180gr BT bullets in 308 Issues

joe777

joe777

Active member
Anyone ever ran into a 308 barrel that didn't like 180gr boat tails? Was helping a neighbor get their rifle shooting well, and it couldn't shoot 180gr Federal Fusions worth crap. Had to move to 150gr which I believe were flat bases. At 100 yards the groups were like 8 inches from a solid rest, a shot or two would look promising but then it would throw a flyer 6" left or a few inches down, etc.
 
It was also a Savage. Essentially brand new and the bore looked great. We got the 150gr to group at about 1-1.5"
 
Never had any rifle throw fliers 6-8" out other than a couple of old ones that looked like a stovepipe inside. I do have two different .308's, both new when I got them and those two rifles are the most finicky I've ever had. I tried every bullet weight and load combination in the book and finally found the Savage would shoot 125 gr NBT's around an inch @ 100. The BAR does likewise w/110 Varmageddons. The BAR will put 4 in a cluster but there is always one flier opening 5 shot group up to 1.25 or so.
 
hm1996 said:
Never had any rifle throw fliers 6-8" out other than a couple of old ones that looked like a stovepipe inside. I do have two different .308's, both new when I got them and those two rifles are the most finicky I've ever had. I tried every bullet weight and load combination in the book and finally found the Savage would shoot 125 gr NBT's around an inch @ 100. The BAR does likewise w/110 Varmageddons. The BAR will put 4 in a cluster but there is always one flier opening 5 shot group up to 1.25 or so.
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Neither have I, could hardly believe it when I saw the first flier.
 
Was thinking stabilization but that shouldn't be to much of a problem with a 10 twist.
Try a box of or load up some 168gr bullets?
 
What powder? Are the 180's compressing the powder? This can result in seating consistency issues or even the bullet moving outward over time. The 308W was developed around 155-168 gr bullets. Federal does offer that in ammo, so Federal has had success shooting that bullet in test rifles.
 
The .308 180 gr fusion has a minimum terminal velocity requirement of 1900 fps for reliable expansion. So 400 yard max if you can start them at 2600 fps and above.
 
My .308’s don’t like 150gr. I mean it’s not a group anything like that, but with 165 or 168gr and they’re very consistent. Haven’t tried 180gr.
 
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