morning guys? got some questions for you. started loading 308 168bthp hornady rounds with imr 4895 powder and i am wondering if they will get into the 2700fps or is that out of the question so far i went 20thou off the lands. and this is what i got so far. any help would be great thanks
- Thread starter sifer0425
- Start date
its a factory ruger precision rifle with a factory barrel. did the one load test and as the picture shows there is one good group but no flat node. was wondering if i should look for a node or not?? what do you think of the test pic?
Dont worry about finding flat spots, they aren’t reliable anyway.
Why do you need 2700 fps?
Its best to find an optimal charge weight that gives you the best level of precision consistently and safely. I ran your numbers using the Hornady 168 bthp and its supersonic to 850m at 2550 fps (11.4 mils) and 925m at 2600 fps (12.2 mils) using sea level, 50 degrees F, 70% humidity.
Mind you, these are only estimates as im not sure where in CAN you live but should give you some idea of the load’s max effective range ls at those mv speeds under those conditions.
Mind you, these are only estimates as im not sure where in CAN you live but should give you some idea of the load’s max effective range ls at those mv speeds under those conditions.
Since you asked, here is my take.
The 168 SMK is a great bullet for 600 yard work.
I will suggest you take a look at the 175 SMK if you want to play at 1000.
Work on your technique first and think about playing at 600 before you go to 1000. There is a lot of wind reading to the game and it doesn't get easier with distance. You can go through a whole bunch of 168s at 600 while you learn to stack them into the 10 ring on your way up to 1000.
Right now factory ammo is hard to find in general, but if you can find a box of FGMM in the 168 and or 175, you will get a good baseline performance and speed. Unless you are worried about close range penetration of some sort, always orient your load development towards accuracy and try not to chase velocity.
The 168 SMK is a great bullet for 600 yard work.
I will suggest you take a look at the 175 SMK if you want to play at 1000.
Work on your technique first and think about playing at 600 before you go to 1000. There is a lot of wind reading to the game and it doesn't get easier with distance. You can go through a whole bunch of 168s at 600 while you learn to stack them into the 10 ring on your way up to 1000.
Right now factory ammo is hard to find in general, but if you can find a box of FGMM in the 168 and or 175, you will get a good baseline performance and speed. Unless you are worried about close range penetration of some sort, always orient your load development towards accuracy and try not to chase velocity.
He’s using the 168 Hornady bthp.
To your points, the 175 smk is better beyond 800 but the 168 gets there, just not as efficiently.
The 169 smk shits on both of them.
The 168 Hornady and Sierra are very similar and neither do well stability wise in the trans sonic region below 1.2 Mach. That pretty much limits them to about 800 yds in normal barrel lengths depending on elevation. The 175SMK and 169SMK both have shallower boattails which handle the transonic region better.
2700fps may be achievable. 2000MR and CFE223 would be the powders of choice to do that.
As for flat spots? They are a function of testing, and are not real.
2700fps may be achievable. 2000MR and CFE223 would be the powders of choice to do that.
As for flat spots? They are a function of testing, and are not real.
Agree. 169s to 1000. Almost bought 2500. But I don’t need to right now.
11 mils flat to 1000m out of my PSS. 43.1g imr4064, fed case and 210 primer.
