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Jeff you ever do any 1000 yard stuff with a 308. I was thinking about dabbling in FTR with this cheap barreled Savage.
I will be using 175 Bergers and Varget to start with. Anyone know of a good velocity accuracy powder that does well with the 175 Bergers?

I used to shoot 1000 with 185 bergers and in the 308. 4064 IIRC.

I then started with the 223 service rifle since I didn't want to dabble in match rifles.

I can ask Paul La Berge, a wealth of knowledge, and get back to you on it.

His brother is out of our US Palma coaches IIRC. Or was.

If you are going bolt gun though, I'd think that both the 155 Lapuas and at least a 185 if not a 210 might be better choices.

I'll PM you my email, send me a note and I"ll then remember to ask Paul from home.

Jeff

Varget or RE-15 are 'traditional' choices with a 175. 155s still shoot very, very well - the raw accuracy potential is tough to beat. But in difficult wind conditions... a 185 (or heavier) may show an edge, and are likewise fairly easy to get to shoot well. A longer throat may be necessary to get the bullet far enough out in the neck, though.

A newer powder, Alliant Power Pro 2000MR is a very fine spherical powder that so far seems to work quite well with heavy bullets in .223 and .308, giving good velocities in situations where you would have long since run out of room (even with compressed loads) with more traditional choices like Varget.

HTH,

Monte

Good info Monte! I like reports on new powders that top shooters have experience with.

Jeff

Thanks Monte

Im still fairly new to the 308. I just happened to look at Alliants site last night and noticed the Power Pro 2000MR. Hopefully it will have the accuracy of Varget. I might have to try some.

For whatever reason, Alliant hasn't promoted this powder worth a hoot... its not very well known and often not available locally, despite being officially introduced a couple years ago. You might have to special-order it, and that can be a pain when you just want to try something out.

If you cannot find it... like I said, Varget is pretty much the gold standard and has been for a while now. RE-15 has some adherents because of its use in the military M118-LR sniper ammo, but you really don't see it used a lot in long-range match ammunition.

Well that's good to know since I have about 64 lbs of Varget on the shelf.

John

Ebaco barrels have 1:12 twist, is that what yours has? Will the 12 twist stabilize 175 and larger? I'm curious as I have a 700 varmint I'd like to stretch out too. But, with only 26" of barrel if I'll be able to stay SS @ 1kyd.

Not Jeff but...

I've been running 175gr Long Range Match bullets for a few years now and doing fairly well with them. I'm pushing them at 2750fps, 42.8gr of Varget, Lapua Brass, Wolf primers. My barrel is a 1-12 twist Rock Creek 5r at 31". I can get more velocity out of this combination, this load is a tack driver for Mid-Range, two Fullbore national records... 15 shots @ 600 yards

A 12 twist will stabilize 185 Bergers, told to me by Bryan Litz.

Yes it is a 1in12 and I read somewhere they would stabilize up to 190 gr. Bergers website has twist recommendations, which is probably where I saw this.

Thanks AJ that is good to know. I will be using 26 inch barrel, but will have to see what the chronograph tells me this weekend for velocities.

For [bleep] and giggles...

Photo of a test group when I switched lot numbers of Varget. I loaded 43.3 with the old lot number, had to drop down with the new lot to achieve the same velocity/accuracy. This group was shot with Federal 210M's, Wolf work just as well. Five shots at 500 yards. Target dot is 1" diameter. Shot prone off of a bipod, first shot went a RCH high...

How much do you push forward into the bipod? What bipod.

Thats showing nice grouping!

185s with varget we used to be around 42.5 as I recall but thats so many years ago already.

And your post is proof for folks that don't believe that lots can be different enough to make a difference.

Jeff a Sinclair style bipod. I pull the rifle into my shoulder, squeeze the bag to get to my POA. Firm pressure against the buttstock, not a death grip or one that causes fatigue.

Got it. Appreciate it. Thats actually the way I shoot generally speaking with Harris, but i've heard you are supposed to push into them for some reason instead of normal procedures...

Amax
Paul responded and said the same as otehrs... 42 grains Varget and 175 is fine starting. Work around in half grain increments to see what gives.

Jeff

Thanks AJ that is an awesome group no doubt. It's always good to learn something the easy way and not suffer all the mistakes to learn it the hard way.
Thanks Jeff for inquiring for me I appreciate the trouble.

Best