Berger vld hunting bullets

nathaniel · March 26, 2013, 11:19 AM

Hello all. I just started reloading for my 308 winchester since I cant find any factory stuff. I can only get ramshot big game powder so I was wondering if anyone has a load for 168 grain berger vld hunting bullets. I tried contacting berger and ramshot but they haven't responded yet. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks folks.

**Unclenick** · March 26, 2013, 12:06 PM

Sorry. Read past the chambering originally.

In .308, its not impossible but that powder is a bit slow. It looks like a filled case is in the upper 40,000's. Read this from Berger. The secant ogive bullets have low drag, but tend to be more seating depth sensitive than tangent ogive bullets.

kraigwy · March 26, 2013, 12:17 PM

I shoot 308's in my target rifles and find Bergers work quite well.

Understand velocity does't mean accuracy and this really proteins to the 308.

One of my most accurate rifles is my M-70 across the course rifle.

With the Berger 168's I use Winchester brass, 42 gr of 4895 and Fed match primers. It goes right at 2600 GPS MV.

Super accurate. Going faster wont help. That's good to 600 yards. Beyond that I use the same load except I switch to 175's.

I stick to a COL of 2.80.

Same load only 41.5 gr of 4895 in my Super Match M1A.

**Unclenick** · March 26, 2013, 01:27 PM

Nathaniel,

Did you look at the Ramshot load data? They show a Sierra 168 grain MK bullet running on 46 grains to 49 grains of Big Game at 2.800 COL in a Winchester case with a Federal 210M primer. QuickLOAD says changing the bullet to the Berger, but using the same COL, requires you to reduce the powder charge 0.7 grains at both ends, so 45.3 to 48.3 grains. That's the best guess I can come up with. Note that Winchester cases have the most space in them, so you could land at lower numbers.

nathaniel · March 26, 2013, 01:43 PM

Ok thanks a bunch guys. I might give it a try and see how it goes. Right now I have varget but it is soo hard to come by.

reynolds357 · March 26, 2013, 09:05 PM

Big Game is the ideal powder for the 168. 49gr is the max load and compression, not pressure, is the limiting factor. Whith the Berger's long seat depth, you probably can go a little over that with careful load development.

March 26, 2013, 11:19 AM	#1
nathaniel Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2010 Location: North Dakota Posts: 600	Berger vld hunting bullets Hello all. I just started reloading for my 308 winchester since I cant find any factory stuff. I can only get ramshot big game powder so I was wondering if anyone has a load for 168 grain berger vld hunting bullets. I tried contacting berger and ramshot but they haven't responded yet. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks folks.

March 26, 2013, 12:06 PM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Sorry. Read past the chambering originally. In .308, its not impossible but that powder is a bit slow. It looks like a filled case is in the upper 40,000's. Read this from Berger. The secant ogive bullets have low drag, but tend to be more seating depth sensitive than tangent ogive bullets. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle Last edited by Unclenick; March 26, 2013 at 01:12 PM.

March 26, 2013, 12:17 PM	#3
kraigwy Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 11,061	I shoot 308's in my target rifles and find Bergers work quite well. Understand velocity does't mean accuracy and this really proteins to the 308. One of my most accurate rifles is my M-70 across the course rifle. With the Berger 168's I use Winchester brass, 42 gr of 4895 and Fed match primers. It goes right at 2600 GPS MV. Super accurate. Going faster wont help. That's good to 600 yards. Beyond that I use the same load except I switch to 175's. I stick to a COL of 2.80. Same load only 41.5 gr of 4895 in my Super Match M1A. __________________ Kraig Stuart CPT USAR Ret USAMU Sniper School Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071

March 26, 2013, 01:27 PM	#4
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	Nathaniel, Did you look at the Ramshot load data? They show a Sierra 168 grain MK bullet running on 46 grains to 49 grains of Big Game at 2.800 COL in a Winchester case with a Federal 210M primer. QuickLOAD says changing the bullet to the Berger, but using the same COL, requires you to reduce the powder charge 0.7 grains at both ends, so 45.3 to 48.3 grains. That's the best guess I can come up with. Note that Winchester cases have the most space in them, so you could land at lower numbers. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

March 26, 2013, 01:43 PM	#5
nathaniel Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2010 Location: North Dakota Posts: 600	Ok thanks a bunch guys. I might give it a try and see how it goes. Right now I have varget but it is soo hard to come by.

March 26, 2013, 09:05 PM	#6
reynolds357 Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2012 Posts: 6,165	Big Game is the ideal powder for the 168. 49gr is the max load and compression, not pressure, is the limiting factor. Whith the Berger's long seat depth, you probably can go a little over that with careful load development.