With the madness going on I have been unable to buy my normal 168/175 SMK's but did manage to find 150 M118 bullets, looking around on the internet for load data I am now not sure what I have as I see M118 and M118R. These bullets weigh 175 gn and look like SMK's but I have not left for a accurate comparison, the big difference is the tail being concave and you can see the lead core where the SMK's are flat and fully copper coated and the point is not hollow. I was going to use Varget this is a 308 AE with a 1- 12 barrel any suggestions in what I might have or load data.
- Thread starter billetman
- Start date
I still have a ton of 173s (M118 bullets) we pulled to make Mexican Match when I was shooting for the Guard. I use them for practice using 41.5 Gr of 4895 in LC brass or 42 in Winchester brass, and fed match primers. They work fairly well in my Super Match.
Work pretty good in my Vintage Military (M1917, M1903a3, and Garand) also.
I guess you can go hotter in a bolt gun, don't know why I've seen some pretty good scores fired in High Power and 1000 yard servicer rifle matches with M118 and home made M118s.
PS: I use the same load when using 168 & 175 SMK's.
Work pretty good in my Vintage Military (M1917, M1903a3, and Garand) also.
I guess you can go hotter in a bolt gun, don't know why I've seen some pretty good scores fired in High Power and 1000 yard servicer rifle matches with M118 and home made M118s.
PS: I use the same load when using 168 & 175 SMK's.
Chris
thank you for replying. I just checked the weight on my digital scale and the are 175.3 to 175.5gn but are not SMK's, I was only going to use them are the range.
thank you for replying. I just checked the weight on my digital scale and the are 175.3 to 175.5gn but are not SMK's, I was only going to use them are the range.
Use Kraig's load.
At this point, it doesn't much matter who's making them. Just load them up and start practicing. You can get better bullets down the road.
Chris
Billetman If they are hollow point bullets they are probably the pulls going around right now and would be 175 SMKs.If they are a Full metal jacket type bullet they could be the old M118 projectile.I have pulled and weighted several lots of the new M118 LR.The ones i have pulled look like RL 15 powder.They run 43.5 and 2 lots ran 43.8 grains.I just got finished with some ladder test on an AR10 Gap barrelled rifle.It came out the best loadwith RL15 was 43.2. Varget with the same load was more consistant.Load em and shoot em.The loads that Craig mentioned have always been a good load for me too.41.5 grs of IMR4895 in Lake City brass loaded to 2.80.Hope this helps.
The only thing I might be able to add to the above is that the original 118 load was IMR 4895, as opposed to H 4895. The new SMK's are open at the tip due to the jacket being put on from the rear, whereas the old 118's were open at the base because the jacket was put on from the front. I don't think there is any real difference in the loading from 173 to 175.
I use 42.8gr of Vihta N540. I tried to get the velocity with RL15 Varget and IMR's 4064 and 4895 just couldn't get the velocity without running into pressure trouble. N540 is an excellent and consistent powder.
M118 Special ball was loaded with IMR 4895 and a 173gr FMJBT projectile
M118 LR is loaded with non-canister RL15 and a 175gr Sierra HPBT
My load duplicates M118 LR
M118 Special ball was loaded with IMR 4895 and a 173gr FMJBT projectile
M118 LR is loaded with non-canister RL15 and a 175gr Sierra HPBT
My load duplicates M118 LR
billetman,
You mention the bullets as weighing 175, and this sounds like it's causing some confusion or concern. It shouldn't. Nominal specs for the M118 (or M72, same bullet) call it a 173 on most military ammo boxes, and specifys it as a 172 grain bullet in some of the paperwork. I've also seen it listed as, "175.5 grns, -3" meaning anything from 172.5 to 175.5 grains is perfectly within spec. Civilian match grade bullets will vary by tenths, military match often by several grains. Surprisingly, it really doesn't make that much difference, and I've shot a great many lots of M118 that shot quite well, out to and including 1,000 yards. The jackets on the M118 bullets are a lot thicker than those on SMKs or other civilian Match bullets on the market, and that's far and away a bigger issue in the accuracy question than a few tenths (or even grains) in weight. Load 'em up and enjoy! They'll do just fine out of your 1x12", no problem at all.
You mention the bullets as weighing 175, and this sounds like it's causing some confusion or concern. It shouldn't. Nominal specs for the M118 (or M72, same bullet) call it a 173 on most military ammo boxes, and specifys it as a 172 grain bullet in some of the paperwork. I've also seen it listed as, "175.5 grns, -3" meaning anything from 172.5 to 175.5 grains is perfectly within spec. Civilian match grade bullets will vary by tenths, military match often by several grains. Surprisingly, it really doesn't make that much difference, and I've shot a great many lots of M118 that shot quite well, out to and including 1,000 yards. The jackets on the M118 bullets are a lot thicker than those on SMKs or other civilian Match bullets on the market, and that's far and away a bigger issue in the accuracy question than a few tenths (or even grains) in weight. Load 'em up and enjoy! They'll do just fine out of your 1x12", no problem at all.
What you have are the privi 175 "m118" FMJ bullets. Decent bullets, sort them and they will surprise you. Use your favorite 175 Sierra load. Wiedeners sells these. They are not pull down or old 173 M118 match bullets. Just a name thrown on them that's not an accurate description. I have shot almost 2k of these and they are great practice bullets, when sorted by weight. The oddballs get turned I to reduced power loads or subsonics.
I load these with the same charge as my 175 SMK's. My KAC MK11's favorite load is 42.3gr of 8208 XBR loaded to mag length (2.81). This load also yields acceptable results in my other rifles, but this is basically the load the KAC was designed to shoot.
