Berger vs Nosler. 308 168gn.

[Freddie Hunt]

Hi everyone, I hope one of you can help me. The BC of the Nosler BT(.490) is higher than the BC of the Berger VLD(.473). In theory the Nosler should be better but we all know theory is often wrong. Has anyone here done back to back testing? I want to use the Nosler BT because it is much more readily available here in the UK, but if the Berger is hands down better then I will use that. Im shooting a Tikka T3 30-06.
Also Does anyone know the G7 BC of the Nosler BT?
Many thanks in advance
Freddie

 

[Ridgerunner665]

The actual G1 BC of the 168 BT is .475...according to my crude tests...which consist of shooting it over a chrono at 300, 600, and 800 yards then matching the numbers on JBM.

Th G7 of the BT is ~.243

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Berger has a new hybrid 168 grain taget bullet has a G1 BC of .519...not the "hunting" bullet though.

The 175 grain Hunting VLD's are doing real well in my 30-06 (Win M70)...

 

[Freddie Hunt]

Thanks for that. My barrel is only 19" sadly(had a cheap offer on the rifle) do think the 175gn would be better than the 168gn?

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Can't really help without knowing the muzzle velocity...but the 175 can be launched at pretty near the same speed as the 168...about 75 fps difference in my rifle (24") and those are not quite max loads.

It really doesn't matter though...with either bullet your reasonable (ethical) hunting range is gonna be 500 yards either way...the bigger bullet will just have more energy and the same velocity on target.

You need at least 1,800 fps on impact for either bullet to expand (Berger or Nosler)

The Nosler 168 BT is a darn good bullet...just not quite as good as Nosler says it is...

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I just remembered something...the 180 grain Nosler Accubond...its actual G1 BC is .493 (tested by Bryan Litz), the G7 is .246...thats darn close to the 175 grain Hunting VLD...

Might be a viable option for you if it easier for you to find...as long as you can muster at least 2,600 fps from that short barrel...it would work fine.

I recommend heavy doses of H4350 powder...

 

[Freddie Hunt]

So far iv only tried speer 150gn(total shite by the way!) and got an average mv of 2845 with 57.5gns of H380(max load). i think i definitely need a longer barrel but cant afford it at the mo so just have to make do with what iv got.
The nosler BT worked a treat in my 25-06 (same model of rifle), so it should work good in the 30-06 im hoping. just wondering if theres any point trying the berger if the nosler is working ok. Iv heard some scary stuff about seat depth sensitivity problems and unexplained bad accuracy in some rifles.

I wont be taking on any big game past 500 for sure, only crows, rabbits, etc.

 

[Freddie Hunt]

Thank you very much for your help, i really appreciate it. iv got a bunch of powders to try, R15, R17, IMR4895. I will now buy some H4350 too!
One last question if you dont mind... Iv got CCI primers, do you thinks its worth trying some federals?

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I use only CCI BR2 primers myself...but most any of them are fine.