Bought a rem700 sps varmint and looking into setting up a load for varmints up to 700 yards. In anyone's experience what's a good bullet choice for that distance. I'm looking for a cheaper bullet like a hornady xtp not a premium bullet. Id like to use the xtp just not sure what weight.
Varmint 308 bullet
- Thread starter bungiex88
- Start date
That rifle has a 1:12 twist, should handle 168 and 175gr match bullets just fine.
I recommend the Nosler 155gr custom comp bullet. You should be able to get them going both fast and accurate from that 26" barrel. The thin jacket should provide good terminal ballistics for killing varmints, unless you are planning on harvesting the fur.
If you plan on taking the fur, use a Hornady 150gr FMJBT for minimal pelt damage.
Jimro
I recommend the Nosler 155gr custom comp bullet. You should be able to get them going both fast and accurate from that 26" barrel. The thin jacket should provide good terminal ballistics for killing varmints, unless you are planning on harvesting the fur.
If you plan on taking the fur, use a Hornady 150gr FMJBT for minimal pelt damage.
Jimro
No harvesting fur it not worth enough to care. I have a box of amax 168gr maybe I'll try those. When I was going to use the rifle as a posting deer killer tried 200 rounds nosler accubond 165gr with horrible results. Even tried 2 diffrent powders and still couldn't hold a good group at 100yards.
brasscollector
New member
I have the same rifle. 26" heavy barrel, 12" twist. Box Hornady 168gr z-max/a-max shot like a champ out of mine (haven't tried any reloads out yet...). It would put them into the same hole up to 250 yrds. If you're using the factory plastic stock make sure it isn't touching the barrel (up to 1/8" clearance). Mine is currently sitting on a B+C stock which has an aluminum bedding block. Shot iffy with the plastic stock, might try bedding the action in the factory stock. A step up to a B+C stock is going to put a $300 dent in your wallet.
I need to confirm it, but I recently tested Nosler 165 gr BT and got a group of three in less than a dime at 100 yd. I was just doing a seating depth test on it so more work needs to be done to see if that is my load for that bullet.
I am enjoying my 700 SPS a lot. Just need to get out with it more.
I am enjoying my 700 SPS a lot. Just need to get out with it more.
"...setting up a load for varmints up to 700 yards..." Too far for any .308. And that's assuming you can hit that small of a target. Typical 165's, sighted in at 200, drop roughly 54" at 500. An A-Max is about 48" low.
"...tried 200 rounds Nosler Accubond 165gr with horrible results..." Your rifle just doesn't like that bullet. Mind you, a lot depends on which 2 powders you tried.
"...tried 200 rounds Nosler Accubond 165gr with horrible results..." Your rifle just doesn't like that bullet. Mind you, a lot depends on which 2 powders you tried.
A 308 for varmint, it seems like a small bit of overkill. 700 yards, I can see that, but any 6 MM including the 243 will do just as well with a bullet between 65 to 75 grains. A 165 grain bullet for varmint just seems like a bad idea. Unless you consider animals over 65 lbs as varmints, maybe deer eating up your crops could be considered a varmint but most animals that are considered varmints are a lot smaller and can be taken with much less fire power.
I guess Remington will do just about anything to try and catch up on sales including calling a 308 SPS, a varmint rifle (LOL). When someone uses the word varmint, I think of Ground hogs, Squirrels, Rabbits and such. Might make sense for Coyotes but still more than what is needed for an animal that is less than 75 lbs.
Just my 2 cents, stay safe.
Jim
I guess Remington will do just about anything to try and catch up on sales including calling a 308 SPS, a varmint rifle (LOL). When someone uses the word varmint, I think of Ground hogs, Squirrels, Rabbits and such. Might make sense for Coyotes but still more than what is needed for an animal that is less than 75 lbs.
Just my 2 cents, stay safe.
Jim
I have a free float and bedded chassis on mine. I do have a 6mm I reload for gettING 1/4 groups at 100 yards consitent. And yea a 168gr bullet is a bit overkill when it comes to groundhogs but Im afraid of going to lite for longer ranges. This gun will be used for target shooting to and the ocasional bench rest deer kill. I figured a heavier bullet would be a good utility round. And yes I do have a bunch of apple trees pear trees a big garden blueberry bushes and a couple rasberry patches to protect from the varmint deer that think I'm feeding them for free. Not to mention have a nice back porch over looking it all. This isn't a gun I ever plan on walking through the woods with.
