Background first, my rifle is a Savage 10 fp 5r with a 20 inch heavy barrel. I have a good mid range 168 bthp load that groups tight, and that I plan to keep learning with. What I want is a good hunting load that will also take me to 1k on targets. I have narrowed it down to two bullets, either the 178 or 208 Amax. The 178 according to my Shooter app at a MV of 2550 will drop 43.1 MOA and drift 117.3" with a ten mph wind, and be going 1060fps The 208 with a 2350 MV will drop 42.2 but will drift only 87" in a ten mph wind, and be moving 1220 fps. Drop the MV on the 208 down to 2300 and it still looks better than the 178.
The biggest difference I see is there is a decent amount of history supporting the 178 as a reliable performer. With the 208s most of the data is from guys with custom chambers that can seat the bullet way out so they still have plenty of case capacity. They talk about getting the 208 over 2500. I think 23-2350 is doable with with a 20 inch bbl and non "hot" loads, loaded to magazine length.
What do yall think? Use 178s and stick with known info, or see what can be done with the heavies? Do my numbers sound reasonable? I used the Litz data on both, and I think the velocties on both are reasonable.
Poke some holes in my thinking, or make suggestions please!
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The biggest difference I see is there is a decent amount of history supporting the 178 as a reliable performer. With the 208s most of the data is from guys with custom chambers that can seat the bullet way out so they still have plenty of case capacity. They talk about getting the 208 over 2500. I think 23-2350 is doable with with a 20 inch bbl and non "hot" loads, loaded to magazine length.
What do yall think? Use 178s and stick with known info, or see what can be done with the heavies? Do my numbers sound reasonable? I used the Litz data on both, and I think the velocties on both are reasonable.
Poke some holes in my thinking, or make suggestions please!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk