What criteria do you guys use to decide which bullet you are going to develop a load with? For just the .308, there is 150,155,168,175,178,180,190, ect.. And then there is Hornady, Berger, Sierra, Nosler, ect ect. Literally HUNDREDS of choices, and several for each individual grain weight.. you can limit the choices a little depending on your twist, planned range and application, ect.. But still. Do most of you just run with what you've heard from others? You just pick what the last BenchRest Champion uses? How do you know the bullet you chose is the best for your rifle, unless you have tested them all?
- Thread starter punkwood2k
- Start date
Get some reloading manuals, some articles about the .308 ( I'm assuming) , basically as much as you can learn about the pros and cons about each bullet type and more importantly how they will hopefully help you achieve what your trying to do. I'll give you some examples .... The 155's are very flat shooting but they will not shoot past a certain distance without gravity catching up and pulling them down. The 175 smk is a very popular load to develop simply because its easy to make shoot and will go 1,000 yards. Then you get into the heavier billets like the 185 Berger OTM and up to the 208 amax. These heavier bullets are used when trying to push the .308 to its furthest capabity because they have very high ballistic coefficients which I'm sure you'll read all about when you start reading ...... Go to 6mmbr.com and look at the .30 cal articles
Btw. Good luck !
I have my pet loads in 150gr and 175gr.. But more specifically, there are >10 options for each grain bullet. I use Nosler CC's. Thinking about Berger or SMK's. But how do you pick without buying 100 of each manufacture, and building a load? I like what the Nosler CC 175's do in my rifle, but how do you know if youre leaving something on the table because another brand might work even better. Not joyful at the prospect of buying / testing 1000 rounds, just to make sure I have the best bullet for each grain that I shoot.
Essentially, I'm asking what your favorite bullet is, and why.. did you pick it after testing a dozen different brands? Or did you just pick SMK's because everyone told you to, but never actually compared them to another brand..
If you have a pet load at 175 grains... Why are you asking??
Just pick a bullet and shoot the damn thing.
Just pick a bullet and shoot the damn thing.
I STARTED shooting 168 smks bc they were easy at around 400 yards max. I shot , read, learned as much as I could then progressed from there. Your questions and excitement is good... Just read read read and spend some money. Your not going to buy less than 100 bullets unless they are 65.00$ per 50
I have a fundamental OCD character flaw.. lol. I cant sleep at night, knowing that there might be another bullet out there that shoots better in my rifle.. lol. And its the only 175gr that I've developed so far.. I have two more brands of 175gr in the mail to me now, to start developing as well. How do I know I picked the best 175gr for my rifle without trying them all? lol
I went threw the same thing. Literally. Basically my suggestion is to try out those 175's you got and see which performs better. You need to try and use a good powder for the 175 like varget , IMR 4064, r15, h4895, ram shot Tac, power pro 2000 mr, ect.. and stick to it. If you continue to try and chase unicorns your going to be out of alot more money than you'd ever think you would. TRUST ME. I had to basically talk myself into choosing one and sticking with it. You'll learn more about your rifle and shooting 10 fold by sticking with the same bullet and powder combo. Also, keep it simple. Do what you need to do to get everything ready to load but don't waste time worrying about it. Hell, they aren't shooting back. And don't think if its not hitting the same hole there's something wrong. There are plenty 1/2 to 3/4 moa rifles I've hit a very long way with. Just continue to KEEP IT FUN!!
Honestly its a question for the ages. I asked this a few months back and got nothing. But from a ton of googling it seems like with everything its personal preference when it comes to which mfg.
As for bullet weight, it all depends on what you want to do and what gun your working with. If your going with LR I'd look into 155's if you have a 22"+ barrel to get them screaming with out killing your brass, or stick with your 175's. If you want sub 700/800 yard stuff look at 168's or stick with the 175's.
GL!
As for bullet weight, it all depends on what you want to do and what gun your working with. If your going with LR I'd look into 155's if you have a 22"+ barrel to get them screaming with out killing your brass, or stick with your 175's. If you want sub 700/800 yard stuff look at 168's or stick with the 175's.
GL!
I like to use mild loads. They make your stuff last longer. When looking at the 308, the only choice with a high enough BC that will also be most accurate at mild pressures is the 175/185 grain weight. There you find several brands and two ogjive types. I like bullets that jump well, so I choose bullets with tangent ogjives. That limits me to Sierra, Berger, and Nosler. I like Sierra cuz it's the shortest.
Powder, I like Varget and IMR 4064 4895 and Reloader-15 and anything else that I can get my hands on. I use QuickLoad to predict the velocity and barrel time and match the charge weights to the calculated nodes assigned to my barrel length. Incredibly, it all works! I'm getting good velocity, great accuracy, and my brass lasts forever cuz I'm only generating 50,000 PSI. Sometimes I get a little bold and explore the higher pressure range, but then I realize it's not worth it.
I used to load blind, but that only resulted in wasted time, components, and frustration. I would find what I thought was "THE" load only to realize it wasn't the next time I tried it. People would tell me it was the weather, or voodoo, or whatever. It wasn't. It was the load. It sucked. I was outside its sweet spot because I did not understand what the sweet spot was. An occasional lucky quarter inch group is not a sweet spot. I did come up on a few good loads that way, only by sheer luck, and they happened to jive with the QL/Node thing and I cursed the previous 15 years of wasted time and money to hell.
Get QuickLoad. Get the barrel time node chart. Get the most out of your gun and components without waste.
