Tikka .308 painless method recommendations

[Wolfshead]

I’m trying to develop a load for my Tikka T3x compact .308 Win., with a 20” barrel and 1-10 twist.
I’m loading Barnes 130 grain ttsx in Starline brass and CCI #200 primers.
I’ve tried Varget but haven’t found anything that is less than 2” groups at 100 yards, so I’ve purchased some Ramshot TAC. Barnes lists this as their most accurate powder tested.
Barnes load data has 46.1grains as min. And 51.2 grains max.
I’ve probably shot near 100 rounds trying to find a load using Varget with no acceptable success.
I’m hoping to find something using TAC, but without chasing 100 rounds.

I’ve read to post about painless load development, mostly the whole post, and just not sure where to start.

So my question is, how would you proceed using the “painless load development” method?
What recommendations do you suggest?
Thanks in advance

 

[RyanT26]

Switch bullets and keep trying varget.
Varget, tac, and shooter world precision are the easy button for powders for 308.

 

[112Savage]

I know that people on this forum don’t believe this, but if you want best accuracy out of Barnes, you need to do two things before you start.
1. Clean your barrel well to remove copper from other jacket types. I have personally seen this work and the effect of not doing it.
2. Load your bullets 0.050”+ off the lands.

I know some influencers say this is bunk. The factory that makes these bullets wants you to be successful and buy more of their bullets so even though it’s more steps; the fact that they recommend it means there must be some truth.

 

[Wolfshead]

Switch bullets and keep trying varget.
Varget, tac, and shooter world precision are the easy button for powders for 308.

I have a great load with Nosler Accubonds and Varget, but NewYorkistan my go no lead on state lands so I am looking for a mono load hence the 130 ttsxs

I know that people on this forum don’t believe this, but if you want best accuracy out of Barnes, you need to do two things before you start.
1. Clean your barrel well to remove copper from other jacket types. I have personally seen this work and the effect of not doing it.
2. Load your bullets 0.050”+ off the lands.

I know some influencers say this is bunk. The factory that makes these bullets wants you to be successful and buy more of their bullets so even though it’s more steps; the fact that they recommend it means there must be some truth.

I have cleaned the barrel as well as I can.
My mag length is a bit shorter than .050 off the lands so I’ll have to go with that.
I’m actually intending to start at 2.810 COAL.

Thank you guys for your responses!

 

[112Savage]

For the painless method changing powder types and bullet types has been way more fruitful than trying different powder weights. I’ll try max and max-1gr. If that doesn’t work I’ll try a different powder or two. If that doesn’t work, I’m trying a different bullet. 137 gr hammer or similar HHT? Hammers have always been easy to get great groups. Results on animals have been impressive

 

[BAKPAKR]

Try a couple other powders and, if you don’t get anything acceptable, try another bullet like the 124 gr Hammer Hunter.

 

[tacks]

I know that people on this forum don’t believe this, but if you want best accuracy out of Barnes, you need to do two things before you start.
1. Clean your barrel well to remove copper from other jacket types. I have personally seen this work and the effect of not doing it.
2. Load your bullets 0.050”+ off the lands.

I know some influencers say this is bunk. The factory that makes these bullets wants you to be successful and buy more of their bullets so even though it’s more steps; the fact that they recommend it means there must be some truth.

How are you getting the .050" off the lands? Do you put a bullet in a shell long unloaded and close the bolt then seat it .050 shorter?

 

[Wolfshead]

For the painless method changing powder types and bullet types has been way more fruitful than trying different powder weights. I’ll try max and max-1gr. If that doesn’t work I’ll try a different powder or two. If that doesn’t work, I’m trying a different bullet. 137 gr hammer or similar HHT? Hammers have always been easy to get great groups. Results on animals have been impressive

I think this is where I’m getting stuck.
Trying max load first.
Always been taught to work up to pressure and old habits die hard I guess….


I may look into the hammers

 

[Wolfshead]

How are you getting the .050" off the lands? Do you put a bullet in a shell long unloaded and close the bolt then seat it .050 shorter?

I measured mine with a Hornady C1000 lock n load OAL length gauge.
It measures length to lands for your particular rifle.

 

[onlybrowning]

I realize they are expensive to just try, but how about some other mono's? I've picked up seconds that are Hornady CX in .308 pretty cheap before. Or maybe try a box of 150's? I'll echo that if it doesn't shoot well with Varget and CCI200's, I can't imagine you'll see drastic improvement with other powders. If you have H4895 on the shelf, or H380, you could try that as well, but I'd be more apt to keep Varget and switch out bullets.

 

[TxLite]

How are you getting the .050" off the lands? Do you put a bullet in a shell long unloaded and close the bolt then seat it .050 shorter?

