results. I also shot a nice black bear with them last weekend.

 

[DTRG42]

Just a quick update:

I shot two separate groups with the 250gr Lapua Scenar and immediately got withing 1/2-1/3 MOA on 200 yards at just over 3000ft/sec. gun)

Maybe I should have tried shooting the Bergers close to the lanes at 3.85", but what does it help if my magazine is only 3.72" long! At 3.72" they still group over 2-3 inches. A bullet not worth spending your time and money on.

 

[Topshot]

Just a quick update:

I shot two separate groups with the 250gr Lapua Scenar and immediately got withing 1/2-1/3 MOA on 200 yards at just over 3000ft/sec. gun)

Maybe I should have tried shooting the Bergers close to the lanes at 3.85", but what does it help if my magazine is only 3.72" long! At 3.72" they still group over 2-3 inches. A bullet not worth spending your time and money on.

Sounds like you have sloppy chamber syndrome. Typical of Sako/Tikka.
Some have very good chambers and some have 'Friday" chambers.
I have two Tikka's and a couple of Sako's so know what I am talking about.
I have shot all the Berger 338 cal bullets and they all shoot well in my rifles except one Tikka which shoots just like your Sako but shoots Sierra's fine.
Just stick with what shoots in your rifle.

 

[DTRG42]

So you reckon the chamber can be recut as I am sitting on close to 500 bullets with no use at this stage.......?

 

[DTRG42]

Sounds like you have sloppy chamber syndrome. Typical of Sako/Tikka.
Some have very good chambers and some have 'Friday" chambers.
I have two Tikka's and a couple of Sako's so know what I am talking about.
I have shot all the Berger 338 cal bullets and they all shoot well in my rifles except one Tikka which shoots just like your Sako but shoots Sierra's fine.
Just stick with what shoots in your rifle.

Do you reckon a good gun smith can recut the chamber as I am sitting on close to 500 bullets with no use at this point?

 

[bvmbandit]

Do you reckon a good gun smith can recut the chamber as I am sitting on close to 500 bullets with no use at this point?

I am experiencing the exact same results with the Berger 250 OTMs in a Savage 110 HSP. I've found the 250s get accurate when slow yet have not experience much with the high speeds yet...

Vern