Decided to give the new Sierra Game Changers a go using 46.5gr Varget, BR-2 primers and WW brass seated to 28.10. Not bad and these should hold up at 308 speeds.. three shot groups:

Pre-64 70 Featherwight...


Browning Safari Grade, 22" pencil barrel...

I suppose you could live with that, were you forced to do so...

FC

Jorge using a Sierra bullet? What is going on? Is it just for target practice or are you planing to hunt with that bullet? The groups are excellent, I'm betting that it would be a great bullet to try on a hog hunt.

I currently have the FWT sighted with 130 TTSXs (they shoot almost exactly 1" below the Sierras) and the Browning with 165 Partitions, but the accuracy of the Sierras is amazing. Going to try them on Georgia hogs as soon as I can. Hopefully I can find a big boar to test it on his gristle plate..

How much powder compression is required for that load?

I'm just kidding you. I remember you saying that the 308 was like the missionary position with the lights off. Knowing your opinion of Sierra bullets, it would be like adding a condom the scenario.

Spot on it is an exceedingly boring cartridge and I too was a victim of Sierra tinfoil years ago, but I know they have been very accurate bullets. I hope these Game Chagers are indeed a game changer for them. But I've been known to change....once in a blue moon.

As to compression, I have no idea, math. All I can tell you is the bolt, in both rifles can be lifted with no effort and many folks here use that load. In fact this is where I got it. Max book I believe is 46gr of Varget, so I figured .5 was no big deal

Pressure wasn't my concern, I like to load straight from the powder measure and when I throw 46 grains I have to take steps to get it settled down into the case. I don't like to crunch powder.

Oh. Well there is some slight crunching. Case gets pretty full.

Boring is okay, it gets the job done with no drama. The 2 rifles you mentioned are classics, very elegant. My main hunting cartridge is equally boring, a 30-06, but it works.

I have two Safari Grades in 06. Both beautiful guns and they shoot! One thing you will NOT see me change is having a plastic stocked rifle (other than an AR)...

Jorge, I agree, there is nothing like a beautiful wood stock. My Beretta Mato originally came with a fiberglass stock but I replaced with with a OEM XXX Claro walnut stock when Beretta had them on clearance. I don't have the pictures currently and haven't posted pictures here, but if you google my screen name, ar15a292f + beretta mato + opticstalk you can see pictures that I posted on that forum. If you get a chance check them out and let me know what you think. Sorry about hi-jacking your thread.

What is the difference between a Game Changer and a GameKing beside the tip? The GameKings are very accurate in 308’s and 30-06’s for me. They have no problem with deer and pigs.

I'll take a look for sure!

From Sierra: In general, Sierra engineers took the MatchKing bullet and made it with a thicker jacket, a harder 3 percent antimony lead core and put a plastic tip on it, according to Jeff Marshall, Sierra’s engineering manage. "The result is a super-accurate and tough game bullet,” he said.

This it?

[Linked Image]

Yes it is Jorge. The best $140 I ever spent on a rifle stock. There are several pictures of the stock in that thread. Thanks for pulling it up.

Interesting & good shooting...you know my disdain for that label as well, its never been about accuracy as much as jacket construction however that was moons ago.

Nice groups!

308.......the B cup of the cartridge world......

So a legit question for the floor; I used WW brass, would Nosler or Lapua brass made a difference?

Doubtful you could see or shoot the difference from where you're at now.

Might not get those loads in Lapua brass. Heavier than WW, less capacity.

My 165/308 Load is 46 of Varget in Lapua or Hornady brass ad Fed 210M Primers. It's generally a no-brainer award winner. Of the dozen or so 308's I've had, one or two would handle 46.5 gr's. Either way, you're in perfect territory!

I wonder where I got the .5 added? The bolts open as if the chamber was empty. Anyway, I have some Lapua and Nosler brass coming I purchased before I shot these groups. I will load some and see it there is a noticeable difference. I HOPE these new Sierras don't disappoint!

Possibly,however I've loaded lots of different chamberings over the years and all my 308's have been most forgiving with excellent accuracy via most all components tested..

IMO it's the best balanced of all 30 calibers and of course I'm very partial to its Military counterpart as most of you know !

Jorge, I haven't used either of those cases, but I don't think that they will change much either way. The groups you shot are excellent and the 308 Winchester is a very tolerant cartridge when it comes to components.

This is the last thing a guy with boxes and boxes of .30 cal bullets already paid for needs to see.

Crap!

I shot quit a few Russian boars when Inwas younger using a 243 with mostly Sierra and Speer cup and cores. Never had one shrug one off. I am sure the Gamechanger will work just fine on just about anything out of a 308.

An update gents on the use of Lapua brass on my pre-64 and my Browning (sake action) Safari.

