PRS Talk PRS Tac Class 308 Win

[bbyars]

Anyone in here actively compete in Tac Class? Ive finally put my 308 rifle together and just curious if im thinking the wrong way here. Ive bought quite a bit of the 177SMK and have little load data on them but have found 2 nodes with these around 2600 and one around 2690....I can push them harder but since most of the matches are 1000yds or less is it really needed? I have always bought bullets on the heavier end of the spectrum and then tried to shoot them at max distance just trying to find the limits of the cartridge but it is seeming like some of the guys are having good success with the 155 bullets in which i have never tested. Is there enough positives to actually try to switch over to these and what is your prefered bullet?

177s
Moderate recoil
545ish BC
2600-2700fps
Target splash
Dirt splash

155s
Less recoil?
520 BC?
2800+fps?
?
?

Just curious as to what is actually winning in this class as it seems like there is no coverage on anything but Open.

 

[DairyDictator]

Can't speak to the pro series but I run 223 (75 ELDM's) in my club and regional series. Our range goes to 660. I run slower so I have more time to see what happens downrange. I have no problem hanging with the 6mm's

For 308 the decisions would probably be similar.

155's @ 2800 max per rules
- lower recoil
- lower BC
- closer transonic range (things can get weird here)

175-178's
- Higher recoil
- Potentially less wind drift
- Further transonic range

Splash difference will probably be negligible.

Set up multiple profiles in your solver and see what the difference actually is. When comparing your wind values, input what you can call the wind to. For example if you can consistently call the wind to +/-2MPH, input 2. Reason for this is your elevation and wind calls are just numbers, doesn't really matter what they are. What matters is how much your error will bite you.

For what it's worth, seems like a lot of the guys who take tac seriously are shooting the 178 ELDM, 176 ATip, and 75 ELDM.

 

[b6graham]

well speed limit is 2800 for 308 so 155s are worthless unfortunately

when i shot PRS/TAC i shot 75 JLKs at 3k fps. if i wanted to shoot 308 I'd be using factory ammo

 

[bbyars]

Isn’t it 2800 fps for both 223 and 308?

 

[b6graham]

Isn’t it 2800 fps for both 223 and 308?

223 is 3k

 

[D_TROS]

I shot 168 bergers at 2750. had good luck with those.

really like the 155's but the speed limit kills them.

honestly id go with whatever shoots the best for you. and practice like crazy..

GL!
DT

 

[DairyDictator]

Berger 168's have an unusually high BC for their weight. Probably why they're difficult to find

 

[Rob01]

Anyone in here actively compete in Tac Class? Ive finally put my 308 rifle together and just curious if im thinking the wrong way here. Ive bought quite a bit of the 177SMK and have little load data on them but have found 2 nodes with these around 2600 and one around 2690....I can push them harder but since most of the matches are 1000yds or less is it really needed? I have always bought bullets on the heavier end of the spectrum and then tried to shoot them at max distance just trying to find the limits of the cartridge but it is seeming like some of the guys are having good success with the 155 bullets in which i have never tested. Is there enough positives to actually try to switch over to these and what is your prefered bullet?

177s
Moderate recoil
545ish BC
2600-2700fps
Target splash
Dirt splash

155s
Less recoil?
520 BC?
2800+fps?
?
?

Just curious as to what is actually winning in this class as it seems like there is no coverage on anything but Open.

What 155 has a .520 BC?

I have shot 178s and 168 ELD-Ms in my .308 in matches. Both did really well and the rifle didn't have much recoil especially with the 168s. I had them going 2750fps. I just started playing with the 176 ATips and have them going 2700fps and plan to use them in some matches this year.

 

[bbyars]

What 155 has a .520 BC?

I have shot 178s and 168 ELD-Ms in my .308 in matches. Both did really well and the rifle didn't have much recoil especially with the 168s. I had them going 2750fps. I just started playing with the 176 ATips and have them going 2700fps and plan to use them in some matches this year.

