Hornady 208g A-MAX in .308

[Vanner27]

I just picked up a Savage 10FCP in the HS-Precision stock with a 1:10" twist in .308. I was planning on rebarreling it in 6mm BR, but wanted to play around with the 208's like the guys over on Sniper's Hide. I broke the rifle in last week and shot one fouling shot today, then I shot this little dandy of a 4-shot group with 46 grains of RL17. My only wish is that I would have picked up this rifle sooner, rather than messing around with that Remy 700 I had.

About .3-4 MOA at 100yds.

[Sleeper]

Awesome. I'm all for a hopped up 700, but there are a lot better guns out there

[Vanner27]

Oh, don't get me wrong, the 700's are great. The real reason I switched over to the Savage was for the accu-trigger and the ability to rebarrel it myself. Other than that, I would have stayed with the 700.

[dee]

What velocity are you running the 208's at?

[Sleeper]

Btw my off the shelf tikka will shoot that at a hundred with off the shelf 150gr sst superformance if i do my part.

The sad thing is though when there is a big animal out there and the adrenaline is going, i've seen even the best of shooters fold.

[slowyellow]

Pretty damn good shooting man. I just started messing with my 308 stuff again today. I finally got a neck sizing die, should help with my non mag length rounds.

And I thought that my 185 gr VLD's were heavy.... 208's, good god lol.

[dee]

Pretty damn good shooting man. I just started messing with my 308 stuff again today. I finally got a neck sizing die, should help with my non mag length rounds.

And I thought that my 185 gr VLD's were heavy.... 208's, good god lol.

They are pretty good and really shine in cases like the 06' or 300WM that can really push them. I really liked the way the 155's ran in my 308 pretty decent bc plus you achieved a higher velocity.

[Vanner27]

What velocity are you running the 208's at?

I'm not sure. I don't have a tripod for my chrony yet. I am just assuming that they are somewhere around 2300-2400 at 46 grains. I ran them all the way up to 49 grains and the bolt started getting a little sticky. The other problem I am having is the COL is very short to the lands and I am losing quite a bit of case capacity. I don't think I can hit another node, so this is probably all for not, but it would make a pretty good short range round. This might just rival the 45-70.


Here is the link to where I saw the guys shooting the 208's.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubb...1299481&page=1

[dee]

I'm not sure. I don't have a tripod for my chrony yet. I am just assuming that they are somewhere around 2300-2400 at 46 grains. I ran them all the way up to 49 grains and the bolt started getting a little sticky. The other problem I am having is the COL is very short to the lands and I am losing quite a bit of case capacity. I don't think I can hit another node, so this is probably all for not, but it would make a pretty good short range round. This might just rival the 45-70.


Here is the link to where I saw the guys shooting the 208's.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubb...1299481&page=1

Wow, 2300-2400fps you better have a good amount of adjustment in your scope if you want to shoot far.

[CJ]

I'm not sure. I don't have a tripod for my chrony yet. I am just assuming that they are somewhere around 2300-2400 at 46 grains. I ran them all the way up to 49 grains and the bolt started getting a little sticky. The other problem I am having is the COL is very short to the lands and I am losing quite a bit of case capacity. I don't think I can hit another node, so this is probably all for not, but it would make a pretty good short range round. This might just rival the 45-70.


Here is the link to where I saw the guys shooting the 208's.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubb...1299481&page=1

Yeah that's pretty slow on velocity. I can't imagine you're near max pressure. You should be able to get it to 2600-2700 at least. Are you using a case gauge for your .308 cases?

[Vanner27]

Yeah that's pretty slow on velocity. I can't imagine you're near max pressure. You should be able to get it to 2600-2700 at least. Are you using a case gauge for your .308 cases?

No, I need to pick one up. My problem is, the chamber is so short, that even when I jam the bullet into the lands the bullet is pushed past the shoulder in the case. I am getting to the point to where I can't put anymore powder in, I "think". I have never really tried to compress any loads, but these started getting a little crunch at 45.5g. The Winchester brass I am using is said to have 56 grains of H2O capacity. How far can you compress these loads? Thanks for your input.

[Vanner27]

Wow, 2300-2400fps you better have a good amount of adjustment in your scope if you want to shoot far.

I know. Who knows, they might be running faster than I think. I need to get my chrony set up.

[CJ]

No, I need to pick one up. My problem is, the chamber is so short, that even when I jam the bullet into the lands the bullet is pushed past the shoulder in the case. I am getting to the point to where I can't put anymore powder in, I "think". I have never really tried to compress any loads, but these started getting a little crunch at 45.5g. The Winchester brass I am using is said to have 56 grains of H2O capacity. How far can you compress these loads? Thanks for your input.

I think your problem with cases getting tight is probably due to the fact you're on the long end of head spacing those cases to begin with. All cases will grow, but if they are already at max, they will do that.

Don't be scared of compressed loads, those are the most accurate. Some people think the moment you get a compressed load it goes off like a pipe bomb. It seems like what you're saying is your barrel has a short leade. Make sure you clean the shit out of it, because generally the leade will collect a shitload of fowling and jacket debris from your projectile jumping the gap. It might be worth the time to take an empty case, seat a bullet real far out, and try to chamber it, then slowly walk the bullet in the case and see where you're contacting the lands.* Smaller weight bullets have a more aggressive ogive - so where they contact higher grain (and longer grain bullets) won't - and can be longer. It could just be the ogive on that particular bullet.

*but you do need a case gauge before you do this, as it's hard to tell the difference between an improperly spaced case and the bullet contacting the lands.

[Vanner27]

I think your problem with cases getting tight is probably due to the fact you're on the long end of head spacing those cases to begin with. All cases will grow, but if they are already at max, they will do that.

Don't be scared of compressed loads, those are the most accurate. Some people think the moment you get a compressed load it goes off like a pipe bomb. It seems like what you're saying is your barrel has a short leade. Make sure you clean the shit out of it, because generally the leade will collect a shitload of fowling and jacket debris from your projectile jumping the gap. It might be worth the time to take an empty case, seat a bullet real far out, and try to chamber it, then slowly walk the bullet in the case and see where you're contacting the lands. Smaller weight bullets have a more aggressive ogive - so where they contact higher grain (and longer grain bullets) won't - and can be longer. It could just be the ogive on that particular bullet.

Ahh, thank you very much. I'm not scared of compressed loads, I was just unsure how far you could push them. Thanks again.

[CJ]

Ahh, thank you very much. I'm not scared of compressed loads, I was just unsure how far you could push them. Thanks again.

A crunch is healthy, eventually your bullet will get a crease from the seating die when there is quite a bit of pressure. You can stop there.