Aaron M

175gr pills is probably a good choice for the rifle that you are describing. With your barrel length there is no reason to run the lighter bullets faster because you will probably not show any downrange advantage and you will burn your barrel out faster. A 1:12 twist barrel is pretty much standard for most of the 30 cal 175gr bullets but the majority of them will also stabilize out of a 1:13 twist barrel if you believe that the slowest twist that will stabilize a bullet is the most accurate. @the OP, Nice rifle! Unless your looking to shoot our past 1K a 308 is about all you will ever need.

125gr JHP over 4.1 gr titegroup for production.

The blemished bullets that midway sells are pretty much like Sierra's seconds. They are bullets that probably will shoot fine but were rejected for some MINOR cosmetic issue.

Trail Boss is fun to play with. I have shot reduced loads for fun and for people who can not handle recoil well so they get some practice. I have shot 270, 308, 300 win mag with trail boss. http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail%20Boss%20Reduced%20Loads%20R&P.pdf this link should help you out. Have fun

To calculate the BC, I used the diameter and length of the bullet, the length of the nose, the width of the "open tip", and the weight of the bullet. I plugged it into an online calculator and thats where I got the .198 figure. I got the measurements using a midway dial calipers. Thinking about it a little more, the BC for a 69gr SMK is .190ish. So it may not be too far off. The BC of a 69gr SMK is as follows: Ballistic Coefficients to Velocity Bounds. 1. 0.301 at 2800 fps. and above. 2. 0.305 from 2200 to 2800 fps. 3. 0.317 at 2200 fps. and below. .224 dia. 69 gr. HPBT MatchKing Stock# 1380 And trust me it takes more that a computer program with no velocity data to determine actual BC. There are some software programs that can simulate what a BC might be but until you have actual data it is just an estimate, and this software is used for bullet development and I have never seen a free version online. You're right on the BC of the SMK. I was thinking of my current bullet. I don't have multiple chrono's to use at diff distances. The only other way I was thinking I could calculate it is to chrono it, zero for 100, and check the drop at 200 and 300. Then run it through a ballistic calculator and work the BC until it matches the drops for the given distances. Any weight to doing it this way? what distances will you be shooting? I can probably get you some information that will get you close.

To calculate the BC, I used the diameter and length of the bullet, the length of the nose, the width of the "open tip", and the weight of the bullet. I plugged it into an online calculator and thats where I got the .198 figure. I got the measurements using a midway dial calipers. Thinking about it a little more, the BC for a 69gr SMK is .190ish. So it may not be too far off. The G1 BC of a 69gr SMK is as follows: Ballistic Coefficients to Velocity Bounds. 1. 0.301 at 2800 fps. and above. 2. 0.305 from 2200 to 2800 fps. 3. 0.317 at 2200 fps. and below. .224 dia. 69 gr. HPBT MatchKing Stock# 1380 And trust me it takes more that a computer program with no velocity data to determine actual BC. There are some software programs that can simulate what a BC might be but until you have actual data it is just an estimate, and this software is used for bullet development and I have never seen a free version online. Also My guess is that you are using G7 BC for your calculations correct? I don't deal much with that standard for BC calculation.

As long as you don't oversize your brass so it stretches at the case head you should get plenty or firings out of it.

What gas tube length? pistol? Carbine? Suppressor?

In order to calculate BC you will need some equipment beyond a computer. The easiest and fairly accurate way is to use two sets of Chronographs set at least a couple hundred yards apart in order to capture the decrease in velocity from point A to B. You will need to shoot several different velocities through the chronographs from the lowest of lows to the highest velocities for that given bullet to get an accurate measurement. You will then need to take you velocities and plug them into a program with all of the bullets data and then calculate the BC from your data points well that or be very good with a calculator and math. My guess is your bullet would have a G1 BC around .240 PS: OTM is a nice politically correct way of saying HP

I shoot mainly varget with the bullet weight range that you are talking about and have had no problems. I am shooting .3"-.4" 5 shot groups at 100M with both 155gr Palma SMK's and 175gr SMK's.

Quality depends on how much money you want to spend. If you have $1 to shell out per case I would go with Lapua, their brass is second to none. If you want a more economical choice I would go with federal or winchester. I haven't had good luck with remington brass. If you want Lapua I bet you will able to find it in stock at a few places.

Depending on what you are looking for exactly I would say you are in the ballpark. Good ES and your velocity is running right about in the middle of the range for this bullet/cartridge/powder combination. I think that your next step if you are happy with the velocity you are getting is to check it for accuracy to make sure that your gun likes it.

Your ES is very good but the main thing is how did they shoot? Velocity is an important concern when I'm working up a LR load but if it wont shoot .5" or better at 100M I usually scrap it. I am also interested in what bullet weight/manufacturer you are using.

It matters and with you die setup for the 69's it will not seat the 55's to 2.260 also because the difference in length of the bullets and the profile of the ogive which is where the seating die will contact. It is a possibility that it will not seat the bullet in the case mouth at all with it is turned up for the 69's or barely seat them.

If all factors except seating depth are the same then I would just keep one setup and turn your seating die down when loading the 55's and back up to mag length when loading the 69's. Definitely do not need two setups unless you just want to spend the extra money, and if you in the spending mood just get a redding competition seating die with a mic on top so you can make it that much easier to know how much you need to turn it down.