Federal SMK 168gr .308

What is it about the specific round and load that almost every .308 shoots it very well? Is Federal's measuring that precise on powder or is it just the perfect target bullet or ??? I haven't shot much of it but everything I've ever read, for years and years, is that everybody has good luck with it wether it's a Remmy, Winchester, Sako, Ruger, AR-10, whatever. I was just curious why it seems this bullet loaded by this company seems to be a damn near perfect combo for any .308.

Yes, it has to do with the bullet, bullet ogive distance, powder used, and the pressure it generates at the right time. They also load on the lower accuracy node (lower speed), which is easier to tune. When you get up into the higher pressure and speeds, this accuracy window is smaller. The 168 SMK is one of the least finicky bullets to load for. When you get more aggressive with the design, like a higher BC bullet, more aggressive ogive, and different boat tail design, the bullet does become more difficult to have a large accuracy node in all rifles. But their powder charges do have some large swings which is why FGMM often has a high extreme spread from round to round to round.

I have also been working on powders, pressures, bullet ogive's, and researching this. I think I've also found some great loads with a slightly slower burning powder to get the speeds up and shoot really well in 5 308's that I have shot them in.

Damn good explanation! Thanks.

When I was working a Federal in the 1990's the load remained unchanged for many years, might still be the same today. Just enough IMR 4064 to get to around 2650 fps. I forget the exact load but it was several grains below the data that Sierra would publish as max in those days.

I don't know what it is about the Federal 168SMK but it flat works. I have ran that ammo out to 1000 yards and stayed at MOA or just a tick under. It's prob not the best when you see what Chad can do, but for easily available factory ammo, it's pretty darn good. In my 2.5 years of running that ammo, I have bought it from various places and have never had to adjust my scope because of different batches.