308w in a 30" barrel

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308w in a 30" barrel

Post by bigpete » 20 May 2023, 4:03 pm

Gday, a mate of mine just bought an omark with a 30" barrel and he's wanting to run 170 to 180gn pills in it. I've looked on ADI and they pretty much say ar2208 gives the best velocities, but that's only 24" barrels. Does anyone with experience with these have any input re different powders and loads ?
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by deye243 » 20 May 2023, 4:54 pm

08 is the go there are a lot of Fclass shooters out that will say the same Many years ago I found 08 gave best velocities with 150g as well in a 31" barrel .
Mate of mine has a 32" on his omark and gets just over 2750 fps with the 185 juggernaut and 2208 .
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by No1Mk3 » 20 May 2023, 4:59 pm

G'day bigpete,
2208 is still a good powder for 308, with Palma barrels generally having slow twist rates (12 to 13") for 155g pills at high velocity to shoot 1000 yds. Your friend will need to check his twist rate, decide how far he wants to shoot, then play around with his loads to do well with 170 to 180 pills (175 SMK will be the go there)
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by bigpete » 20 May 2023, 5:17 pm

That's kinda what I thought through my experience loading 308w
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by bigpete » 20 May 2023, 8:12 pm

Any idea on what bullet speeds you're getting ?
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by Larry » 21 May 2023, 8:17 am

AR2206 is more often used than 2208 these days even with long barrels. In fact there are even a few top shooters using 8208 I haven't tried it thinking too fast, but the others results speak for themselves. They would have been shooting 155 proj though not 175. Try 2206H I think you will get better results.
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by in2anity » 22 May 2023, 9:26 am

As others have suggested, it's a palma barrel. 30-32" are in vogue nowadays with big front rings and the .5 eagle eye lens. Reason for it is largely about sight radius; a 32" 'shows' every little wobble better than say a 28". Put simply, the sling shooter receives more precise optical feedback in their sight picture with a longer sight radius. Oh and a bit more velocity as well. I have a 28" and one day hope to upgrade, but for now the 28" will still bring me a possible, if i'm doing my bit right and correctly reading the flags/mirage.

Your mate's barrel is probably a 1:12" twist made specifically for the 155gr HPBT. The good news is, there's a supply of these pills frequenlty sourced by NRAA and affiliates.

Buy either of these two pills in bulk, when you get the chance:

1. Berger "155.5 Grain FULLBORE Target Rifle Bullet" part number #30416
2. Sierra "155gn HPBT Matchking" part number #2156C

In fact you should be able to procure #2 already - and believe me, they shoot. It's my bread and butter.

And tell your mate to "stop pulling the trigger when the flags and/or mirage look odd", and that long thing will shoot, no question about it :drinks:
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by SCJ429 » 23 May 2023, 7:04 pm

in2anity wrote:As others have suggested, it's a palma barrel. 30-32" are in vogue nowadays with big front rings and the .5 eagle eye lens. Reason for it is largely about sight radius; a 32" 'shows' every little wobble better than say a 28". Put simply, the sling shooter receives more precise optical feedback in their sight picture with a longer sight radius. Oh and a bit more velocity as well. I have a 28" and one day hope to upgrade, but for now the 28" will still bring me a possible, if i'm doing my bit right and correctly reading the flags/mirage.
t :drinks:

Are you allowed to fit a bloop tube like they use in Olympic Small bore?
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by in2anity » 23 May 2023, 7:50 pm

SCJ429 wrote:Are you allowed to fit a bloop tube like they use in Olympic Small bore?

Indeed you are. And they are often seen on the mound.
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by SCJ429 » 23 May 2023, 9:48 pm

Why don't you have a bloop tube on your 28 inch barrel? A four inch tube gets you the sight radius your are looking for.
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by in2anity » 23 May 2023, 10:51 pm

SCJ429 wrote:Why don't you have a bloop tube on your 28 inch barrel? A four inch tube gets you the sight radius your are looking for.

A few reasons.

1) I'd have to change all my rings, and it takes months if not years of range time to find the exact rings that work for you and your preferred sight picture, at all the distances, under a variety of lighting conditions.
2) It's potentially one more component that can fail under recoil. Remember, we're not dealing with smallbore recoil here. I've literally seen one fail during a Queens before. That's end of comp basically. Less to go wrong, in the words of my gunsmith (he’s not a fan of them). His offsider interestingly IS an advocate of the boop; so it’s indeed a divisive subject…
3) Your sight picture and dynamics of the package overall, is a highly refined combination. You build it up, then you stick with it. It's all about repetition, muscle memory, and being completely at one with the rifle, down to the finest of details. Heck i can detect when my cheek riser is out by 1mm, or if the buttplate position is out by a couple of mms, or if my sling is incorrect by even a single hole... If you go change something, it takes a decent amount of time to work back up to that level of perfection. Confidence also plays a part. The TR shooter must reach a state of flow to "collect them all".

