Sniper Ammunition

American Military Snipers are good, the issue equipment is completely adequate for the tasks they are given, and the training is perfectly adequate.  Sniping is the sum of men, equipment, and ammunition.  I'm not going to get into the training and equipment right now, but I would like to touch on ammunition.

In the last twenty years we've seen a lot of increase in the realm between the 7.62x51 (from henceforth known as the 308 Win, or just 308) and the 50BMG.  We've seen the Secret Service adopt the 7mm Rem Magnum, the adoption of the 300 Win Mag and 338 Lapua Magnum by various portions of the military (SOCOM I'm looking at you) and completely civilian ventures like the 408 Cheytac and 416 Barrett.

But at the bottom of the barrel, the 308 has had a steady stream of capability increases.  Let's go back to the "original" sniper load, M118 Special Ball.  This started out as sort of a "best practices" ammunition, since the M72 match bullet was already in the inventory, and IMR4895 was already used for M72 match ammo it was a natural progression put those components into the new shorter round and call it good.  Alternate lots were loaded with WC846, which is the same powder used to propel standard M80 ball ammo.

This existed as M118 Special Ball for quite some time.  The competitive shooters in the .mil insisted on better, and so M852 was loaded with the venerable 168gr Sierra Matchking bullet, and the boxes were labeled "For Competition Use Only" for a number of years until the stance on Open Tip Match bullets was changed to allow their use in war.

Then came the original M118 Long Range adaption, a 175gr Sierra Matchking bullet over WC750 ball powder.  This proved an inadequate arrangement and Reloader 15 was chosen to replace WC750.

So over the course of the history of sniper operations with the 308, we are on the third match bullet, and fourth powder.  Development still goes on, as the Navy has been working on Mk316 (also shooting the 175gr Sierra Matchking) but using a powder reported to be IMR4064.

And what pray tell, is the accuracy requirement for M118LR, the pinnacle of American ammunition development?  20 inches extreme spread at 1000 yards, or 2 minutes of precision.  The same level of accuracy that Carlos Hathcock was able to obtain with a 30-06.  It is true that M118LR normally shoots much tighter, usually MOA or better.

Now, I find the possible use of IMR4064 in Mk316 ammo to be a curious choice, as it is rumored to be the only difference between Mk316 and M118LR.  However, the commercial Federal Gold Medal Match 175gr SMK loading was originally loaded with IMR4064 before it too transitioned to Re15. 

What does the history of ammunition tell us?  That two spherical powders, WC750 and WC846, and two (possibly three) stick powders, IMR4895 and Reloader15 (possibly IMR4064 now) have launched bullets from 168grains to 175grains.  The dedicated sniper ammunition has used 2 bullets, but all of the powders, so I guess picking the right bullet is twice as important as picking the powder?  I don't know, but when you are crafting ammunition to meet a minimum standard of accuracy for a variety of weapons it seems that there is only so much performance you can wring out of a cartridge.

Now, it isn't hard to duplicate M118LR performance if you are a handloader or reloader.  There are plenty of good recipes out there.  If you want to stockpile quality ammunition and don't have the cash to pay for new ammo, you can reload it for about half price.

Mil spec for M118 Special Ball / Match
Bullet: 175 grain FMJBT
Powder: 44 grains WC846 or 42 grains IMR 4895
Velocity = 2550 +/- 30 fps @ 78 ft.
Pressure = 50,000 psi max average, copper
Accuracy = Carton - 3.5" mean radius @ 600 yards

Mil spec for M852 Match
Bullet: 168 hollow point boat tail
Powder: 42 grains IMR 4895
Velocity = 2550 +/- 30 fps @ 78 ft.
Pressure = 50,000 psi max average, copper
Accuracy = Carton - 3.5" mean radius @ 600 yards

Mk316 (data pulled from one lot label)
Powder. 41.745 gr IMR4064
Velocity = 2640 fps +/- 15 fps
Pressure =50k psi, copper
Accuracy = 1 MOA out to 1K

M118LR (best guess from pulled components)
Powder, Reloader15 (reported 43.0 grains)
Velocity = 2580 fps (78 feet from muzzle)
Pressure = 50k psi, copper
Accuracy = 3.5" mean radius at 600