1. No appreciable difference in accuracy but with Lapua, I did get a 45 fps increase in MV (2792 v 2745 with Winchester) which makes sense given the Lapua brass is thicker.
2. The Browning, curiously enough did not show an appreciable difference in mv, but it definitively shot better with WW brass. Go figure

Lapua MV (Browning) 2772,83,64
WW MV )Browning) 2773,77,83

Overall, the M-70 is distinctly more accurate and WW brass also has an edge in accuracy. It shoots 130TTSXs into the bull at .75" and the 165 Sierras about 2" higher. I suspect given the Browning's very thin pencil barrel, give the 70 the edge.

I've noticed same loading my Swedes..a slight increase in vel with Lapua vs Win.

I liked the 165 NBT in the last .308 I shot game with. I worked up an elk load for my SILs spare rifle ( .308) using MR2000 and the 165 Swift Aframe for 2750fps! 22" barrel too.

None...if you use a drop tube of 20"!

I run 48.5 gr Varget with 155 Scenar’s. I push the bullet down until it won’t go any more, seriously. The rounds shoot the same as Jorge’s. My overall loaded round spec’s could not be more uneven. But, all 5 of my 308’s keep stacking them in one ragged hole. 308’s are the perfect hunting round out to 400 yards.

I happen to prefer B’s or lesser.

Yes. Nosler brass can be too soft sometimes. Lapua is tighter volume. WW is an absolute no-go for me, way too brittle. Remington being just right.....has left the building.

See my results above between Lapua and WW brass regarding MV and accuracy..

I'm sorry....

As an epic leg and a$$ man and preferring quality over quantity, I too am not a fan of udders. But I can heartily endorse the Barnes 110 TTSX and a case full of Varget in your .308. Give em about 60 thousands running start and enjoy.

Stuff ain't that hard to kill and the 110 works well.

The 308 WCF is the culmination of what mankind has learned about the metallic cartridge. It is perfect

No such thing.

It was tongue in cheek. It is perfect for me though. A generalist hunter who needs something capable of taking anything outside of a cape buffalo, elephant, or rhino,...doesnt like recoil, loves accuracy, and is a cheap bastard. The 7-08 would also work nicely

I'm well invested in the 308 myself. I've got at least nine of them that I can think of real quick.

I thought that was the Creedmoor....



[runs away]

Pretty soon the Kreemoor-Kooks will show and burn him in effigy...

I'm a Creedmoor fan as far as understanding its virtues and recommending it to newbies wanting a good deer rifle, and I don't even own one. Kook?

No sir...I'd do the same thing. It's arguably the best cartridge in a generation or two. The caveat being of course, not in a 700...

Does “no such thing” apply to



Or

Fine shooting right there, how did you get those rounds in the chamber? Take the bolt out? Must be a heck of a long bullet to get an overall length of 28.10!

Rounds feed just fine. 2.810 (I think) is max OAL.

I knew it was just a misplaced decimal point. In a college math class I did that once and had to solve an incredible equation in metric for penance.

I love this place.....

My favorite rifle is Browning Safari 30-06.
I wish I had a . 375 H&H to go with it.
My 35 Whelen will have to do.
I am going out this am with it.

Gee, seven different prayers is all I had to do for penance..

Years back, Scenar Shooter did a thread comparing his .308 to a .260.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/6552195/Re:_GAP_.308_VS._GAP_.260....S


First paragraph from that thread:

"I'll bet I've received 30 PM's in the past year about these two rifles. This question comes up a lot, "As your go to rifle, which would you grab, the .308 or the .260?" I thought it was time to do a real world head to head comparison. I have quite a bit of field time with the .308, with numerous big game kills and 800+ coyote kills. Last fall, all of my big game hunting was done with this lightweight GA Precision built .260. I also have a heavier .260 that I've used to take 231 coyotes with."

That would be a fair testimonial that the .308 is a great all around cartridge for everything up to and including bears. Pat has posted pics of some true wall hangers over the years with that .308.

Check out "Deceased by Scenar":


https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/4985572/1




For extremely long barrel life, if I had to choose only one cartridge, I know which one I would choose.

This .308 has numerous sniper/precision rifle schools under its belt and 15+ years of use, with a round count north of 5K on the barrel and it has not shown a reason to rebarrel yet.

It started as a early 2000's era T3 .308 Varmint (Pre T3 Tactical) with a 24 & 5/8ths" barrel.

This was right at 500 yards from the top of the haystack pictured in the rear.




Spring bear hunt where the bears were not cooperating, so we turned it into a long range ground squirrel shoot. Aiming low on the mound, we would launch them into the air killing them, yet keeping them intact. Fun times!



Eventually it was shortened to 20"s after the purchase of a 26" Sako TRG .308.






For a guy who may only want to buy one rifle, hunt a lot, and shoot a bunch, a .308 is going to be very hard to beat. The 6.5s are certainly excellent, and I like my .260. That said, a guy is simply not likely to get 5,000 to 8,000 + rounds from a 6.5CM or .260 and maintain a what most would consider an acceptable degree of accuracy.

This is where a .308 shines.