I have the same rifle, capable of amazing accuracy with some handload testing. .3 MOA is not out of the realm of can do. Here's a few of my top precision loads shot off a super sturdy bench rest and rear bag at 200 meters :
168 SMK 41.8 gr Varget .32 MOA
168 SMK 42.4 gr W748 .54 MOA
155 Nosler CC 42.9 gr W748 .51 MOA
168 Nosler CC 39.9 gr Benchmark .2 MOA
I've shot as low as .13 MOA (no lie) but can't say I can hold that same .13 MOA EVERY trip to the range. The above data is more my "consistently accurate" loads.
168 SMK 41.8 gr Varget .32 MOA
168 SMK 42.4 gr W748 .54 MOA
155 Nosler CC 42.9 gr W748 .51 MOA
168 Nosler CC 39.9 gr Benchmark .2 MOA
I've shot as low as .13 MOA (no lie) but can't say I can hold that same .13 MOA EVERY trip to the range. The above data is more my "consistently accurate" loads.
DAVID NANCARROW
New member
Try some Hornady Interlock bullets. Can usually be found fairly cheap, quite accurate in my Remington VS in 308. Used to occasionally shoot varmints in the off season to keep my skills sharp for deer season.
Nonsense. It will be pretty challenging in the wind, and you better have a good range finder and good DOPE, but certainly not "too far for any .308".
I use Hornady AMAX in my LR Varmint rig, and while I have never tried the .308 AMAXs on Varmints, the .264 140gr AMAX is devastating on P-Dogs, and the .224 75gr AMAX works pretty well too.
I think T. O'Heir was making reference to not capable of shooting varmint at 700 yds , not a .308 caliber being incapable for 700 yds. You would need a minimum 30X scope to be able to verify a small varmint at 700 yds , and .30 cal is a lot of bullet for a 5 lb varmint but it certainly can be executed...
You won't get satisfactory results shooting a "varmint" bullet at 700 yards. In fact, at that range you shouldn't expect more than a .30 hole(unless the bullet tumbles). For extended ranges, you must use a long range bullet. I shoot 155 BTHP in the .308 I keep set up for coyotes on my bait pile @ 350 yards. If I hit bone, the damage is significant. If I don't, I can only hope there's snow so I can follow the blood trail. Really doesn't make much diff to me- coyote fur isn't worth much but a dead coyote is another notch on the stock and they seldom survive a .308 through the body for very long.
bungiex88 said:
Too light in what sense? Impact energy or precision (ability to group tightly)? If impact energy is the consideration, you are right that lighter bullets will carry less energy to longer ranges. But given that the 175 grain .308" MatchKing has killed human size critters at over 1200 yards, at 700 yards it is far more than is needed for the demise of a small varmint. If you are talking about ability to be accurate at a long range, then all that matters is the ballistic coefficient of the bullet. If a tiny bullet and a gigantic bullet both have the same ballistic coefficient over the same range, then the amount the wind moves them at any given velocity will be the same.
Not so sure I agree. Maybe he can clarify, because on it's face his statement is absurd. LR shooters hit the X ring with .308 at 1000 yards all the time, a 700 yard varmint is certainly possible. Challenging, but possible.Road_Clam said:
I have shot Prairie Dogs in Montana out to 800 yards or so with a 20X Leupold. Easy to tell what they are, even at that range.Road_Clam said:
I am guessing this is what he was talking about. You are right, but generally speaking (and I am sure you know this), the heavier bullet in a given caliber will be longer, and generally (assuming a similar form) have a higher BC.Unclenick said:
The issue is that "given" caliber. When the .223 first came into use in service rifle matches, the old timers all opined that the little bullets couldn't buck wind at long range as well as .30 caliber guns just because the absolute value of their weight was lower, regardless of their shape or BC. This was a misunderstanding of how exterior ballistics work. It seemed to me the OP might have fallen for that same logical fallacy because he suggested he chose long range accuracy by caliber, for its greater typical bullet weight, rather than by BC.