I will be shooting 1200 yards this summer and need information on loads.The gun is a 308 30inch 1x10 twist palma rifle. This range has a lot of wind as well as the 1200 yard distance. MORE INFORMATION-- 30 INCH OBERMEYER BARREL -NOW USING 178 A MAX FOR 1000 YARDS 45 G VARGET GETTING 2588 VOL WITH NO SIGN OF PREASURE- THIS WILL BE A MATCH WITH UNLIMITED SIGHTERS AND 15 SHOTS FOR RECORD. AT THIS POINT SCOPES ARE REQUIRED THEN IT'S ON TO THE IRONS (PNW"S). HAS ANYONE TRYED THE 190 SIERRA"S?

[This message has been edited by irchurchill (edited 03-04-2002).]

First of all at that range you are gonna want to use a good target bullet, the best would be the 168grn or 180grn Sierra Matchkings.
As for powder, you can use almost any powder in the 308, I prefer 44grns of Hodgon H335 for the 168, or 50grns of Vihtavuori N150 for the 180.

at 1200 yards the 168s will all be sub-sonic and I've actually seen quite a few keyhole at 1,000 yards as they are close to sub-sonic at that range. But that depends on you barrel length too. The Sierra 180s used to be a great 1,000 yard bullet but back about eight to ten years ago Sierra changed the boattail design on the 180 and they now have the exact same short boattail as the 168. They never seem to fly as well as they did. OTOH, the 190 grain seems to be very stabile for me out to 1,000. AT 1,000 yards I'm still pushing 1300 FPS with that bullet and a stout load of 4064. The relatively new 175 grain has quite a following but I've not played with it at 1,000 yards. That game is dificult enough and you'll make more money by finding a decent load and learning how to shoot it in the wind rather than tinkering with your ammo.
Good luck shooting at 1200 yards. You're probably going to need some very special sights to compensate for range and more importantly windage...especially on a windy range. I've shot 1,000 yard matches that required as much as 30 clicks windage adjustment on my 1/2 MOA adjustable sights! Don't know what the elevation adjustment would be but I was about 12 minutes up from my 200 yard zero at 1,000 yards. I'd guess you'll need 16-18 minutes of elevation from a 200 yard zero.

Like the other guys said, getting 1200 yards from your 308 Win. round is going to be tough without going subsonic.
You did not mention exactly what rules will govern on this 1200 yard venture, or if it is informal or an actual match, and how much advance prep time you will get to test things out that far.
You mentioned that the rifle is a Palma rifle but did not give enough information about it beyond that.
The first thing you should do is to get real comfortable with some software that will let you make a few predictions on what you will need to get there such as bullet initial velocity, ballistic coefficient, trajectory, wind drift, etc.
Next would be to test some real world loads and bullets in the rifle in order to find out what your rifle will actually do with respect to velocity and what bullets the rifle shoots well with. Many times the rifle dictates what bullet you will be shooting and at what velocity. It doesn't do any good to shoot the slickest bullet at the maximum velocity if your rifle will not shoot that particular load accurately.
After a bit of load testing you will be able to plug the real world into the computer to find out if you can even get there with the combination you have. If you can't get there with the 308 Win. in your rifle, you might have to look at rebarreling to something that will get you there such as the 6.5-08 which will definitely get you there with the good bullets which are available. When you plug the 308 information into the computer, it will suprise and dismay you when you see how much better the 6.5mm and 7mm bullets are for long range unless you go to the .308" diameter extra heavy bullets such as the Sierra .308 dia. 240 gr. HPBT Match which has a BC of .711 above 2150 fps and a BC of .702 at 1800 fps. This is one that is designed specifically for long range applications but I would seriously doubt that you could use it in your Plama rifle. If nothing else the recoil would give you a real bad case of flinch.

I've used the 175 SMK to 1000 very successfully from a 308 w/26 inch barrel in moderate loads. If you load hot and have a 28 inch barrel you might make it to 1200. I would not try it in a 308 with any other Sierra bullet.

You might give one of Gerard's HV's a try. They have a great BC, but you have to go light to get one short enough. Quickload says a 130 HV could get a MV of 3229 fps in a 26 inch barrel and still be doing 1177 at 1200 yards - and QL does not use the proper G5 drag curve, so it should be faster yet.

I want to try this later this summer, but the longest range around here is 1000 yards.

Don

I was wondering if irchurchill's cause could be helped by throating the chamber a little longer to make room for long bullets or more powder space?

Cut me some slack- If you see 5 MoA at 1200 yrds with a .308 god will be on your side, and please post a picture of your target before you claim otherwise. You will be sub sonic,probably keyholing and have 60 or more inches of horizontal drift with the best of bullets assuming a 10 mph wind. What is your point?-Rob

What is the military sniper training maximum range for the 308 Win. round before moving on to the more powerful stuff? That would probably be where the smart money would be on switching to a more efficient caliber.

I totally agree with Bruce about the superior long range performance of the 7 and 6.5mm bullets. Thats why when I finally killed my 308 I rebarreled for 6.5-284. My friend was always beating me with his 300 Winnie at 1100, since I already had the short action I went with the 6.5-284 loaded to 3000 fps with the 142grn Sierra Matchking and he still can't catch up even with the heavy 308 MKs.
But I wasn't unhappy how well the 308 did at that range, and until you think you have enough experience and think you can outshoot your rifle there is no reason to tinker all day long with your loads.

As for the military I believe the ideal maximum range they use for the 308 is 800 meters, but the only thing they have after that is the 338 Lapua and 50 BMG, but I would rather shoot 308 all day than shoulder one of those monsters for an hour.