Recommended weight for 308 1:12 twist

[cs86]

Wondering if there are any recommendations for a bullet weight for my bolt action 308 1:12 twist. I don't have a primary intention for it other then to play around with cast bullets in the rifle. So probably just targets for now and maybe deer later if I can get something to work. It would be nice to see if I could get something to shoot nice out to 100-300 yds.

One thing I noticed with the 311299 200gr bullet is that it used Varget with astonishing lower pressure, but I didn't know if my gun would stabilize that size of bullet. Its the only one that shows Varget, which I use for my jacketed bullets. It would be nice to stay with the same powder.

Any thoughts? I've been thinking about trying cast with my rifle.

[Doc Highwall]

I have a 1-12" twist in my Remington 40X and it shoots cast great. You should have no problems shooting the 311299 bullet with that twist.

[Larry Gibson]

I have a 1-12" twist in my Remington 40X and it shoots cast great. You should have no problems shooting the 311299 bullet with that twist.

Take Doc's advice to the bank and your 311299 to the range for use in your 12" twist .308W.

Larry Gibson

[Larry Gibson]

I will ad that I favor 150 - 160 gr bullets for 100 - 300 yard shooting in my own .308W match M70 with 12" twist.

Larry Gibson

[seaboltm]

I would think bullets from 125 to 168 grains would work great in 1:12 twist. Funny how most 30 calibers seem to be 1:10 when most people don't shoot bullets heavy enough to need a 1:10 twist. I bet 150 grains is the most common 30 caliber loading.

[cbrick]

I hate finding a thread after Larry has already posted, normally doesn't leave much to be said but I'll ad my satisfaction with the RCBS 180 in my 1 in 12 twist 308. This boolit is somewhat less bore riding surface and more driving band bearing surface and Rick does like bearing surface. The RCBS has 60% of boolit length as bearing surface. This is a three lube groove boolit, in my 308 I lube the bottom two grooves, in my 26" barrel 30-30 I lube all three. Also an excellent shooter in my 308 is the RCBS 150 gr FP, a very similar boolit to the heavier 180.

On the heavier side is the 311284, right at 53% bearing surface & my NOE version drops WW +2% Sn at 214 gr.

Rick

[Doc Highwall]

I have been using the SAECO #315 a 175 grain tapered bullet that weighs 180 grains lubed and gas checked with a 30:1 alloy that I have shot over 1900 fps with great accuracy.

[jonp]

With that twist i would think 165 gr or heavier would be the ticket.
Out of curiosity what is the oal of your 200gr?

[cs86]

Thanks for the posts.


Out of curiosity what is the oal of your 200gr?

I don't have one yet. Lyman states 2.875 COL for the 311299. I was trying to get a feel for what several prefer and a starting point. It may be awhile before I get something because Christmas has left me with little extra $$. By the posts it seems to be a broad range of taste for weight, but the twist seems to make little difference from what you guys say.

[Larry Gibson]

With that twist i would think 165 gr or heavier would be the ticket.
Out of curiosity what is the oal of your 200gr?

If you mean the oal of the 200 gr bullet to check stabilization formulas with mine measure 1.192". If you mean cartridge OAL the 311299 bullet is a bit long for magazine lengths of 2.8" if you want to keep the GC in the case neck. I generally recommend a 180 - 190 gr bullet for those shorter magazine rifles if a heavy bullet is wanted.

Larry Gibson

[jonp]

If you mean the oal of the 200 gr bullet to check stabilization formulas with mine measure 1.192". If you mean cartridge OAL the 311299 bullet is a bit long for magazine lengths of 2.8" if you want to keep the GC in the case neck. I generally recommend a 180 - 190 gr bullet for those shorter magazine rifles if a heavy bullet is wanted.

Larry Gibson
I should have been more specific. I did mean oal of cartridge as 200gr is heavy for a 308 and was going to caution about magazine length

[MT Chambers]

The CBA lists of ammo used is chock full of folks using 210gr. .30 cal. cast bullets with their 1-12" twist barrels.

[brasshog]

At one time both myself and my buddy owned a 308 rifle. We had a 1-10" and a 1-12" rifle respectively. My experience loading was that the Hornady 165gr SST were excellent performers in both rifles. It seemed to be the perfect "mid weight" between the two. At the time we did not shoot cast.

[pls1911]

Doc Highwall:
I'm a bit confused... Your note above indicates a SEACO#315 bullet design which drops 175-180 grains .
I acquired a wonderful 4 cavity SAECO mold #315 years ago and found a listing once which described it as a 150 grain 30-30 design very similar to the current #316
My mould drops about 162 grain, beautifully consistent not-quite-flat point bullets which size a little through a .312 die....
It's a favorite 30 cal bullet, and sure pig killer.
I wonder why over the years different bullets designs have apparently carried the same mold designation...
And, I do not find the #315 listed in the current catalog.
Perhaps I need to go back and look at my mold ID # under very good light and a magnifing glass.

[cbrick]

SAECO #315 is still available, Midway has it in stock in 2 cav. 315 is a 175 gr truncated nose tapered boolit with 5 lube grooves. My 4 cav casts it out of WW at 183 gr, out of lino closer to 175 gr.

SAECO #316 is not similar to 315 but it is a 150 gr boolit. I did a side by side accuracy test of 316 and the RCBS 150 gr in my 30-30 and the RCBS won hands down in group after group.

Rick

[Larry Gibson]

The CBA lists of ammo used is chock full of folks using 210gr. .30 cal. cast bullets with their 1-12" twist barrels.

Years back I single loaded .308Ws with the 311284 at 220 gr to test for longer range accuracy in my M70 Target with 12" twist. The 311284s were seated to the lands and thus too long for the M70 targets magazine. Accuracy with the longer seated 220 gr bullets at 2250 fps was very good to 500 yards....close to 600 yards actually.

Larry Gibson

[Mr Peabody]

I have very good times with my M70 308 and NOE 155grFP. 21gr's of 4227 will let you hit a squirrel at 100 yards.

[ShooterAZ]

The RCBS 30-165 SIL is a good performer in my 308's, but the Lyman 311299 is as well.

[Bigslug]

The thing that is worth filing away: Most of the current conventional wisdom for twist-rates/bullet weights for the .308 is based on jacketed spitzer bullets - often lengthened by a boat tail, match hollowpoint, a lot of nose taper, or all three. These features will require a faster twist for a given weight - hence the usual thinking that 1-12" is only good for about 180 grains or so.

The 1-10" twist commonly used in the .30-06 is a holdover from the .30-40 Krag and the .30-03 with their flat-based, round-nosed, cylindrical-bodied 220 grain projectile. Stands to reason you could stabilize 200 grains in a similar profile out of your 1-12". . .and Doc Highwall's done the leg work for you.