Help with recipe for 1K yards

[KyleHines2005]

I am delving in the 500 and beyond range soon and I know I have the gun and equipment that will do it. I have a Remington Model 700 5R 24" Milspec .308 10th Anniversary with a Vortex Viper PST 6-24X50 FFP MOA with an EGW 20 MOA base. I havent developed a load that far, but I have a recipe that a previous owner gave me. 43.8 grains of Varget pushing a 175gr SMK with a 2.816" Oal. If I seat the bullet out farther to get it closer to the lands, which would decrease internal pressure, would I have to change my load or would my current setup get me out that far? I don't have a Chrono, so I don't know my velocities. Any help would be greatly appreciated. With the Varget load I have put up a .337" group at 100 yards so I know its a sub half MOA rifle.

 

[loc n load]

1K rifle

I have been shooting "precision" rifles since the 80's....I got started with a pre 64 model 70 in 30-06, I worked with the .308 in the 700 Rem and the McMIllan platform for years....most of it with Federal and Winchester .308 loads (168-175 gr).....these rifles were agency guns and I was required to shoot factory loads in them by agency policy ( these loads were all sub moa performers).......I am also a 40 year shooter of service rifle competition with years of shooting the .308 in the M1A platform.....1000 yd shooting is a science all it's own.....I have shot a lot of 1000yd plus targets during the past 20 years with the 300 win mag, and during the past ten years with the .338 Lapua and 50 bmg's.....my advice at this point is to get your rifle and your current load out on the range and spend some "quality" time behind the scope and on the trigger, and spend time on a known distance range shooting out to 500 yds and beyond under various weather conditions....I would shoot what you have now, since you know it's capabilities up to a certain point.....the .308 is not my favorite round for 1000 yd shooting, for lots of reasons....but I have seen some very competent shooters shoot some very impressive groups at 1000 yds with the .308.....it takes a skilled and knowledgable shooter, a good consistent accurate rifle & load, quality optics, good range conditions and a lot of rounds down range to accomplish that. Good shooting.

 

[S&WNUT]

If you are shooting groups consistently @ .337 not bad but 1000 yards does a lot to a bullet. changeing anything will change alot. I would start with the bullet @ .005 off the lands and see how that changes or you may need to touch the lands or maybe back off more .010 to .015 all guns are different but touching the lands raises pressure not lower. Try 3th grain up and down faster is not always better in fact slower much of the time is better. Find your load and we can get you in close to your speed and bullet drop .

 

[KyleHines2005]

I have no tool in knowing how far off the lands I am, I would have to sacrifice a dummy round to seat it intentionally long, but even when sloppy idea as that, .005" can be a big movement with the bolt turning. What do you guys use to figure out how far off the lands I am? I think its right about 2.895 inches, but I don't know. I know I don't have loads that don't fit in my Magwell, but loading that far out would render the rifle single shot, which is fine by me for that purpose. I would just like to benefit from some of you guy's experience and tell me what I need to know when I load rounds that will stay supersonic out to 1K.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Maybe you can get a hold of the previous owner ......and get some info on that rifle.
You might be at max OAL for its chamber and barrel already or where it shoots the best with his testing?

My oal does not work in my buddies 700 .... way too long.
Good luck with the new rifle.

 

[MichiganScott]

What do you guys use to figure out how far off the lands I am?

Buy the Hornady Lock n Load Overall Length Gauge and Bullet Comparator. Unless you know how far off the lands you are loading, your next batch may not get the same results simply because of lot to lot variations of the bullet ogives.

