Thread: Factory Hornady precision hunter 178 and 308 short barrel Howa

Originally Posted by rusl

Has any one chronographed this ammo in a short barrel, such a heavy bullet I’m curious to see how much velocity is lost, I thought generally you tried to stay with lighter bullets in shorter barrels, I have an 18inch 308 and am curious if this would be a better load for out to 500m than my usual 165gr 2206h load. Velocity would be lower but the bc may make up for it. The printed velocities are for a 24inch barrel 2600fps which Cigar is getting pretty close to in his 23.5.

Dunno but hornady precision hunter ammo, but I'm currently running targex 175gn pills over a stout load of 2208 and it does the buisness alright.
I smoked a yearling at 470yards with it in my 20" 308win.
On paper the heavier 175s out perform my 165gn btsp load for energy.
The 175s drop below 1000ft/lbs at 750 yards the 165s drop below 1000ft/lbs at 650yards, for me the better bc of the heavier pill makes them an obvious choice as they are better in the wind and carry more energy. Granted not a super short barrel but that's all I have.

If going lighter make sure you use a suitable bullet like an accubond, Sirocco or barnes etc, but this may also reduce your effective range as most of these bullets rely on velocity to expand....around 2000fps from memory