Hello to all. I have been browsing this board for a few weeks and have learned many things, for witch I thank everyone. This will be my first post.

First off some info on my rifle, my first .308.

Savage model 10fp-le2a
1-10 twist
24" barrel
6-24x42 Tasco Varmint mildot.

The Tasco is temporary. I am waiting on my SA 4-16x50 to arrive.

I have been loading 150 grain sierra game king FMJBT. With various grains of H322, from 40.5-42 in .5 grain increments. Winchester brass. CCI 200LR and Federal GM210M primers.

These round do not do so well in the 10 twist. 3 out of 5 will be within a half inch of each other with the 2 remainders up to 3 inches away from main group. The 41 grain with Fed primers do the best with a 1.5" group.

I am looking for some information on 168 grain match king.
or any other 168 grain bullets, Specifically I would like to know bullet length. From what I have read here I need a longer bullet to match the 10 twist.

If you think I should switch powder with a heavier bullet feel free to suggest what you think would work best.

I would like to thank everyone for their help in advance. And for such a helpful sight.

Many of the Camp Perry shooters who use the .308, load 168 gr. BTHP Sierra Matchking bullets over 39.5 to 41.0 grains of either IMR or Hodgdon 4895.



If they use gas guns, like the M1-A, they often use Winchester LRP primers. If they shoot bolt guns, they tend to prefer either the Winchester primers or Federal 210-M's.



Not a cure-all, but a real good place to start if you're new to .308 country.



AC

I use a 1in 10 in all my 308 dia calibers. I am wondering if this isn't a scope problem rather than a rifle related one.

thebrain, That 10 twist barrel will handle any bullet you want to feed it with no problem, with the 168MK I'd go with RE15 as my first choice, if you don't get decent accuracy with that powder you probably won't with anything, though 4064, Varget, H4895 would be very good choices also, the reason your not getting good accuracy with the FMJBT bullets is because they aren't an accurate bullet to begin with, this is something Sierra's technicians will tell you also. Oh, and 40.7 grs. of H322 is the max in the Sierra manual I've got for the 150gr bullets. BTW, You should be able to get 1/2moa accuracy or better with 42grs RE15 and the 168MK, 2.800" oal. Jay

I'd guess it is bedding or scope related, not twist related.

Every 30-06 and 300 Win spins the bullets at higher RPM than you do. Over-stabilization might cost you .1 MOA, not what you are seeing.

I have the same rifle as you and have great luck with Varget powder. I have shot several weights of bullets, (particularly the Barnes,Hornady brands), and can keep them in MOA consistantly. I also use CCI 200 primers exclusively. My best groups so far have been with 150 gr. Barnes TSX bullets over 45 gr. Varget set at OAL of 2.850. This load results in .5 inch or less groups. These bullets tend to be longer than conventional bullets of same weight so a 165 or 168 gr. in a conventional bullet may be what you will find best for your twist rate if you don,t use the Barnes.

Thanks for the your thoughts. As some have mentioned the scope is probably the variable most at fault. Unfortunately I can not do anything about that for a few weeks when my new one arrives.

Until then I am going to load up some 168 MK with Varget and the Fed 210m primes. If I spend enough time weighing cases, bullet and powder charges. Along with meticulously assembling the components, I can keep myself from shooting them before I get the new scope.

It was mentioned that 40.7 was the max load for H322. I have one of those "The complete reloading manuals for .308" and It has a recipe from Hodgon Powder for match loads stating 40-42 grains of H322. That�s why I went that high. As it turns out this is a bit high, out of ten round with 42 grains two had stiff bolts. And were clocked at 2806fps ave.with cci primers and 2828fps ave.with the feds. On a side note the only difference I could see with the Fed match primers was 20fps, and that was consistent threw out my testing.

Now for a new question. When seating bullets how fare is to far out. On the load previously mentioned my oal was 2.835", which is a bit over the max. The comparator length was 3.265", this put the ogive .002" from the lands. Was that to fare or are the oal given by my manual on the legally safe side?

My shooting buddy tried all different oals and found 2.800" was the most accurate, that's with 168MKs and 42grs. RE15, I'd go with the same charge with Varget, those two powders are really close on the burn rate chart, though, Sierra found that RE15 was the most accurate powder. Jay

The first thing I would look at is your bedding. Also ensure there is no barrel contact with the barrel channel. I would bet money your problem lies there.

Most of my shooting has been with a 308. Shot competetively as a civilian and with the Army. I own and shoot several 308's. If you an excellent bullet look at the Nosler 168. I put that over 41.5 gr H4895 with a Fed 210M primer and LC Match brass. The most of my rifles shoot that load exceptionaly well. A little tweaking of the load for a specific rifle tunes it right up. I also use the same load with 165gr Partitions.

If you want to get the most from your cases and rifle you need to keep everything consistent. I start with a batch of usually 500 cases, always the same manufacturer and lot #. I full length size, trim, chamfer and debur, chamfer the flash hole. After that is all done I sort them by weight. I throw out the highs and lows and sort into batches of 50 and assign a batch # to them. I keep them in that batch for their shooting life. I have found that this keeps the accuracy very consistent. It is a rare occasion that I get a flier that I wasnt the cause of. I also only shoot a batch in a specific rifle. I keep a reloading log book to track it all. It may sound like a pain but it works for me.

Also never mix case manufacturers or times fird cases.

I am confident in the bedding of the rifle. The stock is choate ultimate varmint. The barrel is totally free floated, the stock does not come within an 1/8" any where. The bedding is aluminum pillar bedding.

I admit it is an economy rig, but the weakest link is the temporary scope. And myself. If this thing cant shoot at least moa I bought a lemon.

MV of accuracy loads will be very close for either the 168 or the 175 gr Match Kings. Because of the bc advantage of the 175 I suggest you try it, with Varget.



Long range performance is the reason the US military M118 rd uses the 175.