 

[venomballistics]

I have no tool in knowing how far off the lands I am, I would have to sacrifice a dummy round to seat it intentionally long, but even when sloppy idea as that, .005" can be a big movement with the bolt turning. What do you guys use to figure out how far off the lands I am? I think its right about 2.895 inches, but I don't know. I know I don't have loads that don't fit in my Magwell, but loading that far out would render the rifle single shot, which is fine by me for that purpose. I would just like to benefit from some of you guy's experience and tell me what I need to know when I load rounds that will stay supersonic out to 1K.

your bullets will need to be in the higher B.C. range ... most of your standard issue boat tails, even out of the slightly hotter 30-06 tend to hit the transonic region after 800 yards ... You should be able to achieve a another couple hundred yards by getting a little more exotic in your selection.
None then less, shooting past the 500 mark will work on your zen while extending your purchase power a little to develop some skills

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I shoot 308 at 1000 yards in a Savage 10 BAS with a 8-32 x 56 Nightforce BR. I load the 155 grain Sierra Palma Matchking #3156 over 49 grains of Varget, Fed. 210M primer and Hornady Match brass. I get 1/3 MOA at 1035 Yards. This bullet was designed to be loaded at magazine length, so it is nowhere near the lands. I get right at 2900 fps in a 26" barrel. These bullets are almost the same BC as the 175's you are now shooting, but get greater Muzzle velocity and a little less recoil. Unlike most of my friends I go with all the rounds I need for a target in the magazine, so if no or minor corrections are needed I get faster repeat shots. (our course of fire is 3 shots per target, so I load 3). Speed between shots is your friend , before wind conditions change. For small corrections change the Point Of Aim. An example would be, If your shot is just off target at 3 O'clock aim at 9 O'clock on the edge of target, but if you are off by 1.25 mils (4.25 MOA+/-) dial in correction. A good ballistics program is necessary to get close, I make small charts for known distances or charts for every 20 yards and use laser ranging to measure target. I have multiple charts based on Altitude, Temperature, and Barometric pressure. My next investment is a hand held Ballistic calculator (app on a smart phone works great). Ivan

 

[fredj338]

I am delving in the 500 and beyond range soon and I know I have the gun and equipment that will do it. I have a Remington Model 700 5R 24" Milspec .308 10th Anniversary with a Vortex Viper PST 6-24X50 FFP MOA with an EGW 20 MOA base. I havent developed a load that far, but I have a recipe that a previous owner gave me. 43.8 grains of Varget pushing a 175gr SMK with a 2.816" Oal. If I seat the bullet out farther to get it closer to the lands, which would decrease internal pressure, would I have to change my load or would my current setup get me out that far? I don't have a Chrono, so I don't know my velocities. Any help would be greatly appreciated. With the Varget load I have put up a .337" group at 100 yards so I know its a sub half MOA rifle.

FIrst, there are no universal accuracy loads, every rifle is diff. YOu need to develope your own. Accuracy starts with a properly setup rifle; good bedding & scope mount. Then your load starts witha good bullet. USe identical headstamps & weigh them for internal volume.
You make one huge error in the thought seating longer in a rifle decreases pressures, exactly the opp! The close you get to the lands the faster pressures increase. This is not a handgun round. The slowest pistol powder is faster than the fastest rifle powder. Often insmall rifle cases, one can get 105% compressed loads with no pressure affects. UNless you single load, your mag length determines max OAL in most rifles.
Finally, your ability is more important when shooting past 500yds. Just doping the wind correctly will be more improtant than 1/2moa of mechanical accuracy.

 

[71firebird400]

Agreed with what has been said. A single .337" 3-shot group at 100 yards is statistically irrelevant; until it can be counted on shooting that well I would make no claim as to what the rifle is capable of. A 175gr SMK should have no problems getting to 1000 yards if the muzzle velocity is high enough. You will need to chronograph your loads to determine FPS and plug that into a ballistics calculator such as JBM. Elevation will also help stretch that load out a bit so make sure to plug that in as well. Once you have a target velocity in mind it is up to you start doing your load development to hit that number and maintain the rifles accuracy.

As others have said, wind will play a huge role in getting the 308 out that far. Best to work your way up to this distances. I shoot on a farm where my furthest steel target is currently hanging at 850 yards; I have had no issues making contact with that target using a 175 SMK repeatedly once I have properly doped the wind. My charge weight is in the vicinity of 45 grains of Varget and the cartridges are mag-length (slightly over 2.800").

When using my 338LM at that distance there is far less pressure to get the wind dialed perfectly.