THE HANDLOADING BENCH
308 Winchester Rides Again Part 4 By Laurie Holland
(£145.20 for the 500-ct box) while the others cost over £40 per 100, the 208gnHornady just over that, the 210gn SMK £223.60 for 500 and the Bergers £47.91 per 100. Incidentally, while on packet sizes, you may find that these Sierras are only available in 500-ct boxes being classed by their manufacturer as ‘speciality bullets’. Henry Krank stocks the 210gn SMK in 50-ct boxes if you want to try this model without splashing out well over £200 only to find it doesn’t suit your barrel.
Two new heavy .30 Hornady HPBT match bullets, 208 and 225gn versions alongside a 155gn Sierra Palma MK to provide scale.
That’s not to say that they’ll all perform the same in a particular barrel. Their bearing surface lengths vary for instance from a shortest value of 0.481 inches (Berger BT) to 0.592 inches (Berger VLD), the Sierra and Hornady models in between and close together at 0.541 inches and 0.555 inches respectively. The VLD’s more than tenth of an inch (23%) increase over the BT will significantly increase chamber pressures and reduce potential MVs, all other things being equal.
Throw in small differences in things like body diameter and jacket/core hardness and we’ll likely find that a barrel has distinct preferences between models, also that available MVs coupled to suitably small groups may vary considerably within acceptable pressures. That’s a factor often ignored by armchair ballisticians. A bullet that is ‘ballistically challenged’ on paper but produces small groups at 2,700 fps will usually outperform a same weight but higher-BC competitor that won’t group well at any speed above 2,500 fps, or only does so at case-wrecking pressures. The final bullet in the quintet was the 200gn Sierra MK with a relatively poor BC of 0.285 - over 10% down on the 210s, around what we expect from a really good 185gn model. However, I’ve already pointed out that the older MatchKings have a reputation for better than predicted performance at long ranges.
The 200gn SMK has a price advantage too, Sierra importer Henry Krank listing a 100-ct box at £31.70
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I gave another trio a brief try only – 190 and 210gn SMKs; 190gn Berger VLD. All three were problematic in one way or another. The 190gn SMK offers no benefits other than cost over the Berger 185gn BTLR which shot so well in this barrel, in fact offered a performance reduction with its considerably lower BC. The 190gn VLD grouped very poorly in its one outing and therefore wasn’t considered worth pursuing in this barrel. (It shoots very well in the replacement tube though.) The 210gn SMK had to be seated the deepest of any of the group to the point where it significantly affected pressures and performance.
Powders
Ask top F/TR league competitors who shoot ‘heavies’ which bullet and powder they use and you get a near unanimous answer – Berger 210 plus Viht N550. When I say ‘Berger 210’ that means the BTLR form, users achieving smaller groups than with the VLD version. Some who’ve tried both also reckon that the BTLR displays more consistent elevations at 1000 yards and beyond.
Match Rifle competitors are more catholic in their tastes with Hornady and Sierra models used alongside both Bergers, especially the 210gn SMK which no doubt partly reflects this group of long-range competitors’ association with and trust of Sierra products. Alliant Re17 and its cheaper Elcho 17 clone are used by many as an alternative to N550. Some Scottish long-range shooters based at the Blair Atholl range and shoot both F/TR and Match Rifle are fond of a 208gn Hornady/Re17 combination, although you’ll again find the 210gn Berger BTLR and/or N550 in use.
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