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165/168 grain vs 175/178 grain 308 Winchester

16 May 2019
@ 06:24 am (GMT)

Matt Kjelgaard

Howdy! I have read your cartridge research on the 308 Winchester. Superb job! I really enjoyed reading it. However, I'm looking to receive some personal experience on 165/168 grain vs the 175/178 grain 308 Winchester cartridge selection. I'm new to the mid ( 400 to 700 meters) to long range (700+ meters) shooting community. Recently, I just purchased a Remington 700 SPS Tactical chambered in 308 Win.

I've been researching different load developments to see what people are loading for 308 Winchester to achieve mid to long range accuracy. I do know, that each gun is different and I currently reload for many other calibers. What do you all suggest or recommend?

Replies

21 May 2019
@ 08:38 am (GMT)

Quote this

Nathan Foster

Re: 165/168 grain vs 175/178 grain 308 Winchester

Hi Matt, I went over this in great detail within the book series.

In your M700 Tactical, you may find that the rifle quite likes the 168gr ELD-M. Set your OAL at around 71mm (will be about 2.5mm jump). If you are in Europe, try N135 powder. Don't get sucked into the medium burn rates, these are best suited to longer barrels. The .308 is not a princess and does not need any specialty powders.

My readers learn to put killing first and BC second, unlike other shooting communities. The reason why there are no replies here is simply out of loyalty to the books. My guys put in the hard yards of LR study and expect others to do the same, leaving me to decide whether to reply to such posts.

In any case, the above is a starting point for you. The bullet mentioned is a good match for the chamber reamer that was used to cut your barrel. Look for sweet spots between 2630 and 2700fps, pay close attention around 2670fps.