Re: Load data for 210 SMK in .308?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: CTone</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For fun, I tried them in a LR308 with not so good results, but there's a caveat in that something didn't go according to plan from load testing to shooting at range. My OCW test showed about a 55fps increase total from 45.6 to 47.1 grains of RL-17. The spread looked like this:
45.6 - 2,369; 2,341; 2,329
45.9 - 2,373; 2,342; 2,342
46.2 - 2,358; 2,341; 2,355
46.5 - 2,367; 2,351; 2,363
46.8 - 2,363; 2,379; 2,393
47.1 - 2,376; 2,411
No pressure signs at 47.1. These velocities were through a 20" barrel. The 46.8 charge was tight; didn't measure it but it was less than 3/8" for those three shots, easy. There was no doubt where the node was from what I could tell. I'll post a pic of my test target tomorrow, but in the end I chose 46.8 without further development, which wasn't smart except to say I only bought one box of the 210 SGKs, and didn't realize there were only 50 in there. I shot that load at 440 and 620 yards and my groups were measured in feet, but strangely my velocity averaged 2,437 fps, so something wasn't right.
For me, I think it begs another look when I have the time, but running the numbers through the Shooter ap for Droid shows my pooper 155 grain handloads @ 2,668fps average shoot flatter than these. Wind drift is another matter, which is why I chose to try them in the first place. BTW, the COAL for this load was like 2.180" to ogive to get them to feed in the C-Products magazines; they wouldn't feed in the DPMS mags. The higher pressure was my fear, and the reason why I stayed low on the charge weights. I hope this helps. </div></div>
Thanks for the data. I'll bookmark this post, along with another tread on the heavies and RL-17.
Having fiddled with the numbers on my Palm, out on the patio, I think one needs to get the heavies up between 2600 and 2700 fps, to realize that gain in wind deflection, vis-a-vis the 155 Skinnies at upwards of 2950 fps.
From your data, you're not even close to 2500 fps, so as I said somewhere above, it's a 'waste' to go that route. 210/208s are more money and since they're heavier, they thump you a bit more with recoil.
For me, this is more an exercise as to whether I can duplicate the numbers others are realizing out of my Savage 10FP.
Chris