So I tried some Hornady Match 178 BTHP ammo today. Accuracy was good, but velocity was painfully slow! Averaged about 2330 FPS out of my 18in Pacnor. 300fps slower than my hand loads with the same bullet. My barrel isnt slow. And 300 fps slower than advertised on the box. Which im sure is tested through a 26in barrel? Which is fine. Id expect to lose about 150 fps. But 300? Damn! Is this ammo always this ridiculously slow? Lot #3172010
Hornady Match 178 BTHP (slow!!!)
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Probably just the ammo. I was getting 2630 with handloads out of my 20" 308 before i sold it and that was with a factory tube and 45gr of varget. So max load but still.
Strange.With factory box ammo I get 2680 out of my 18" Rock 5R .299 bore barrel Bolt gun.. It shoots 10.1 mil to 1K so the speed is validated. Are shooting a Bolt or Gasser?
The ammo is tested in a 24" barrel so you will lose some in the shorter 18" but 300FPS is a lot. Did you check the chrono? Could be a slow lot but that is pretty slow. Anyone around with a .308, or if you have another, you can have them try it and see what they get for velocity?
Try the 178 Superformance if you want more speed. Out of my 20" .308 I am getting 2805fps with the 178 Superformance. That was shot to 1020 to confirm and it was on.
Try the 178 Superformance if you want more speed. Out of my 20" .308 I am getting 2805fps with the 178 Superformance. That was shot to 1020 to confirm and it was on.
Robo1 , was this factory ammo or your re-loads and if factory do you have any re-load data for 178g 308WIN ?
Thanks !
That was factory Hornady 178 Superformance giving the 2805fps. My handload with Varget gives me 2695fps.
Don't buy the over the counter Superformance powder and try to reverse engineer the factory load though as they use a different blend for the factory ammo.
Don't buy the over the counter Superformance powder and try to reverse engineer the factory load though as they use a different blend for the factory ammo.
To follow up, I tried the 178 Superformance factory loads and got more velocity. 2515fps average. Which is acceptable out of my 18". Accuracy was good too. Just trying to find a decent factory load for 308. Kinda tired of reloading for it. I dont take it beyond 800 yards. So I think this factory offering will be sufficient.
Edit: The chrono has never let me down. Reads my 22" 243 at 2925-2950 with 105gr bullets. And my 178 bthp handloads with a full case of RL17 at 2600. Verified velocity/drops at range. 99% sure the ammo lot was just really slow. Tell them to bump up the powder charge?
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