155 smk or lapua

 

[b6graham]

155 smk or lapua

those are both well below .500

 

[D_TROS]

the 155 mk palma has a bc of 504

its a fantastic bullet actually...I wish i could push em at 2950 in tac class...

 

[Rob01]

155 smk or lapua

Yeah both well below .5 but I looked around and found the new Tipped Sierra 155 is .519 so that's pretty good for a 155.

 

[StrayDog]

169 smk, I get 2800 fps in 26" 1-10 with 44g varget.

 

[DairyDictator]

What 155 has a .520 BC?

I have shot 178s and 168 ELD-Ms in my .308 in matches. Both did really well and the rifle didn't have much recoil especially with the 168s. I had them going 2750fps. I just started playing with the 176 ATips and have them going 2700fps and plan to use them in some matches this year.

How big of a difference in recoil did you notice between the 168s and 178s?

 

[Rob01]

How big of a difference in recoil did you notice between the 168s and 178s?

Not much difference in recoil between the two. The 168 were going faster so probably a little offset there. Both worked fine for matches. If I had to choose I would probably go with the 168 ELD-M as it's got a good BC and good velocity. The new 168/169s get passed over a lot as people still have the bad rep of the 168 SMK in their head and don't want to shoot them as they think all bullets in that range are the same.

 

[Tperry]

I ran the 175smk for 2 years around 2580-2600fps. It did really well and could spot impacts/misses fairly well of of stable props. Recoil was manageable.

This weekend I'm going to change it up and shoot a match running the Berger 155 around 2780 fps. We'll see how that goes. Recoil seems slightly softer so I should be able to spot better.

I may end up just going back to the 175 if there isn't enough gain.

 

[Criver600]

I've shot thousands of 155SMK's out of my Palma rifle. Very accurate and with a good load great elevation. I'll trade that for a few points of BC any day.

 

[Rob01]

Elevation means nothing when you know the range to target. Wind is where it's at and where the BC will help you. I'll take a very accurate and higher BC bullet all day any day.

 

[308pirate]

I've shot thousands of 155SMK's out of my Palma rifle. Very accurate and with a good load great elevation. I'll trade that for a few points of BC any day.

You can drive them as fast as you like in NRA mid and long range. Not so in PRS.

 

[Criver600]

You can drive them as fast as you like in NRA mid and long range. Not so in PRS.

I believe I was pointing out great accuracy and elevation........but computer shooting

 

[308pirate]

I believe I was pointing out great accuracy and elevation........but computer shooting

We all know what you meant. It doesn't matter here because they can't be driven at the speed they need to be driven to avoid excessive wind drift.

Or are you saying that 155s at 2700 don't suffer more in the wind than bullets with better BCs at the same speed? Is that what you meant by "computer shooting"?

 

[Ledzep]

175 SMK in M118LR won tac class this year (speaking of 2023 season) FWIW. My opinion: It's a .308 it's going to suck (relatively), get good at shooting and load what shoots best.

 

[Tperry]

Shot the 155 hybrids at a match this weekend. Ran them tac class at 2775fps. Came in 11th out of 92 overall so I think they did ok. Definitely flatter than the other guys in my squad running 175s around 2600-2650.

I think I'll be doing this swap permanently for my tac rig. Less recoil and they don't care about jump at all. They just shoot good.

 

[TimResin]

Not much difference in recoil between the two. The 168 were going faster so probably a little offset there. Both worked fine for matches. If I had to choose I would probably go with the 168 ELD-M as it's got a good BC and good velocity. The new 168/169s get passed over a lot as people still have the bad rep of the 168 SMK in their head and don't want to shoot them as they think all bullets in that range are the same.

Rob01 have you used the 174 ELD VT yet? I bought a 1000 and need to start working a load up

 

[Rob01]

Rob01 have you used the 174 ELD VT yet? I bought a 1000 and need to start working a load up

No haven’t tried them yet but they look interesting. I am sure the load will be right around where my 168/178/176 bullet load is as all those are within .2grns of each other.

 

[TimResin]

I think Im just going to do the same load as my berger 175 otm/ 178eldm