Load Development for 308 Win

[Jinx]

Hallo to all,

My wife bought me a Remington 700 SF 308 Win for my 30th b-day (yes I have an awesome wife).

The barrel is 26 inch and 1:12 twist.

I want to use the rifle for bush hunting - kudu, blue-wildebeest etc (distance up to 400 yards). But I also want to use the rifle for target shooting at the hunting association I am with.

I understand that the 1:12 twist prefers light bullets. I want to use 165gr Noslers for hunting and a lighter bullets for target shooting and varminting.

In light of the above I have two questions:
1. What is the heaviest bullet that will stabalise in the 1:12 twist
2. What is the lightest bullet which you guys think I can use for target practice

We are quite limited on powder options over here so I will use what the supplier has.

I want to standardize the bullets I use in order prevent continues load development.

Any comments will be appreciated

 

[Grumulkin]

1. Bullet stabilization is related to length more so than weight so, the heaviest bullet you could stabilize would be a round nosed bullet. These days, the barrel twist needed will many times be printed on the box the bullets came in. An alternative would be to e-mail the manufacturer and/or look at their web site.

All of the 308 Winchester's I've shot have had 1:10 twists for which 165 or 168 grain bullets have worked the best for me.

2. The lightest .308 caliber jacketed bullet available is probably in the 100 to 110 grain range. A light bullet is not, however, going to hit the same place as a heavier bullet and in my experience haven't been as accurate as heavier bullets. My advice would be to use cheaper bullets for target shooting that are in the same weight range you're using for hunting.

 

[Greyfox]

While I know some shooters that push to higher weight bullets in the 1:12 twist barrels, I keep bullet weights under 200 gr, prefering 180 as the high end. My favorite load on game out to 500 yards are the 165gr Nosler AB's and BT's driven at 2800FPS. For Kudu/Wildebeest i might consider 180's over the 165's. They are both exceptionally accurate in my rifles, have a decent BC, and perform well on game. I also can use the same load recipes substituting the less costly 168/175 Sierra SMK's for target and varmints, with comparable ballistics/holds which aids in hunting proficiency. I don't bother dropping to lighter bullets for target and varminting, preferring to keep things simple. There are several medium burn rate powders like Varget, R15, IMR4895, IMR4064, and others loaded with 42-45gr weight range that will produce excellent accuracy, and achieve velocities in the 2700-2800FPS range with little load development effort.IMO

 

[Jinx]

Thanx for the info so far. I will try and keep to the same weight of bullets and just shooter cheaper bullets at paper. The ideal would be to shoot SST at paper and Interbonds at game due to the same BC.