F T/R Competition 175smk or 168amax

[ker2222]

I am totally new to f class. I am starting from scratch and getting things together to start in our local comps here this spring. I will be shooting a stock rem 700 PSS with 26 inch barrel. And, hand lading is out of question for a year or two at least.

So, I am going to pick up a supply of southwest ammo and am wondering which would be the best to get started with....
175 smk loading or the 168 amax loading. Moat of our local comps are at 600 with several also at 1000

 

[Force_Multiplier]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

175 to 1000, but you might try the 155 load too

 

[DamnYuppie]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: force_multiplier</div><div class="ubbcode-body">175 to 1000, but you might try the 155 load too</div></div>

Only downside to 155's that I have found is they are way more expensive then the 175's. I would love to be proved wrong on this but until I find them at comparable prices I am sticking with ye'olde 175.

To the OP I say go with the 175 SMK's.

 

[captrichardson]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

Since you are talking factory loads, anything at this point would be just speculation until you try them!

Buy a box of the different loads, shoot them, and see what kind of performance you get.

Since you will not be handloading and tuning the load to the rifle, you are going to want to go with the factory load that works best with your rifle. Since each rifle and load combination will perform a little bit different, you are just going to have to try them and see what you get.

Best of Luck,
M Richardson

 

[jcsguns]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

i have a remington 700 pss that shoots the 168 very tight at 100, but the 175 are better at 600.
i agree with captrichardson, try a few factory loads and find out what the rifle likes.
good luck.

 

[gstaylorg]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

If you're going to be trying out various factory loads, you might consider these:

http://www.appliedballisticsllc.com/Munitions/ABMTactical.html

Obviously these are pretty pricey for most to be using them for general practice, etc. However, if your rifle likes them, you will not find a more accurate factory load anywhere.

 

[northern shooter]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

175 SMK!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

 

[XTR]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

For factory loads use 175s.

The 155s only start to pay dividends loaded really fast. If you shoot the Sierra's they are only $4 more than the 175s per 100. They will save you a bunch of elevation but elevation is cheap. They start paying windage dividends when you get them really cranked up. That said, if your home range is one with a tree line and keeping low keeps the bullet below the trees longer then maybe the 155s make sense.

One more thing, You are going to have to get into reloading, just accept it and get on with it.

until then get out and shoot and have fun.


Personally I've only tested the 155s at 100 and 200 and found that I couldn't get the MV to make them worth it, but I'm still thinking that sometime in the next few months I may still load up a batch and shoot them side by side and see how they run in on the range and not in JBM.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

in my experience, the 168 goes to shit at longer range (around 1000 yards).
The 155 need velocity (lots of it) to win out.
I would suggest the 175 grain loads. They have always worked well for me at 600 to 1000 yards.

 

[Longguns]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

175 SMK'S Don't Look Back. Do what people said above. If you are not going to reload buy several different weights and try them out to see what your rifle likes.

 

[*greenhorn*]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

whats your barrel twist 1:10 175 smk 1:12 amax

if your close to one than the other go that way

 

[Longguns]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

I used to have a PSS same as OP. The twist was 1:12. It shot the 175's really good as well as the 168's. These were both Smk's It did not like the AMAX. There was a thread on here sometime back where they compared the 175 smk with the amax out to 1000.

 

[calling4life]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

Buy a box or two of each, include federal gold medal 168 & 175, along with hornady match ammo.

You'll want what shoots best, not at 100, but at the 600 & 1000 yard ranges you plan to shoot. You may find a 600 yard round and a 1000 yard round or one for both.

 

[HPLLC]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: northern shooter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">175 SMK!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!! </div></div>

+1

 

[jroberts]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

i really like the 178 amax

 

[PanaDP]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jroberts</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i really like the 178 amax </div></div>

+1 on this. Well worth trying, my remington loves them.

 

[_shawn_]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

so if the 155's take velocity to pay off then how much velocity are we talking?

 

[Huckleberry75]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

oodles and gobs.

 

[VKC]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

175smk gets my vote.

 

[agr 490]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

175 get my vote . The 168 are great but not so good after about 700 or so. Just my.02

 

[_shawn_]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

so can anybody give a rough number on speed for the 155's to outpreform the 175's? since i'm shooting a 30-06 i can get a little more speed over the 308 but what worries me is the 10 twist barrel might spin them too fast. i don't have a chrono but the 150 gr nosler ballistic tip don't seem to like anything over 58.4 gr of imr 4350 with my current twist

 

[_shawn_]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

ok so i played with jbm's calculator and it looks like if i can get the 155 to 2900fps or faster it'll out perform the 175 running 2800fps on everything but drift but at 2950 it even out preforms it there but how will it preform with a 10 twist?

 

[XTR]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

In 1000 yard target shooting drift is really the only thing that matters. Given a couple of spotters everyone can get w/i 1moa vertical if they have decent reloading technique, but wind drift is what the game is all about. Those 1 mph changes that push you out of the 10 ring are murder, if you can save an inch of drift per mph then you don't lose a point that the guy next to you may.

In 308s we can push 175s at 2650 to 2750 maybe the long tube guns are getting a bit more, so 155s begin paying dividends at about 2900.

 

[Clay_James]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

I was originally using 175 SMKs in my SPS varmint and always got great accuracy, typically around .5-.75MOA at 100 yards. I decided I wanted something I could hunt with so I switched to the 178 A-Max and it shoots just as well and on my last batch of reloads I put 4 through one ragged hole.

 

[Quickoz]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

The 155gr when loaded to normal target velocitys for 1000yds, Ie: 2950fps or more will out perform the 175gr SMK drop and drift wise. BC is less thats true but run the numbers and see what happens. If you can get your rifle to 3000fps or closer with 155gr (really need a 26" plus barrel) then you would do well but know your effective range with the load.

The secret with 155gr, keep the lil pills supersonic to the target and they should do fine.

FWIW my 155gr load is around 2985 - 3000fps and my 175gr load is 2725fps. Thats from my 26" Kreiger, 1-12T. 155gr pill is the Australian Designed Dyer BJD-HBC 155gr VLD and 175gr is the SMK.

 

[nashlaw]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

I have a rifle built by Howard Pitts that is becoming my "go-to" rifle. It shoots like a hammer with 168g AMaxes and 155g SMKs. But with the 155s, although they shoot a half inch at 100yds, they go to poop!!! at 200 with 45g of R15. I have not played with the charge load, but I think they need a bit more juice to be better at distance.

On the other hand, the 168s group sub-moa at 100 and 200. Monday I am going to start stretching them out to 300yds.

 

[Win308]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

With my Remington 5R, I am going with the 175gr SMKs.

 

[biggin69]

Re: 175smk or 168amax

I would also take a look at the Berger 175 gr Tactical bullet. Compared to the 175 gr SMK, they shoot a little better out of my Savage 10PC.