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Old August 11, 2001, 10:14 PM   #1
Joe Portale
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Join Date: June 8, 1999
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Has anyone figured out this 308 cartridge yet?

I was just wondering, Alliant states that the military is now using Reloader 15 in their 308 match rounds. Neither Sierra or Alliant are releasing data on this cartridge. The bullet is a Sierra BTHP Match. Has anyone dissected this load yet?
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Old August 12, 2001, 11:40 AM   #2
Paul B.
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Joe. This is based on an article in the March-April 1975 HANDLOADER Magazine article on handloading .30 Match Ammunition. Apparently, at the time, the government had quit making National Match ammo, and Jensen's (pre-Arizona Sportsmans destruction of) got the contract to make 98,000 rounds of National Match ammo for the AMU. (Army Marksmanship Unit.). The bullet used was the 168 gr. Sierra HPBT match bullet, and the powder charge specified by the AMU was 39.0 gr. of IMR-3031. Checked that load out in the Sierra manual, they show 39.6 gr. as giving 2500 FPS from a 26 inch 1 in 12 inch twist barrel.
Looking in a copy of Alliant's 1995 loading pamphlet, they show a max load of 42.8 gr. of RL-15 with a 168 gr. Sierra HPBT for a velocity of 2665 FPS and 56,600 PSI pressure. It would seem to me, that if you throttled back to that 2500 FPS range, you would be close to the AMU spec that Jensen's was required to use.
Jensen used some Winchester and some Federal Brass. Sierra used Remington brass. Alliant used Federal brass.
Probably isn't the answer you want, but I've never even seen a round of National Match ammo that was loaded to be able to break it down. It could also be that they are using a non-cannister grade of RL-15, explaining why they won't give details.
Paul B.
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Old August 12, 2001, 12:08 PM   #3
EchoFiveMike
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This is not match ammo, this is M118LR and it was developed for USMC snipers, that people use it for match courses is a nice side benefit. It's a max load of RL15 behind a Sierra 175gn MK. Goes 2680fps from 24inch tubes, if not a little more. Shoots damn well. Pretty hard to get ahold of on the civilian side, heck, it's hard to get ahold of on the military side unless you're going on float or playing with the SOCOM bubbas. Still burning up M118 SB, last lot I got was from 1979! Semper Fidelis...Ken M
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