So yeah, I've no interest in such an interruption at this time. Like i said, if i'm in the zone, and dealing with the wind correctly, I can still shoot possibles with my 28". If not, it's not because the rifle, it's because of me. And at my grade, if i shoot all possibles, i win aggregate. It's the very top end of A grade where Australia's best shooters are chasing the X ring, instead of the TR V ring. And they have been on a huge journey to get there, part of which probably included changing to a long 30-32" barrel at some stage, to gain that say, extra 0.1% advantage, which is particularly pertinent when the scores get so close to perfect, inclusive of decimals.

I'll get there one day, build up a Barnard+32", in perhaps a Mactintosh or Gemini stock, but for now, my gear is working great for me, so it makes no sense to go interrupt my learning. Same reason i run Sierras instead of Bergers - Sierras will still "collect them all" for me, so the Bergers are a waste money, given my inherent skill level.
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by Larry » 24 May 2023, 6:53 am

In2anity dont think I have never seen a removable bloop tube. All the ones I have seen a considerable number (s**t loads) the bloop tube or extended part of the barrel has always been an integral part of the barrel. For those trying to imagine what this looks like it looks like just a ordinary barrel with the inside or the bore drilled out to leave only a thin portion of the barrel remaining like a silencer. For all intensive purposes from the side you would never know it is different from the bore of a normal rifle from the outside. The barrel is bored out to leave just the outside thinish tube. Allowing a sight to be fitted to the end of the barrel.
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by SCJ429 » 24 May 2023, 7:57 am

in2anity wrote:
SCJ429 wrote:Why don't you have a bloop tube on your 28 inch barrel? A four inch tube gets you the sight radius your are looking for.

A few reasons.

1) I'd have to change all my rings, and it takes months if not years of range time to find the exact rings that work for you and your preferred sight picture, at all the distances, under a variety of lighting conditions.
2) It's potentially one more component that can fail under recoil. Remember, we're not dealing with smallbore recoil here. I've literally seen one fail during a Queens before. That's end of comp basically. Less to go wrong, in the words of my gunsmith (he’s not a fan of them). His offsider interestingly IS an advocate of the boop; so it’s indeed a divisive subject…
3) Your sight picture and dynamics of the package overall, is a highly refined combination. You build it up, then you stick with it. It's all about repetition, muscle memory, and being completely at one with the rifle, down to the finest of details. Heck i can detect when my cheek riser is out by 1mm, or if the buttplate position is out by a couple of mms, or if my sling is incorrect by even a single hole... If you go change something, it takes a decent amount of time to work back up to that level of perfection. Confidence also plays a part. The TR shooter must reach a state of flow to "collect them all".

So yeah, I've no interest in such an interruption at this time. Like i said, if i'm in the zone, and dealing with the wind correctly, I can still shoot possibles with my 28". If not, it's not because the rifle, it's because of me. And at my grade, if i shoot all possibles, i win aggregate. It's the very top end of A grade where Australia's best shooters are chasing the X ring, instead of the TR V ring. And they have been on a huge journey to get there, part of which probably included changing to a long 30-32" barrel at some stage, to gain that say, extra 0.1% advantage, which is particularly pertinent when the scores get so close to perfect, inclusive of decimals.

I'll get there one day, build up a Barnard+32", in perhaps a Mactintosh or Gemini stock, but for now, my gear is working great for me, so it makes no sense to go interrupt my learning. Same reason i run Sierras instead of Bergers - Sierras will still "collect them all" for me, so the Bergers are a waste money, given my inherent skill level.

Thanks for the insight, I have only used a tube on an Anschutz rimfire in 3P comp. I hear you about the SMK as I have run out of Berger's. After batching they shoot very well.
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by in2anity » 24 May 2023, 10:03 am

SCJ429 wrote:Thanks for the insight, I have only used a tube on an Anschutz rimfire in 3P comp. I hear you about the SMK as I have run out of Berger's. After batching they shoot very well.


As you well know SCJ249, most sporter 22s are on the shorter side nowadays, with big trend toward 20" and under... because balisitically it's all you need, and people use scopes. But 20" is truly sub-optimal for iron-sighted shooting - you need 24" or even longer if possible. So yar, putting a bloop to extend that radius makes complete sense - i'd also do it in your shoes.
Last edited by in2anity on 24 May 2023, 10:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 308w in a 30" barrel

Post by in2anity » 24 May 2023, 10:09 am

Larry wrote:In2anity dont think I have never seen a removable bloop tube. All the ones I have seen a considerable number (s**t loads) the bloop tube or extended part of the barrel has always been an integral part of the barrel. For those trying to imagine what this looks like it looks like just a ordinary barrel with the inside or the bore drilled out to leave only a thin portion of the barrel remaining like a silencer. For all intensive purposes from the side you would never know it is different from the bore of a normal rifle from the outside. The barrel is bored out to leave just the outside thinish tube. Allowing a sight to be fitted to the end of the barrel.


Gotya. That makes sense and probably are fairly robust.TBH i've never paid really close attention to them, other than the time i saw one fail during a Queens. His one was like this:

Bloop Tube.JPG
Bloop Tube.JPG (87.08 KiB) Viewed 774 times


Seems... fragile, under 30 cal recoil. 223 different story. :unknown:

Another issue is I don't own a gun bag long enough for 32" haha. Those freakishly long bags are bloody expensive!!

Point taken however, they'd probably be fine. Check your screws regularly etc.
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