What grain bullet to shoot?

[Chrisvierling]

I shoot a Remington 700sps with a 26in barrel. The twist rate is 1:12. What grain bullet will be the most accurate for target shooting?

 

[gohring3006]

What cartridge???

 

[Chrisvierling]

Oh duh that might help haha it's chambered in .308 win

 

[gohring3006]

I personally would go with a 175-180 gr. Bullet some guys are getting up to 190 stabilized but I don't know how far out they remain stable. The hornady 178gr Amax is a good one along with the 175 smk both with a BC of about .480-.500ish. The hornady 178bthp is a good one it supposed to have a BC .530 and of course Bergers in that twist rate range.....

 

[Rick Richard]

I have really good luck with 168 AMAX.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I personally would go with a 175-180 gr. Bullet some guys are getting up to 190 stabilized but I don't know how far out they remain stable. The hornady 178gr Amax is a good one along with the 175 smk both with a BC of about .480-.500ish. The hornady 178bthp is a good one it supposed to have a BC .530 and of course Bergers in that twist rate range.....

+1
I used the berger 185 vld with good results for a long time out of that same rifle. The 175 smk is also another great option.

 

[Chrisvierling]

Great thanks for all the info!

 

[MudRunner2005]

I built my .30-06 AI out of a 26" Remington Varmint .308 Win barrel (1:12 twist), re-fitted onto a trued 700 long action. Essentially the heavy barrel LA version of your rifle.

I shoot the Berger 185 VLD's with great success.

The 185's out of a .308 Win would be a nice compromise of weight and speed. The 168 VLD's will also be a force to be reconned with, but are a little lighter, but are able to be pushed faster than the 185's.

I've always shot traditional 168gr bullets out of my .308 Wins. But since discovering Bergers several years back, I've developed loads with all kinds of bullet weights. My favorites are the 168 VLD's, and the 210 VLD's. Inside of 850 yards, my .308 with my 210 VLD load will (according to my numbers) just absolutely floor anything it hits.



Unfortunately, you don't have the twist rate for anything larger than a Berger 190 VLD, so that limits you to your bullet selection.

I would honestly look into the 185 VLD. I think you will enjoy the weight-to-speed ratio it will offer you. Or you could always go to the traditional 168-175gr bullets for the .308 Win.

 

[benchracer]

I shoot a Remington 700sps with a 26in barrel. The twist rate is 1:12. What grain bullet will be the most accurate for target shooting?

Your intended distance should be carefully considered. The heavy for caliber bullets can have a ballistic advantage, but that advantage typically doesn't manifest itself at shorter ranges.

If you are shooting to 600 yards, a lighter bullet at higher velocity can shoot flatter and have similar wind drift to the heavies.

If you are reaching to 1000 yards, the game changes a lot. The higher bc's of the heavies begin to assert themselves in wind drift and retained velocity. The latter becomes especially critical in the .308 as the bullets approach 1000 yards and start to go transonic.

Time spent comparing bullets on a ballistic calculator (I like to use the one at jbmballistics.com, but there are plenty of others) will do a lot to show you what bullets fit your needs. Then it is a matter of finding a combination that your rifle likes.

 

[Greyfox]

I haven't seen many 308s that wouldn't group a 175 gr SMK

 

[gohring3006]

Your intended distance should be carefully considered. The heavy for caliber bullets can have a ballistic advantage, but that advantage typically doesn't manifest itself at shorter ranges.

If you are shooting to 600 yards, a lighter bullet at higher velocity can shoot flatter and have similar wind drift to the heavies.

If you are reaching to 1000 yards, the game changes a lot. The higher bc's of the heavies begin to assert themselves in wind drift and retained velocity. The latter becomes especially critical in the .308 as the bullets approach 1000 yards and start to go transonic.

Time spent comparing bullets on a ballistic calculator (I like to use the one at jbmballistics.com, but there are plenty of others) will do a lot to show you what bullets fit your needs. Then it is a matter of finding a combination that your rifle likes.

Good point, I have the same opinion. When I only shoot out to 500-600 I use my extremely accurate 178gr. Amax load. But when I want to go to a 1000 I have a 200gr SMK load that use. All advantage with the heavy is at 600. And beyond. The Amax has the velocity and energy advantage out to 600....

 

[Dgd6mm]

I haven't seen many 308s that wouldn't group a 175 gr SMK

When I put my first .308 together for f/class shooting I chose the 178 hornaday bthp for 600 and the Berger 185 lrbt for 1000. This was after serious testing. Before I did this I had 175 smk, every .308 I've ever had has shot them well all the way to 1000 yards.gun)

 

[Chrisvierling]

I was looking at a 150 grain fmj boat tail round for shooting coyotes. Any opinions on the accuracy of that setup?

 

[gohring3006]

When I put my first .308 together for f/class shooting I chose the 178 hornaday bthp for 600 and the Berger 185 lrbt for 1000. This was after serious testing. Before I did this I had 175 smk, every .308 I've ever had has shot them well all the way to 1000 yards.gun)

I have 100 of the 178bthp to try but I have my seating die locked down for the 178 Amax coal. They shoot so good I'm not moving it. I'm going to get another seated die just for the bthp.