[thornblom]

Howdy,

After all the load developement I have done for Remington 700 VSF .308 using the 168 grain hpbt bullet, it seems that availlability of this bullet weight in all brands is drying up. Even factory loaded match ammo using this bullet weight is getting scarce. 175 grain SMK's are still in abundance on dealers shelves, thus the switch. It seems that a lot of shooters are having better results with the 175 at distances greater than 100 yards.

Both Federal and Black Hills use this bullet at 2600 ft/sec in their match ammo.

So, I am going to start over. Any suggestions as far as powder selection and charge weight?
Varget has dried up in my area also. I have RL-15, IMR-4064, IMR-4895, H-4895, and WW-748.

Also, last week the Stockade gun shop in Westminister, Ca., had 100 count bags of new Lake City .308 brass already primed for $44.95/bag. Have ya'll seen or used this brass? I wonder what primer they used? It is silver colered.

Any suggestion or comments?

Sincerely,
Dave (Bubba) Thornblom

 

[M700]

Black Hills uses RL15 in their load, Lake City M118LR ammo uses 43.1gr/RL15.

I haven't chrono'd the lasest version of LC M118LR, I got the ammo too late in the last year, that's a spring project, but I have chrono'd the equivalent of the original loading (changed due to operating rod breakage etc in Iraq) - no I will not publish this load - and the velocity spec was 2700fps and my equivalent came in at 2699fps in May/Jun and 2755fps in August. This was from the same batch that I loaded.

 

[Trigger_Puller]

Here is a source you may want to check out:

MB30168H MIL-SPEC 30 CAL 168GR BTHP MATCH BULLETS $93.00 per 500

MB118 MIL-SPEC 30 CAL 175GR FMJBT SNIPER BULLET $93.00/500

Any of the powders you listed are fine, but you will need to create test loads for each one to see which works best in YOUR rifle. You will also learn what combo you can fall back on in case your "pet" components are not available, like now.

 

[M700]

Here is a source you may want to check out:
MB30168H MIL-SPEC 30 CAL 168GR BTHP MATCH BULLETS $93.00 per 500
MB118 MIL-SPEC 30 CAL 175GR FMJBT SNIPER BULLET $93.00/500
Any of the powders you listed are fine, but you will need to create test loads for each one to see which works best in YOUR rifle. You will also learn what combo you can fall back on in case your "pet" components are not available, like now.

Neither of those are Sierra's.

The 168's have a rounded base and the 175's are open base like the standard 147/150gr FMJ.

I would not call these match bullets.

 

[El Chorizo]

Neither of those are Sierra's.

The 168's have a rounded base and the 175's are open base like the standard 147/150gr FMJ.

I would not call these match bullets.

Those Widener's bullets in the 168 weight mentioned above, seem to have the same shape as the Sierra's.

The Mil Spec 175's seem to have a similar shape as the Sierra's as well. At least that's what it looks like when compared with the photo above. However, do the SMK 175's have a non-open base (completely jacketed) like the Sierra 168's? I wonder how much difference that would make in performance between the Mil Spec and the SMK's?

 

[Trigger_Puller]

Who said that they were Sierras?

The bullets that I linked to are "military spec" and an economcial alternative to the Sierra's which thornblom stated he can not find. That's why I suggested that tests be conducted to determine which loads work best in his rifle, because they are different.

 

[thornblom]

Who said that they were Sierras?

The bullets that I linked to are "military spec" and an economcial alternative to the Sierra's which thornblom stated he can not find. That's why I suggested that tests be conducted to determine which loads work best in his rifle, because they are different.

Thank you Trigger puller. I knew they weren't Sierras. I have shot some Lake City ammo with 173 grain bullet shown on you link. It was called M118 Match, not long range. My rifle didn't do well with them. But the 168 grainers might need checking into.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Dave (Bubba) Thornblom