Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles The Mauser M12 Extreme .308 Handloading Thread

165/168 Bullets



VARGET

2.885 oal

Was able to finally shoot the M-12 and get sighted in.

I am sold on the rifle, very nice!

This was Mule Deer's load 46.5 of Varget shooting a 168 Nosler BT @ an average of 2,775 mv, ES of 10. 2.990 aol.
Not too bad for a 20" barrel.

https://imgur.com/3nSJ7Jd

2.990 OAL - nice to have those long magazines! That's a mighty fine load and group you shot partner.
Cheers,
Rex

What brass and primer did you use?

I used Winchester brass and a Remington primer.

Very nice Bob!

Thanks for the information guys. Thanks Rex for starting this thread.
I plan to use Varget and some 150's.

No Problem! I'm glad SU35 had a great day and shared his results. We shared the chamber throat information between ourselves (like what I put in the OP) and his rifle's throat seems to be mighty close to mine, regarding the OAL where the bullets touch the lands. And the velocities and groups he got on his first day out are a lot like mine. Makes me think all the rifles we all bought at that great sale might be pretty interchangeable on the data, if we're lucky.
Not sure if SU35 listed it but in our texting I learned he was .040 off the lands with the 46.5/Varget load under the 168 NBT. I've been using .050 off with the 165 NBT and might move it in a touch. Also, I never went above 45/Varget before shifting over to Big Game. Now I plan to shoot a few with 46 or 46.5 Varget.
Also, I think I may need to give 2000MR another try in this rifle. In my Mauser '98 .308 it does mighty good.

Looking forward to seeing some range results from the other folks that picked up these cool rifles.

Cheers,
Rex

Fellas,
I'm struggling with mine. So far, I've only tried Hornady 150 Interlocks with both IMR4064 and RL-15. In both instances, groups were horrendous. I'm talking 2-3 MOA. I went back and measured the throat on mine. With 165 Nosler BTs, they touched the lands at 2.958 OAL and 2.327 BTO. With the throat being this long, I can't even shoot 150s and have enough of the bullet supported in the case. I was seating them at 2.745 OAL which was a long jump. This was also the case with the Hornady 165 BT Interlocks. Therefore, I think Nosler BT 165s and heavier will shoot better. I wish these things had a shorter throat. A buddy has a M18 and it cuts holes.

By chance have you tried a Sierra 150?

devnull,
Sorry you're having trouble with that long jump to the lands. Let me know if you want me to hook you up with one (or more) of those longer magazines I talked about on the first page of this thread. I can get them wholesale and have them shipped direct to you from the dealer, and we can settle up with PayPal. PM me if interested. SU35 and I are both getting the best results with loads that are too long to fit in the OEM mag. PM me if interested - same for the rest of you all, of course too.

Rex

Trex,
Thank you. It just so happens that I ordered one from Midwest Gun works today. I have a box of old Nosler 165s (100ct box) that I plan on seating out to 2.900 with some Varget. I'm anxious to see if that cures it.

devnull,
What are they asking for those magazines at Midwest and what is their item number for them? I just went to their site and I could not find them.
Thanks,
Rex

Maybe a little off-topic, but this link below is good food for thought.

The Scenar is a hard bullet as I have shot them into armor plate out to 500 yds and made indentions into the plate when all other hunting bullets splashed it.

They appear to be a good weight for the 308 Win and good hunting bullet.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...85786/all/Expansion_characteristics_of_t

Pat Sinclair's load "308(green rifle)
155gr Lapua scenar
Lapua brass
45.5grs Varget
Wolf(Tula)LRM primer
2.810" coal
2950fps."





I suspect your powder is the problem, not the bullet weight.

Later this week I plan on trying out the Lapua 155 Scenars in Lapua brass using VN and Varget powders.


And for Kicks LeveRevolution is going to get a tryout.

I find it hard to think of 4064 and RL15 as problem powders for a 150 in a 308.

They were $44.08. Here's the link:

https://www.gunsmidwest.com/blaser-sauer-100-magazine.html

Also, an update on my M12. I contacted Mauser and requested the action screw torque settings. It is 53 inch-lbs. I checked mine and my front action screw was loose. We'll see if that has an bearing on the lack of accuracy I'm seeing.

Folks,
Since I took care of EdM with his longer magazines, my distributor has changed their policy and I can't have stuff shipped direct to others anymore. But they were a dollar more for these magazines anyway than the link devnull provided here. So I have to retract my former offer to help folks out and encourage anyone needing them to grab them from the outfit devnull linked to.

Cheers,
Rex

You're probably right, but I will give the same load a go in my rifle and see what happens.

What I have found is I can't get 150 and 165 grain Interlocks to group as well for me as they had in years past. This is across several 308s known to be good shooters.

I'm posting this as a velocity reference only...These were shot in my M12 (20" barrel):

Caliber: 0.308 OAL: 2.160 BTO / 2.745 OAL
Brass: Hornady Powder: RL-15
Bullet: Hornady 150 Interlock Primer: CCI 200
Case Prep: F/L and no trim. Neck graphited. Temp: 76° F.
Notes:
45.4 gr 45.8 gr 46.2 gr 46.6 gr 47.0 gr 47.4 gr 47.8 gr

2596 2666 2702 2750 2754 2773 2844
2642 2667 2673 2723 2755 2735 2806
2615 2666 2675 2711 2749 2767 2788
2618 2643 2690 2733 2734 2799 2802
ES 46.0 24.0 29.0 39.0 21.0 64.0 56.0
AV 2617.8 2660.5 2685.0 2729.3 2748.0 2768.5 2810.0
SD 18.9 11.7 13.6 16.5 9.7 26.3 23.9