Help with 1/11.25 .308 barrel and ammo

[Blkz06]

OK, so I know a 165/168 grain 308 bullet is known to work best in a 11.25 barrel, at least from an accuracy standpoint...but can I use anything else and still get great performance for hunting purposes?

For instance...can I use a 150 or 155 grain bullet in that rifling and get great performance?

I am using the round to hunt deer. For hog I will probably move up to the 165 or 168 grain weight. A lot of guys are telling me just go with the 165 grain and enjoy the fun.

Thanks!

 

[MudRunner2005]

I shoot Berger 210 VLD's out of my .308 Win. It is a Rem 700 5R Milspec with the 24" 11.25 twist barrel. It will stack 5 inside of 1 ragged hole at 100 yards.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

OK, so I know a 165/168 grain 308 bullet is known to work best in a 11.25 barrel, at least from an accuracy standpoint...but can I use anything else and still get great performance for hunting purposes?

For instance...can I use a 150 or 155 grain bullet in that rifling and get great performance?

I am using the round to hunt deer. For hog I will probably move up to the 165 or 168 grain weight. A lot of guys are telling me just go with the 165 grain and enjoy the fun.

Thanks!

Absolutely. 11.25" twist is ideal in a 308 allowing good stabilization across a wide spectrum of bullets from 120-200 gn bullets.

And in muds case the 210's. If i remember he is shooting that vld at a lower node too. Do you know about what your getting as a stabilization factor for that bullet mud?

 

[MudRunner2005]

Absolutely. 11.25" twist is ideal in a 308 allowing good stabilization across a wide spectrum of bullets from 120-200 gn bullets.

And in muds case the 210's. If i remember he is shooting that vld at a lower node too. Do you know about what your getting as a stabilization factor for that bullet mud?

Not sure. Haven't ran it through a stabilization calculator. So, other than MV, I can't give much info.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

At 2400 fps jbm gave me a factor of 1.4 for the 210 out of a 1:11.25 which is good.

I think anything over 1 is stable and 1.5+ is ideal.

 

[Blkz06]

Some of my confusion comes from the fact I get good numbers from stability calculators on various bullets, yet see stuff written that claims a 1/11.25 is only good for bullets up to 1.29" in length.

Most 168 grain bullets are 1.3-1.4" in length and most guys I talk to claim the 168's are the cats meow as far as all around accuracy.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Some of my confusion comes from the fact I get good numbers from stability calculators on various bullets, yet see stuff written that claims a 1/11.25 is only good for bullets up to 1.29" in length.

Most 168 grain bullets are 1.3-1.4" in length and most guys I talk to claim the 168's are the cats meow as far as all around accuracy.

There is no bullet weight thats more accurate than another bullet weight. Some styles of bullets are easier to load for and heavier bullets sometimes require more solid technique because extended barrel time.

Overall its going to boil down to how well you can develop a load and how much time you are willing to devote to tuning.

Here you can do your own stability calc.
JBM - Calculations - Stability

 

[Blkz06]

There is no bullet weight thats more accurate than another bullet weight. Some styles of bullets are easier to load for and heavier bullets sometimes require more solid technique because extended barrel time.

Overall its going to boil down to how well you can develop a load and how much time you are willing to devote to tuning.

Here you can do your own stability calc.
JBM - Calculations - Stability

I'm not saying the grains affect accuracy, but the 168's I have looked up seem to have one thing in common which is length.

Using the Greenhill Formula, I get a optimum twist ratio of 1/11.76 for a Sierra Bullet in 168 grain, and a 1/11.33 for the 175 grain weight.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I'm not saying the grains affect accuracy, but the 168's I have looked up seem to have one thing in common which is length.

Using the Greenhill Formula, I get a optimum twist ratio of 1/11.76 for a Sierra Bullet in 168 grain, and a 1/11.33 for the 175 grain weight.

You can have the optimal twist rate and still not get a bullet to shoot. Trust me, twist is not all that matters.

If you got your heart set on a 165-168gn bullet by all means, shoot a 165-168 gn bullet.

Your barrel will easily stabilize anything from a 120-210 gn bullet. If it shoots or not will depend on your load work up and form.

 

[thesheepdog]

This is my 5 shot group at 1200 yards with .308 208 AMAX loads and my 11.25 5R barrel. They are stable out to 1200y-I do not have a further distance to shoot them at yet.

 

[7070yshot]

OK, so I know a 165/168 grain 308 bullet is known to work best in a 11.25 barrel, at least from an accuracy standpoint...but can I use anything else and still get great performance for hunting purposes?

For instance...can I use a 150 or 155 grain bullet in that rifling and get great performance?

I am using the round to hunt deer. For hog I will probably move up to the 165 or 168 grain weight. A lot of guys are telling me just go with the 165 grain and enjoy the fun.

Thanks!

 

[7070yshot]

Really curious what accuracy was like with 11.25 twist shooting 200g bullets - seems like that wouldn't hold better than a 4in group at 100y

 

[Bang4theBuck]

I have a 308 in an 11.25 twist that really really likes the hornady 155 ELD. I can really ouch the velocity up on them too. It's a great hunting rig!

 

[7070yshot]

That's what I would think. Just can't imagine anything heavier than a 165g would shoot with a crap in a 11.25 twist