175's, SMK or Nosler CC's?

[dieselrealtor]

For .308 (or 30-06 for laughs & giggles).

Which of the 2 is preferred & why?

I was thinking about buying some smk's but before I did I took inventory, I have a lot of CC's.

 

[55fairlane]

175 SMK seems to be very popular among the high power rifle competitors I know.
When in doubt always go SMK

 

[55fairlane]

I will warn you the recoil with a 175 can be brutal......for 200 yard matches I'm shooting 110 & 125 grainers outa my 30 caliber service rifles

 

[Basher]

The Nosler CCs are generally regarded as an acceptable substitute for the SMK, actually. They’re kind of a clone, and do a reasonably good job of it. If you’ve shot them before and your rifle liked them, they’ll serve you well. Tim Milkovich has shot the CC stuff for quite some time and he does just fine in PRS and NRL type matches when he has the time to shoot them.

 

[drm-hp]

My rack grade M1 Garand likes the 175 SMK @ a mild velocity better than the 150, or 168 of either make.
My NM M1 Garand (308) shoots the 168 SMK @ 200 and 300 fine, but @ 600 the 175 SMK is better.
My M1A SM shoots the 175 SMK @ 200, 300, and 600 better than I can hold. At 800, 900, and 1000 the 185 Berger Hybrid is top performer.
The Nosler bullets preforms well, but something else always beat it out. You would have to determine the cost/accuracy equation for your purposes.
As a side note, the Berger bullets out preforms all others across the course. Just not enough to justify the cost at < 600 yrds.

 

[drm-hp]

As too recoil, it depends on the individuals tolerance to being slapped around. Personally, I do not like being slapped around.
I hate shooting off a bench with almost any centerfire cartridge. But being slung up while wearing a sweater and leather jacket I can fire a 300 Mag without even noticing the recoil in most instances.
All things being equal, as 55fairlane pointed out, more weight @ a given velocity will recoil more/harder. Sometimes substantially more.

 

[natdscott]

For .308 (or 30-06 for laughs & giggles).

Which of the 2 is preferred & why?

I was thinking about buying some smk's but before I did I took inventory, I have a lot of CC's.

There are too many open items here, for a good answer.

What are you trying to shoot, and how far away is it?

 

[Leo]

I have shot 175 Sierra MK for couple of decades, and I went through a couple 1000 of the Nozler 175 Custom Competition bullets. I would like to say one was over the other, but they both performed excellently.

 

[natdscott]

I have shot 175 Sierra MK for couple of decades, and I went through a couple 1000 of the Nozler 175 Custom Competition bullets. I would like to say one was over the other, but they both performed excellently.

No "1 free miss per box" like that other 2nd-tier brand always used to send?

 

[Leo]

No "1 free miss per box" like that other 2nd-tier brand always used to send?

You must be talking about the plastic tipped Hornady before they redesigned them. The ones with the large plastic tip and long bearing surface would hammer the xring, except sometimes one would be a 7. I figured a tip might have broken off. When they redesigned it with a very small plastic tip, the 7's went away.

 

[dieselrealtor]

These are going to be for a long range load, 500yd-1000yd. Planning to make some trips West & will have opportunities for long distance.

 

[natdscott]

You must be talking about the plastic tipped Hornady before they redesigned them. The ones with the large plastic tip and long bearing surface would hammer the xring, except sometimes one would be a 7. I figured a tip might have broken off. When they redesigned it with a very small plastic tip, the 7's went away.

Oh, I'll never tell WHICH brand. Besides, given the current worship, I might be ridden out of town on a rail. . hahaha

 

[natdscott]

These are going to be for a long range load, 500yd-1000yd. Planning to make some trips West & will have opportunities for long distance.

Well, the SMK is an SMK, and it has been an SMK for longer than you've been loading them. That's not an endorsement or a fault, it's just fact, and there is weight to it that no other brand can bring to bear.

---The Nosler MIGHT be an SMK. The original Partition is a helluva bullet, though, and not just on animals.

---The Berger is almost never an SMK, but an SMK is sometimes a Berger.

---The Scenar is a Berger. Just blue, and classy because it's imported.

----The JLK is a rare thing, and beautiful to see in the wild, making even Berglers look pretty ugly.

The same is true of any of the true customs like Barts, though I only have used Swampy's stuff. They're all handmade, and inspected one by one.

----The red box bullets are rumored to be excellent quality, yet are not often seen in the hands of actual fine shooters. Then again, the only true 1/4 minute AR I ever saw wouldn't do it with 3 Sierras and a Berger...preferring to hammer flyasses with the redbox 68 BTHP. Wonders never cease.

----Swift takes real nice care of their bullets. Will they take care of you at a klick? Dunno. Ain't built for that, but those A-Frames sure are built like a brick sh**house.

----Warners are to JLK-and-customs what JLK is to the SMK.

----Cutting Edge is rumored to be the same as Warner, but if you've ever gotten into a technical discussion with the Warners, you understand why my vote is always going on them, for precision machining of... anything they touch.



And, that's about the limit of my experience.

 

[55fairlane]

As too recoil, it depends on the individuals tolerance to being slapped around. Personally, I do not like being slapped around.
I hate shooting off a bench with almost any centerfire cartridge. But being slung up while wearing a sweater and leather jacket I can fire a 300 Mag without even noticing the recoil in most instances.
All things being equal, as 55fairlane pointed out, more weight @ a given velocity will recoil more/harder. Sometimes substantially more.

I mostly pointed out the recoil factor , for those of them, who do not, get in a coat & glove and even begin to understand the sling......and I will admit offhand my 03 & 03A3 are bit of a handful.

 

[Leo]

I mostly pointed out the recoil factor , for those of them, who do not, get in a coat & glove and even begin to understand the sling......and I will admit offhand my 03 & 03A3 are bit of a handful.

For offhand and sitting rapids, the Speer 125gr TNT is the ticket. Easy recoil and accurate. The 500 piece bulk packs bring the price down. For 300 and 600 prone, I go back to the 168's.

The '03 and '03a3 are pretty light and kick pretty hard even with 150 gr M2 ball ammo. Think back of those WW1 soldiers, being about 5'6" and maybe 135-140 pounds. They were a tough bunch of boys. I am 6'2" and 220 lb. At 200 sitting rapid, the rifle rolls me back between shots, all I see is sky behind the front sight.