Does anyone have any suggested loads for the Berger VLD target 168gr bullets in .308win? Any replies will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

What rifle are you shooting. I Like H-380. Both my rifles shoot it really well.
I load to about 2600 to 2700f/s 1:10 twist about .005" off the lands.
I would start at 47grs and work up slow. 3tenths of a grain intervals.
48grs will be a slightly compressed load.

45-46 grains of varget shoots 5 group small enough to cover with a thumb nail (5/8").

quote:

Originally posted by mdvjrp93:
45-46 grains of varget shoots 5 group small enough to cover with a thumb nail (5/8").

Same thing here, very stable load

44.8gr RL15 with Berger 168 oal to fit detachable magazine. 1/4 MOA

I'm shooting a Remington 700P. Glen, It's funny you suggested the RL15 because I have a friend that found a great load with it, but I don't remember how many grains it is. However, his rifle was custom built and shoots excelent. We went shooting this weekend and my rifle was all over the place with my loads and he asked me if I wanted to shoot a few with his...3 shots later I had a .230 group shooting off a bipod! I'm waiting to get the money to re-barrel my rifle because the 700P has an extremely long throat and if I seat 168's to factory specs, it leaves me somewhere around .200 off the lands which leaves an extremely long bullet jump. What bothers me the most is I can't use the magazine because of having to seat the bullets so far out.

mdvjrp93 & Richard I, I just met a guy who is shooting Berger VLD Hunting 168's with 46gr of Varget and, to me, this seems to be a bit much. I've been shooting Hornady A-Max 168's & SMK 168's and as soon as I approach 44gr I begin to see high pressure signs. Does anyone know why the Berger's can handle a few more grains? I wonder if they have a softer jacket. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks!

RL-15

str8razor I shoot a DPMS SASS I use a 168 gr amax with no pressure signs. I have fired a hundred or so rounds using 30 pieces brass with no signs of overwork or pressure. I full length resize due to using a semiauto. You are using a bolt gun I wonder if there is a diffrence in pressure between the two. Also your chamber could be tight and I think that can make a diffrence. I see you have a long throat how close to the lands are you seating the bullet. Berger says to touch the lands if you are doing this that could answer the pressure issue. Try giving it .020 off the lands and see what happens.

If you can find Norma 203B try it. It is a bit more consistent between batches than RL-15. They are the same powder, made by Norma.

quote:

If you can find Norma 203B try it. It is a bit more consistent between batches than RL-15. They are the same powder, made by Norma.

Rusty: just asking, but how do you know this is the same powder. I thought Alliant only made there own RL- powders.. i use alot of RL-15

quote:

quote:
If you can find Norma 203B try it. It is a bit more consistent between batches than RL-15. They are the same powder, made by Norma.


Rusty: just asking, but how do you know this is the same powder. I thought Alliant only made there own RL- powders.. i use alot of RL-15

I did find this

Industry scuttlebutt says that Norma 203B is the same as Alliant Reloder 15. While both are crafted by European powder-maker, Bofors, we’re told that 203B is not identical to Reloder 15. At Shot Show, this editor put the question directly to Norma’s CEO, Torb Lindskog: “Is Norma 203B the same as Reloder 15?” Lindskog answered: “The two powders are very similar, yes. But there are some differences–they are not exactly the same. We like to think our powder is more uniform.”

quote:

Originally posted by Richard I:

quote:

Originally posted by mdvjrp93:
45-46 grains of varget shoots 5 group small enough to cover with a thumb nail (5/8").

Same thing here, very stable load

Varget is my favorite powder for this bullet too, followed by R-15 (44 grains). I don't have the exact Varget load in front of me right now. I seat the Bergers to jam the rifling, though. My gun has a very short throat and I can still load in the magazine with 168 gr VLDs. Berger has some very interesting testing on seating depth. Long jumps to the rifliling seem to work well in some guns too. If you google up Berger Load Data on Bing you can find links to their research.

I am also using virgin NATO berdan primed 7.65 x 51 cases which are hotter than standard boxer primers so I can't say mine is the best starting load for you.

Go to Barnes & Noble and buy the latest Shotgun News. Go to the components section and find GIBrass, Bartlett's, Hi-Tech Ammo, or Pat's Reloading.

IIRC, the government is using WCC-846 currently to load all of their 308 ammunition. One or more of the outfits listed will have 8lb kegs for a hundred dollars. Plus HazMat shipping. I went in with a buddy and bought four kegs to get the best deal.

My test 308 is a Savage 12BVSS. Single shot, 40X-type laminated stock, 26" stainless fluted barrel. I used Black Hills 168gr Match as a basis for my loads. The BHA will consistently shoot 1/2moa out to 600yds. That is all the range I have with a concrete shooting bench. In the bolt gun, I have found some of the powders listed to be a bit more accurate, but in four different M1A's, including a Springfield, two Baer's and a RRA LAR-8, and initially in my new DPMS heavy sniper model, I can shoot (with my old B&L 36X target scope, under 3/4moa groups. Also out to 600 yds.

The best loads I have found, with any powder/bullet combination; are in the low .6moa out that far. Those powders are more than twice what the WCC-846 costs, and I can't justify doubling my per round cost for an 1/8th of a moa. Zombies will never be able to tell the distance. For 200yd or less plinking, I shoot cast bullets; that's how cost conscious I am.

At any rate, that is how I get the best realistic accuracy. Some of the above listed companies also sell pulled bullets, 147gr fmj at about half price. They are about moa in my rifles.

regards,

Rich

WC 846 is good stuff too. That's what use in my hunting loads for the same rifle (a bolt gun in my case). Lately I'm shooting 150 gr Woodleigh protected points. I get about 3/4 to 1 MOA. Never more and never less. Varget with the Bergers gives me less than 1/2 MOA at 100. I haven't had the opportunity to see what it holds past that.

Vines,
Below is an email I received from Don Heath at Norma. I hope this answers your question.

quote:

Hi



203B and >RL 15 are different lotts of the same powder. It is made here, and if it doesn’t quite meet our specks for cannes of 203 we use it in the factory or you buy it as RL15



I dislike foam fillers….



Sorry, broken arm…typing slowly



Dr Don Heath D.Sc.

Manager Technical Support

Norma Precision AB

S 670 40

Åmotfors

Sweden



+46 571 315 05

Idaho what kind of DFPMS do you have is it SASS or the REPR just curious.

str8razor
I also am shooting 44.8 gr of RL-15 behind a Hornady 168 Amax and I am not seeing any signs of excessive pressure? A friend of mine also shoots the exact same load out of his 308 with no problems

IMR4064 top choice followed by Varget, then Re15. I've done about 12 different loads with 4064 with various bullets and all shot sub MOA.