Rating the Nosler 155gr CC .308 bullet

[Graham Smith]

I've been reading quite a bit about the 155gr .308 bullets, particularly the articles done by Bryan Litz.

He compared the Lapua Scenar, Berger Fullbore, and Sierra MK Palma (2156) bullets and found that they ranked in that order, but were closer in reality than on paper. Of course, if you are talking about Palma competition where an inch at 1000yds does make a difference, the Lapua is probably the bullet of choice. But for more mundane competition at distances between 600 - 800yds, the differences start to dwindle.

I'm not sure why the Nosler 155gr Custom Competition bullet is not in the comparisons I have read. Granted the BC isn't quite up to the others, but it's not dog meat either. And the price is less than the Sierra and nearly half the cost of the Lapua.

Other than a few posts in reloading sites with comments that it's a "good bullet", I have not found any real comparisons. I don't mind paying 30% more for the Sierra but when you start to talk about 50% more for the Berger or twice the price for the Lapua, it would be nice to have some kind of performance comparison to weigh things against. I'm not cheap but I am frugal.

[mscott]

The Nosler CC 155gr is a plenty good bullet for the .308. We do some steel shooting out to 1k around here and if I were to set up a .308 it would be 175SMKs or the Nosler 155.

[TXMXRACER]

I am glad you started this thread. I have been wondering the same thing myself. I want to switch to the 155's soon.

shane

[Graham Smith]

I am glad you started this thread. I have been wondering the same thing myself. I want to switch to the 155's soon.

I've been looking at the ballistics data for the 175's and 155's and it seems that with the added velocity, the two are fairly equal, and the 155's are cheaper. But the big thing is that the numbers on paper make bullets like the Lapua Scenar look a lot better, but performance wise there is a less practical difference unless you are trying to hit grapefruits at 1000yds.

So, if the Nosler 155's will do almost as well as the Lapuas in a practical comparison, why spend twice as much - $22 / 100 is expensive enough as it is.

[Spanners]

I shoot the 168gr CC

Brought 12k of them in a order mistake and have been onselling

Guys come back for more as they shoot better than the SMK IMO

[Graham Smith]

It would seem that one reason information on the 155's is somewhat limited is that they are specifically designed for Palma competition. This is not to say that they cannot be used for other things, but the main data seems to be referring to Palma loads.

What makes a comparison of loads additionally confusing is that there seem to be more than one 155gr bullet with the same (or very similar names) but they have different BC's. Plus the fact that factory BC's seem to be rather overstated for some bullets and somewhat understated for others.

[ShooterSteve]

I picked up a box of Nos 155s yesterday, and some H335 for my 223. The guy at the counter shoots a bunch of high end bolt guns, and asked if the 335 was for the 155s. I told him No as it was for my 223, and he said I should give it a try. He said his gun shot them very well with that powder. I told him I had Varget for my 308, he nodded and said to give the 335 a try. He thinks I'll be pleasantly surprised. I might do that. I have the powder and bullets, all I have to do is load a few up.

[mscott]

Good luck with the H335. I had some serious velocity swings (over 100fps) with it when the temperatures changed. That much of a velocity swing is not acceptable for long range stuff. Varget seems to be the standard, but others will certainly work.

[RH45]

In my rifles, Lapuas shoot the best, they don't seem to like Sierras at all, and from the little bit of testing I've done so far with the Nosler 155 ccs, they are in between. The only loads I've tried with the Noslers was with Varget. I've got a jug of Tac I'm going to try.

[Graham Smith]

In my rifles, Lapuas shoot the best...

What rifles?

[RH45]

In my rifles, Lapuas shoot the best...

What rifles?

DPMS, factory, 18" bbl. DPMS, with 20" Lija bbl.Remington 700 Varmint.

I shoot the Remington the best. It has a Rifle Basix trigger in it set at 10 oz. and will regularly shoot the 155 grain scenars, loaded in Lapua brass, with Varget behind them in to 1/2" at 200 yards. The gas guns, with the same load produced 1" groups at 200 yards. I'm pretty sure the Lija bbl. is capable of doing better, but, even with a JP trigger, I can't shoot an autoloader as accurate as a bolt gun.

[Graham Smith]

20" Lija bbl.Remington 700 Varmint.

How far off the lands are you with that bullet?

[RH45]

20" Lija bbl.Remington 700 Varmint.

How far off the lands are you with that bullet?

The Lija bbl. is on a DPMS, gas gun. The Remington 700 varmint is stock, except for the trigger, and a muzzle brake.

I don't remember what the distance off the lands, but, I remember that the OAL just barely fits in the DPMS mags. It seems to me that to get anywhere near the lands on the gas guns,they won't fit in the mags.

[Graham Smith]

I don't remember what the distance off the lands, but, I remember that the OAL just barely fits in the DPMS mags. It seems to me that to get anywhere near the lands on the gas guns,they won't fit in the mags.

Yah. Trying to use the longer bullets in a semi-auto is tough. Even in a bolt gun bullets like the Berger VLD and the Palma bullets often need to be loaded just off the lands which can mean that they are too long to fit a magazine.