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Berger's 308 168Hybrids good for 1K yds?

Fatelvis

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 15, 2003
304
4
Mokena, IL
I just bought a box to try in my 5R and M1A, and was wondering if these bullets will perform at 1000 yds as well or better than a 175SMK. I'm planning on pushing them to 2600 in my M1A and about 2700 in my 5R. I never shot at 1000, (600 max so far), but I would like to work up a load that will perform when I can try 1000. Thanks-
 
I have only shot to 600 yards with them but I have no doubt that they would be just fine to 1K. They are great bullets.
 
I shot them out to 1125 with my old M1A at 2675fps and they did their job when I did mine! (wind calls)

I did do my load testing for them at 500 yards tho! Just cause it shoots tight groups at 100yd dont mean it will do the same down range! A lot of people dont understand that...
 
Well....it will hit things that far..its just how much wind and drop you have to add in. I have shot them at 1200 but the drop and the wind is crazy.

They are supersonic well before 1000 yards and are just kinda lobbing in there. The 175 works better in my experience. I know you can use too heavy of bullets with the M1 but the 175 i think is your winner.
 
Well....it will hit things that far..its just how much wind and drop you have to add in. I have shot them at 1200 but the drop and the wind is crazy.

They are supersonic well before 1000 yards and are just kinda lobbing in there. The 175 works better in my experience. I know you can use too heavy of bullets with the M1 but the 175 i think is your winner.
Supersonic or transonic?
 
They are supersonic well before 1000 yards and are just kinda lobbing in there. The 175 works better in my experience. I know you can use too heavy of bullets with the M1 but the 175 i think is your winner.
I was under the impression that they would both be over mach1 at 1K.
 
I have had no luck with Berger 168 or 155 Hybrids, in my 700 or M1a, I am talking 2'' groups @ 100.

If you come up with the "magic" recipe, let us (me) know, I am about to shitcan these POC's
 
I have been using 168 and 185 hunting classic hybrids and have been impressed with both, I wanted a duel purpose bullet and these are it for me. When loading the 168 I have found my usual top velocity/accuracy node for 168 A-max and Sierra to be too much for the berger with varget, around 46g. Dropping down to the next lower node worked well. Have no worries about going to 1k with them, the BC is better than 175's and they are still supersonic. I am pushing them (168's) out of my Winchester stealth at ~2715-2730 with (IIRC) 45.2 grain of varget. Xtremegunnr may have been thinking of non hybrid 168's as the hybrids use less elevation and wind than my old 175 smk standby. After trying out the 185 model I like it even more. I am running about 60-70 fps slower with around 43-43.5ish grains of varget (I don’t have my data in front of me)... and using a touch less wind at distance. IIRC, I am jumping about .015-.02 to the lands.
 
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I have had no luck with Berger 168 or 155 Hybrids, in my 700 or M1a, I am talking 2'' groups @ 100.

If you come up with the "magic" recipe, let us (me) know, I am about to shitcan these POC's
Charlie,
what chamber does your M1A have? Mine has the old Obermeyer chamber and I had lousy results with 168Hybrids when I jumped them. I believe that if you jammed them in like one usually does with a VLD they will work. Did you do much fiddling? I just went back to SMK's and turned the rear sight knob more. I have had excellent results with Hybrids in other rifles though so I know they have a sweet spot.
 
Whatever SAI reamed it with, this rifle can shoot somewhat less than a minute with 168smk and 41.5 I4895, so I don't think it's the rifle or me.

Thanks
 
Just cause it shoots tight groups at 100yd dont mean it will do the same down range! A lot of people dont understand that...

But my 2 shot groups shoot .1 MOA all day!

Not including the flyer.
 
Charlie,
I agree it's not you. That reinforced my belief that it's the chamber. I know SA doesn't use a tight chamber or one with a 1.5 degree leade angle. I know others with M1A's with custom chambers, 1.5 degree leade angle, use Hybrids to excellent effect out to 1k. So if the rifle has a 3 degree leade I believe they have to be jammed. they still might not work but I know they work well in 1.5 degree chambers, jammed or jumped.
 
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I have an original GI SAK barrel (1:12) on my M1A, so I guess I'm going to be out of luck using the Hybrids......
 
I have an original GI SAK barrel (1:12) on my M1A, so I guess I'm going to be out of luck using the Hybrids......

While I believe that you could find a depth and load that would make them work, there is a saying that goes "if your M1A won't shoot a 168SMK using IMR4895 you have a gun problem" and that I believe is the best route to go. 168 SMK'S just works well. If you're not trying to win a national title or something along those lines it's not worth it, just load SMK's and shoot good shots. extra time at the reloading bench is not my idea of fun though, your opinion might be different.
 
I have an original GI SAK barrel (1:12) on my M1A, so I guess I'm going to be out of luck using the Hybrids......


Load a few and give 'em a try, don't let my poor luck stop you, you might hit the "magic" load right off!

I ran them over 39.5-41,5 3031 out of my 700, and 42.0 4895 from my M1a. I also tried a medium high load of 8208 from my M1a. I could find the lands in my 700, but the bullet was barely in the case mouth, kinda lost interest after that

Good luck, let us know what happens, I know that some guys swear by them, not at them.
 
Don't get me wrong, 168SMKs shoot great out of my M1A, but the idea of less recoil and flatter trajectory sounds interesting to me! And I enjoy hand loading, so I guess its inevitable I'm going to fiddle with it! Lol. I'm going to load some up, and I'll let you know how it goes (as soon as I can walk downrange at the rifle range. I had enough of this *#^@&$ snow!).
 
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