That’s basically how I check distance to the lands for my rifles. Then you know your jump for whatever bullet you try

 

[Lelder]

when im working up a brand new load i like to due the "ladder method". Start with the minimum charge weight and go up a 1/2gr for each additional case you load EX: you would start at 46gr then 46.5, 47, 47.5 etc all aiming at the same point on the target as the powder increases the bullets should be impacting higher assuming you are doing your part when you get a few rounds that "cluster" together in the ladder this is where you want to dial in around those powder charges. i usually shoot this at 200yds seems to let the bullets separate more.
hope this helps

 

[Sadie]

Easy would be a 150gr sierra, 210 primer, 8208 powder. Start at .010 off the lands and find powder charge. Easy sub moa. Under 12 shots to get there in the last three 308 rifles I've worked up loads for .

 

[A382DWDZQ]

My initial thought is to switch to the 168TTSX. In my opinion, it’s just a better choice in most circumstances. It’s a softer bullet, better bc, less wind drift, and just seems to shoot better.

That said, I’ve had good luck with IMR3031 and the 130 in 308.

Here is what I would do next. Make sure that my brass is all sized and trimmed to length if it’s new, and that it’s chamfered and deburred. Dry lube the necks and load 0.5gr ladder from min to a couple grains over max. Do this for a set of 130 and 168 gr loads. Chrono those at 100yds keeping POA the same for all. Analyze the POA for all shots in the sequence and the velocities.

Edit: I seat them at book length for the initial loading. I’ve found my Tikkas to not be all that long in the throat, and they’re built for factory ammo. Across about four different tikkas with several different bullets, it’s seemed to be that a well loaded round will do pretty well at book length and then it can be dialed in from there.

Edit2: I also start at min charge because some of the most accurate loads I’ve found were at min or a little above and if I didn’t need more than that, it was fine to just leave it there.

 

[peterk123]

I shoot the same gun. It loves 165 to 168 grain bullets. I'm using hornady 168 gr eld match bullets as my practice bullet. I use 43.8 grains of imr4895. Max OAL, which I think is 2.80. It is very accurate. This load matches nosler factory BT and Accubond rounds, which is what I currently hunt with. My load is a bit slower but the higher BC makes up for it.

If I were trying to hit the same little dot over and over then I would reduce the load to 43.5 grains. It's deadly accurate.

I recently purchased varget because imr4895 is hard to get. I hear great things about.

I'd recommend changing your bullet weight. Fwiw, I don't worry about how far off the lands I am or other fine tuning. Check brass length trim and chamfer if required. After four firings brass goes into my drill and hit with a torch for a seven count, call it a day.

Edit: I believe imr4895 is considered one of the most accurate powders for 308.

 

[NWBLKTAIL]

I shoot with a couple guys that have good luck N150 in their 308’s. When I get closer to running out of varget that is what I’ll try next. TAC is another like you mentioned that may be worth trying.

 

[PaPete90]

I cut my Tikka to 18” and things went crazy with my established loads. I settled on 138gr Hammer HHT and Benchmark power @2975 fps. This load provides me the best accuracy. Two deer last season didnt like the HHT’s


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[leclairk]

I just went through this. Tried Varget with 4 different bullets and got decent results. Decided to try 168g TMK’s. Bought 24 of them off Sub MOA shooting just to see what they would do. Lights out! Loaded them in the upper 44 grain range. Finally found my load. Attached is a 20 round group at 100 yards.

 

[peaches]

I’m trying to develop a load for my Tikka T3x compact .308 Win., with a 20” barrel and 1-10 twist.
I’m loading Barnes 130 grain ttsx in Starline brass and CCI #200 primers.
I’ve tried Varget but haven’t found anything that is less than 2” groups at 100 yards, so I’ve purchased some Ramshot TAC. Barnes lists this as their most accurate powder tested.
Barnes load data has 46.1grains as min. And 51.2 grains max.
I’ve probably shot near 100 rounds trying to find a load using Varget with no acceptable success.
I’m hoping to find something using TAC, but without chasing 100 rounds.

I’ve read to post about painless load development, mostly the whole post, and just not sure where to start.

So my question is, how would you proceed using the “painless load development” method?
What recommendations do you suggest?
Thanks in advance

That load should shoot well. 130 ttsk has always shot well for me. I use it in my Tikka but you rifle may not like it

In general I pick a bullet and load it with a mid level load of appropriate powder. It either will or will not shoot, you will know quickly. In my experience, no tweaking is going to make a 'big' difference. If a bullet doesn't shoot, try another and quit wasting time and components.

 

[bonepoint]

I have have also had great luck with H4895 (along with Varget) in the 308. I would at least try one other powder before moving on, but if you are 2+" groups, you are probably going to just have to accept that it doesn't like that bullet and move on.

I have shot more nosler etips than Barnes, but have found them more sensitive to seating depths than most other bullets. I have heard all of the monos are that way.

If it were me, I would try a second powder. Go with a known accurate charge for most rifles. Load 3 rounds 40 thousands less than your current load, and 3 rounds longer than your current load. If neither of those shows any promise over your current situation, stop wasting time and move on to a new bullet.