308 handloads for the AxisII- What bullet weight?

[Marzoom]

I'll be picking up my rifle today and I am getting back into reloading.
Just wondering what the Axis seems to like best bullet weight wise? I have 150 grains i'll be testing first and gun will be mostly used for hunting deer and some target shooting.

I use to reload for the Savage 99 using Sierra 165 grains but I can't find any around here, don't even know if Sierra is still in business.

[CFJunkie]

The model type has no bearing on which bullet weight your barrel will like.
The only way you can determine a particular rifle barrel's preference is to shoot it with a variety of bullet weights with enough groups of each weight to be able to determine a difference.
As you probably know, unless you are shooting from a rigid fixture, one group only tells you that something did or didn't work once and will only let you conclude what actually performs best over a larger sample.

I have two Savage .308s with 24-inch barrels, both Model 10 LE versions.
One of the barrels shoots 155 grain bullets best, and 168 grain bullets almost as accurately. It doesn't shoot 175 grain bullets as well.
The other barrel shoots 175 grain SMKs and TMKs as well as 195 grain TMK bullets best.
It shoots 168 grain and 200 grain bullets slightly less accurately and doesn't shoot 150 and 155 grain bullets well at all.

If I only had one .308k, I'd probably be giving you very misleading information.

[Ernest T]

The model type has no bearing on which bullet weight your barrel will like.
The only way you can determine a particular rifle barrel's preference is to shoot it with a variety of bullet weights with enough groups of each weight to be able to determine a difference.
As you probably know, unless you are shooting from a rigid fixture, one group only tells you that something did or didn't work once and will only let you conclude what actually performs best over a larger sample.

I have two Savage .308s with 24-inch barrels, both Model 10 LE versions.
One of the barrels shoots 155 grain bullets best, and 168 grain bullets almost as accurately. It doesn't shoot 175 grain bullets as well.
The other barrel shoots 175 grain SMKs and TMKs as well as 195 grain TMK bullets best.
It shoots 168 grain and 200 grain bullets slightly less accurately and doesn't shoot 150 and 155 grain bullets well at all.

If I only had one .308k, I'd probably be giving you very misleading information.
A 24" barrel is pretty long on a .308, have you had them awhile? When I was looking for one most seemed to have 20" barrels or shorter.

[charlie b]

Many mfg's use the .308 in shorter rifles, cashing in on the 'tactical' or 'lightweight hunter' types. The non-military target rifles tend to have longer barrels. The 12BVSS has a 26" heavy contour barrel, the Palma is 30", etc. Even the lowly Axis has a 22" barrel. Just depends on the type of rifle you want and what you will be doing with it.

[hamiltonkiler]

It will shoot a 168gn smk better than your rifle is set up to test.

Buy a box of black hills or federal gold metal match to test.

That’s my 308 experience. Past 600yds go to the 175smk.
Might not look as well at 100yds but holds the wind better at a poke.


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[CFJunkie]

That's good advice, hamiltonkiler

Both of my Savage .308s shoot them well, maybe not the best but pretty close.

Ernest T,
Both of my 10 law enforcement models were 24-inches from the factory. One is 2008 vintage and the other is 2012 vintage.

These days, the bench .308s have 26-inch barrels and the hunting and tactical .308 rifles are around 20 inches.
For a target rifle, a 24 or 26-inch heavy barrel would be my preference. The shorter barrels would be better for hunting rifles, especially in the east.
The lighter, the better, for carrying around.

[Robinhood]

I have found that several factory 10 twist barrels like the 175 Sierra MK's as a buy load em and go. Pushed with Varget, R15, 4064, and a couple of others and you're a happy man. The 12 twist are a little different in my experience.

I did have a 20" that was lights out at 200 and 300 with 168 in front of 41 gr Varget. That as my local range load.

[fla9-40]

I have found that several factory 10 twist barrels like the 175 Sierra MK's as a buy load em and go. Pushed with Varget, R15, 4064, and a couple of others and you're a happy man. The 12 twist are a little different in my experience.

I did have a 20" that was lights out at 200 and 300 with 168 in front of 41 gr Varget. That as my local range load.



Robinhood is on the right track, it all depends on what twist your barrel is to determine what weight to start testing with.

[jonbearman]

If you want a bullet that will treat you right try Hornady 165 spire poits. They shoot almost as good as match bullets out of one of my 308's I use that day.

[bear40]

Sierra Game Kings 150gr. are a very good hunting bullet. I think for deer hunting the have better terminal ballistics then the MKs. You can buy them directly from Sierra