Powder, I like Varget and IMR 4064 4895 and Reloader-15 and anything else that I can get my hands on. I use QuickLoad to predict the velocity and barrel time and match the charge weights to the calculated nodes assigned to my barrel length. Incredibly, it all works! I'm getting good velocity, great accuracy, and my brass lasts forever cuz I'm only generating 50,000 PSI. Sometimes I get a little bold and explore the higher pressure range, but then I realize it's not worth it.
I used to load blind, but that only resulted in wasted time, components, and frustration. I would find what I thought was "THE" load only to realize it wasn't the next time I tried it. People would tell me it was the weather, or voodoo, or whatever. It wasn't. It was the load. It sucked. I was outside its sweet spot because I did not understand what the sweet spot was. An occasional lucky quarter inch group is not a sweet spot. I did come up on a few good loads that way, only by sheer luck, and they happened to jive with the QL/Node thing and I cursed the previous 15 years of wasted time and money to hell.
Get QuickLoad. Get the barrel time node chart. Get the most out of your gun and components without waste.
I start with application and range, that determines weight and style. Then i look at B.C's across manufacturers, that narrows down the range further, then I look at reviews as everyone has an opinion, finally I look at cost. I would rather shoot more than gain an 1/8th MOA and I'm not made of money.
Then I buy a box and work up a load. If I'm satisfied with the load's performance I will likely never buy a different bullet. If I want to try something different out because I'm unsatisfied or just because, I will usually ask around to see if someone wants to sell some smaller quantity to try things out.
Then I buy a box and work up a load. If I'm satisfied with the load's performance I will likely never buy a different bullet. If I want to try something different out because I'm unsatisfied or just because, I will usually ask around to see if someone wants to sell some smaller quantity to try things out.
I found that the analytical way works beat for me. What is the rifle for: hunting( long or short range) lr tactical, varmint? That will start to narrow down what class of bullet I need. What is my barrel twist? Will limit what weight bullets work best. What is my budget? If I have a limited budget and want to shoot a lot maybe I need to look at less expensive bullets. If look at what you want to do you can narrow your selection down to just a few before ever firing a round.
Can you elaborate a little bit on this please? I have an FN SPR A1a (20" barrel) in .308. I am having a hard time figuring out how to dial in my 168gr SMK over Varget load. I keep doing what you described and it's frustrating. Not sure what to do other than just keep trying..
>>>This.
First and most important question is exactly what type shooting are you wanting to do. That will narrow things down quite a bit. Is 0.5 or sub-0.5 MOA target accuracy your goal? At what distance? Need proper expansion on a certain type/size of game? Is a specific weight bullet required? Specific shooting requirements will narrow the list significantly.
Once the basic requirements are known and some candidates selected on that basis, they can be then be sorted to some extent by the rifle itself. For example, shooting 215 gr Hybrids out of a rifle with a really short freebore simply isn't going to work very well. Knowing your chamber and barrels specs and what bullets they are optimized for can help rule in/out some choices.
Finally, there are quite a few other way to pare down the list further. Cost? Availability? If you can't find them or can't afford them, you can probably cross them off the list. How easy are they to load (ie. tangent vs secant ogive/VLD)? What kind of powder to you have access to? Is it best suited to a particular weight or style of bullet? Do you want the highest possible BC you can get?
Once you have the list down to a manageable number (not hundreds, or even tens), ask around to see if anyone you know has any experience among the choices. Post on a shooting forum to get some informed opinions (you'll probably get way more than you want LOL). At that point, you should be able to pick one/two/maybe even three that you'll actually develop loads for and directly compare. Seriously, even though there are many choices available for purchase, with a little common sense and research bullet selection shouldn't be such a difficult task.
You have to do a lot of reading here on the Hide. I started with SMK 168gr with 42.8gr of IMR 4064 being the best load for my DTA 22" barrel with 1:11.5 twist. Moved the the Berger 185gr for better BC and longer range with 42.5gr of IMR 4064. Shooting less than 1/3rd MOA at 100 yards. Each gun and barrel is different, so you have to find out which barrel and load will work for yours by lots of testing! Great fun working up the loads and seeing which works best at the range then I moved on to my 260 barrel and found two great bullets and loads for that. Still have to work up a 243 load for for my new AI AXMC short action when it arrives and then my 338LM. Seems like there is always a new challenge.
You already have enough advice to start you in the right direction. One thing I believe is there are certain ranges of bullets suitable for specific cartridges. Too light and you have a ballistic shortcoming and too heavy and you might lack case capacity to properly drive a long heavy bullet. In 308, I would be looking at bullets between 165 and 190 grains and as far as manufacturer, take your pick. Just remember that what works great in some other rifle may not perform the best in yours. Short answer, you have a quest in front of you; you cannot expect google, or one of our Gurus to give you a gold plated, guaranteed answer. BB
My journey was simple:
- Ask the great shooters of the Hide in my style of shooting what they use as well online articles.
- Ask about their powder of choice
- Consult with Newberry at OCW
- Listen and follow Newberry's guidance
- Squeeze, bang, smile
- Enroll in classes to teach me to consistently squeeze, bang, smile ( I wish I had a similar high school class in an unrelated topic, haha)
1/2 MOA out of my gas gun, right on. Less than it, woohoo.
Ps,
175g Sierra matchking
Cci 200
Win brass
43.5 Varget
.308 gasAR
- Ask the great shooters of the Hide in my style of shooting what they use as well online articles.
- Ask about their powder of choice
- Consult with Newberry at OCW
- Listen and follow Newberry's guidance
- Squeeze, bang, smile
- Enroll in classes to teach me to consistently squeeze, bang, smile ( I wish I had a similar high school class in an unrelated topic, haha)
1/2 MOA out of my gas gun, right on. Less than it, woohoo.
Ps,
175g Sierra matchking
Cci 200
Win brass
43.5 Varget
.308 gasAR
