Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Competitive Shooting 308 Win. & 190 gr. bullets

I got some 190 gr. Nosler CC bullets to play with and I'm looking for load advice. Are there any "standards" for a 190 like there are for the 168?

Thanks in advance.

m

One of the local guys is shooting 190 Sierras at the 600 yard line and doing real well. It's an old 600 yard favorite. Dunno what he's using, but I thought it was IMR 4064. I'll ask him if I get a chance. Seems to me it was an old favorite 600 yard line load, a standard at one time.

I seldom use a bullet that heavy from my .308 Win.

Lots of good info on the 190gr and other heavy bullets here:

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2010/10/cartridges-308-palma-preparation-and.html

and here:

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2010/01/equipment-palma-bullets-and-barrels.html

I used to load 190gr Sierra MK.

308 Win
Win brass
190 SMK (moly'd)
RL-15
44.0 gr - 2575 fps
2.80" OAL

It was a solid sub-moa load in a 26" Rem 700 Varmint.

Did you try them sans moly?

No. I was buying them in the 500 qty, already moly'd.

Thanks. I bought a thousand naked Noslers.

I'd have probably gone for the 175 if they had a bulk pack of those like the 155, 168 and 190.

I was looking at the Nosler 190gr at Powder Valley. $209/1000 is a great price.

The 190gr is a great bullet for mag-length 308 loads.

If I try some of the 190s in the 308Win again, I'll cram as much RL17 under them as will fit in a Win 308 case, and see what happens.

Powder Valley is where I get them. They ship fast too.

I hope I don't have to go to '17 to make them work. Significantly compressed loads are not favorites of mine. I'm not going long, so if I can get solidly below MOA anywhere above 2500 fps I'll be happy.

RL15 or similar speed powder should work well.

At 2500 fps they should still make 1000 yards with 1250+ fps remaining, even at sea level.

I've been a happy customer of Powder Valley for a few years now. Great prices, and they don't gouge you on shipping either.

4064 was the old standard, but I don't recall the load for it unfortunately.

Plenty of folks running Varget under 185 BT's. Could be worth a try, although 4064 does get lots of press from the old timers.

I put some together with Varget and 4064 with a bit heavier charges than I used for the initial shakedown. The 12" twist may need a bit more speed to get these in tight, and I anticipate something like 2550 fps with the new loads.

I asked Nosler and checked out the JBM calculator, and both indicated I shouldn't have stability issues. But the initial outing has me wondering if my barrels will perform with these bullets. 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" five shot groups are not up to par.

The rifles/scopes are known to be good, both will hide five 168 gr. bullets within a 1" dot at 100 yards, with 5/8" groups being common.

I'e shot some 190SMK with 43gr Varget in Lapua cases with WLR primers. I shot them at 1000 yards and they did OK, but I was disappointed with elevation; it was not in line with what I was expecting using the Sierra-supplied BC. I switched to the 180JLK and got back a bunch of MOAs in elevation. It's been a few years now, so the details are fuzzy and I can't find the detail records for those matches.

I've never tried the Noslers 190s.

FTR have you shot the 190 JLKs in 308? I just picked up in a trade a few hundred to play with

I have been using 185 Scenar and Berger bullets with eith Varget or N550 with good results at 1000

I've been at it a while and I can't get the Nosler 190 to group in either 12" twist rifle I tried them in.

1" to 1/4" for five shots at 100 yards is the best I've managed. In contrast, I'd have to really screw up to get either rifle to shoot a group that big with a 168. I can throw together a half dozen combinations with the 168 that run 1/2 to 5/8 MOA all the time.

I guess I burned myself being cheap. What I wanted were the 175 Noslers to try a heavier more streamlined bullet, but they don't offer the economy price 1000 box for that one.

I tried them a little bit at the beginning of my .308 odyssey but I standardized on the 180gr JLK LBT, so I really did not give the 190 a fair chance. I have also shot the 185 Berger Long Range (non-VLD) when Swampy could not ship the 180s for several months. They shot well enough but I found that I got better scores with the JLKs. However recently my scores have been pretty dismal, what with crossfires, constant howling winds and age (with attendant new aches and pains.) (They say it's all downhill from here, I just never remember getting to the top.)

I got my latest shipment of 180s from Swampy a few months back and I am good at least through the Nationals. Berger has been making a lot of noise about their new hybrids, but I have not seen anything in .30 caliber. I like the heavier weights but there has to be the accompanying BC increase or else it just another way of getting beat up for no reason.

Denys

I finally got them working for me. Still 12" twist, but it's a different rifle that likes them.