Long range with a short barrel .308 ?

[Scarface]

Hi all
I suspect I am gonna get a big fat we would have told you so on this one but here goes.
I am trying to get my .308 Tikka CTR to 1k and beyond and it's just not happening, the best I can manage with various 155g and generous / slightly scary amounts of Varget and N140 is 900yd to 950yd before transonics start to open the groups up and I don't want to go any hotter.
So I'm now thinking of going down the route of less horsepower and something that stays stable throughout the transonic phase and keeps going. My CTR has a 1 in 11.25 twist so I,m thinking 175gn to 185gn SMK, TMK, Berger, Lapua etc.
I would be interested in any thoughts or experiences you guys may want to share that I could use as a baseline for my load as I don't get much range time past 600yd.
Thanks in advance

[tackb]

Your on the right track , find a more transonic tolerant bullet or you could try something like the 208amax launched slower but it's high bc may get you further ?

Ultimately there is a limit to what you can achieve with your kit , we can't re-write the laws of physics

[DaveB]

Don't know if you can go much heavier than 185 grains with that twist, but one of the VLD bullets from Berger of somebody like that, might help. I agree though, there's a limit to what you can achieve. I have a Remington 700 SPS Tactical, so can sympathise with your short-barrel problem.

[WelshShooter]

I'm in the same predicament as you (Tikka T3 varmint). I've used 155gr and 167gr Lapua and Sierra's with sub par performance at 1,000 yards. I'm only shooting at Fig11's which is just about as good as it gets given the velocity of my home loads.

[Swamp Donkey]

The 155gr smk used in the ggg imperial loading seems to work pretty well at 1000yds in my short barrel, so might be worth a try in your long barrelled ctr.

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[ovenpaa]

The CTR is a 20" barrel so you are going to struggle however it is worth looking at the Lapua 170 Lockbase and a stout load of N540 behind it (Do work up!) I have shot such a combination to 1000 yards through a 1:11 and it was holding 18-24" groups. Not an F Class rifle by any stretch however great fun.

[Swamp Donkey]

The CTR is a 20" barrel so you are going to struggle however it is worth looking at the Lapua 170 Lockbase and a stout load of N540 behind it (Do work up!) I have shot such a combination to 1000 yards through a 1:11 and it was holding 18-24" groups. Not an F Class rifle by any stretch however great fun.

Thats my point Davie, the extra 6" on the ctr barrel can only help. That ggg stuff still holds the bull at 1000 yards from my 14" 1-11" sako.

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[Scarface]

Thanks all for the comments guys
I like the idea of the 208 amax if my twist rate is fast enough. I must confess I hadn't even considered that one because of availability but the bc is amazing! How do they handle going transonic? Anyone know?

What about the 180-185gn Bergers the F-class boys seem to like them and Dolphin have them on their website

[saddler]

The new XM3 M40 has an 18" barrel & is used for longer range targets; the difference being they've got a very fast rifling compared to other .308's

[Laurie]

VLDs aren't great at transonic speeds, although as always there seem to be exceptions. Traditional blunter designs often do better in this role, hence a number of older Sierra models such as the original shorter 155gn MK (#2155) used in the NRA ammo.

Berger makes a 175gn BT specifically for this role, the OTM Tactical designed to be fired from 20-inch semi-auto military 'sharpshooter rifles' and tested by its designer Bryan Litz successfully (claimed 1-MOA grouping) at 1K fired from a 20-inch barrel Larue at around 2,650 fps. Unfortunately it's as rare as hen's teeth in this country and uncommonly expensive with it. Incidentally, it was also specifically designed for the 11.25-inch twist, this being what the US military have adopted as a standard spec for sniper / sharpshooter rifles.

The 185gn Berger BT LR Juggernaut is the obvious and outstanding choice, an excellent long range design at any velocity, and generally stable in all speed zones. An older and bit cheaper alternative is the antediluvian 190gn Sierra MK, long used by Match Rifle shooters because of its proven trans and even subsonic good manners. Both designs are fully stabilised in your rifle's rifling pitch. Another superb and very old L-R design is the rebated boat-tail Lapua 185gn D46, a .30 match variation of the Finnish military 7.62X53R machine-gun bullet designed to wring maximum range out of the belt-fed guns.

In either case, to get them moving as fast as possible, use Lapua 'Palma' small primer brass with SR Magnum primers and consider a 'high energy' powder, Reload Swiss RS52 or Viht N550 being the obvious candidates. Plain single-base Viht N150 also achieves surprisingly good MVs from the 185 Juggernaut in the Lapua small primer brass. You will cane the barrel throat with any of these combinations, so it's best to restrict them to very long range shooting. You will also need a lot of elevation adjustment available in your scope set-up.