Range Report My Gap .308 shoots 208's but not 155's??

[Aimsmall55]

I have a Gap Crusader .308 with a 22" bartlein 1:11.25 twist. For some reason it absolutely loves the 208 amax with varget or power pro. It also loves the 175's. but won't shoot the 155's. I wanted to run the 155 (2156) smk in my next ftr match for getting some extra MV but I just shot the 208 messing around at 100 and 5 shots measured .148" center to center. Chrony gave me 2420 but I can load up a little hotter if I need to. I shot a 5 shot group at 500 and it was under an "

You guys think I ought to run the 208 even as slow as it is. I understand speed isn't the most important thing but 2420 is a hair slow. Thanks

 

[Huckleberry75]

Nice shootin' pard. Those big pills arent going to move in a hurry outta the 308 without R-17, but that stuff is too fickle for me. If you can tweak a little more speed out, great, but if not, no biggies. I say, if you can rock it like the pic above, just build some dope and roll with it.

 

[gstaylorg]

To some extent it would depend on the match. If it's a midrange match and you're shooting 1" groups at 500 yd, who cares what the MV is? If you're confident that is consistent performance, I'd use the 208s in a heartbeat. Even at 1000 yd, you're looking at greater than 1 MOA more wind deflection (10 mph full value wind) with the 155s. As long as the vertical on the 208s was good at LR, I'd still think strongly about using those, even at 2420 fps MV. I've shot 155.5s out of my Crusader and Hospitaller, velocity between 2900 and 2950 for both. The vertical was excellent (~ 0.5 MOA @600 yd), but you'd better be a good wind reader if you go with the 155s because they are going to get pushed around noticeably more than 175s (or higher) if there's much wind.

 

[Aimsmall55]

Appreciate it Huck. I will see if I can squeeze a little more out of it.

 

[Aimsmall55]

To some extent it would depend on the match. If it's a midrange match and you're shooting 1" groups at 500 yd, who cares what the MV is? If you're confident that is consistent performance, I'd use the 208s in a heartbeat. Even at 1000 yd, you're looking at greater than 1 MOA more wind deflection (10 mph full value wind) with the 155s. As long as the vertical on the 208s was good at LR, I'd still think strongly about using those, even at 2420 fps MV. I've shot 155.5s out of my Crusader and Hospitaller, velocity between 2900 and 2950 for both. The vertical was excellent (~ 0.5 MOA @600 yd), but you'd better be a good wind reader if you go with the 155s because they are going to get pushed around noticeably more than 175s (or higher) if there's much wind.

Yeah I get what your saying. I have never shot the 208 and it not shoot well. As a matter of fact the gun was throated for 175's but the 208's shoot a hell of alot better. With that .648 bc , bucking wind (which we all know is the main challenge in ftr) should be a good bit easier. As far as vertical.... My Es was 10 fps. It shoots really well

 

[bm11]

The only down side is that at those velocities your distance calls are going to have to be a lot more spot on. I wouldn't want to shoot a UKD match with that MV, if a LRF wasn't allowed.

 

[jbailey]

For a FTR match were all the ranges are known, why wouldn't you run the bigger heavier bullet, especially one as good as the 208gr AMax? MV means very little in FTR - it is all windage and vertical from MV variation. This seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[Aimsmall55]

For a FTR match were all the ranges are known, why wouldn't you run the bigger heavier bullet, especially one as good as the 208gr AMax? MV means very little in FTR - it is all windage and vertical from MV variation. This seems like a no brainer to me.

Gotta say I agree

 

[jbailey]

Gotta say I agree

Get out there and shot the hell out of the match - use the 208s and don't look back!!! Good luck!

 

[Aimsmall55]

Get out there and shot the hell out of the match - use the 208s and don't look back!!! Good luck!

Thanks j. I'm gonna try to give em hell!

 

[usafabrad]

Aimsmall, just ran the numbers for you on Applied Ballistics to give you danger space on a 1MOA target ay 1000 yards. With the MV spread as small as you mentioned, you'd need to make a call within ~7m on either side to make a hit. Compared with a 178gr AMAX at 2620 (+200Fps), you actually have almost identical danger space, probably slightly smaller. The higher BC makes up for the velocity loss. The difference is, the 178 gr goes subsonic about 13 m short of the target. I might be looking at going to 208gr AMAXes as a result!

 

[Aimsmall55]

Aimsmall, just ran the numbers for you on Applied Ballistics to give you danger space on a 1MOA target ay 1000 yards. With the MV spread as small as you mentioned, you'd need to make a call within ~7m on either side to make a hit. Compared with a 178gr AMAX at 2620 (+200Fps), you actually have almost identical danger space, probably slightly smaller. The higher BC makes up for the velocity loss. The difference is, the 178 gr goes subsonic about 13 m short of the target. I might be looking at going to 208gr AMAXes as a result!

Thanks for running that. I loaded 32 rounds. 8 different charge weights. Going to take it to 500 Monday. Will let you guys know. Thank you everyone for your input. I appreciate it