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Joined: Dec 2005
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I am new to the .308 Win, never had one to play with. I ended up with a Nosler 48 synthetic stock .308 that I am going to "put to the test" with the thoughts of it becoming my sons one gun for anything.
My son lives in North Dakota and is a big-time deer hunter, mainly Whitetail. He also applies yearly for the "once in a lifetime" moose, elk, sheep tags. In the future he may travel to neighboring states to do some hunting but suspect that would be deer or antelope.
Anyway, my thoughts are the .308 would be good for him, also thinking 150-165gr bullets woud probably meet 90% of his needs.
Looking for a selection of powders to start load development. Wondering if anyone has any "go to" for the .308. For instance in Rifle #299 Mike Venturino says he has used 44grs of IMR3031 for years.
I'm looking forward to testing this rifle and cartridge out. I'm hoping its a tack driver. I really enjoy putting a rifle and cartridge to the test.
Last edited by nick; 07/01/18.
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Joined: Jun 2006
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 38,838 |
For those bullets I'd put Varget at the top of the list. And R-15.
Also, scroll down to the reloading forums, under big game rifles theres a thread on .308 loads. My go to load is a 155 and 46-47 grains of Varget. Works in lots of .308s.
Last edited by smokepole; 07/01/18.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Regular
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I’ve always used Varget but I wouldn’t mind trying some IMR 4064 one day.
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Joined: Sep 2014
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2014
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I have used IMR4895 and BL-C2. Both good older 308 powders.
Now it's Varget. Considered the accuracy powder for 308 and others.
There are a few powders that will add 100fps.
If top speed is your goal.
Didn't vote for Fester.
Oz made me hold my nose!
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Joined: Apr 2017
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Campfire Regular
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IMR 4064 is my "go to" powders for this use until I use it up. Then Varget will get the nod unless I decide to use whatever new Hodgdon Enduron powder is the equivalent. Reloader 15 is another good powder and would be my 4th pick only due to it being markedly more expensive locally, about on par with the Enduron powders at the two closest stores. If I were loading on a progressive machine I would look harder at R-15 though Varget meters well enough through a measure for my hunting loads.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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I'm not a .308 shooter, but if I was I'd be sure and try H4895. For giggles I ran a powder profile on .308 with a 150-grain Accubond. I'm sure you have seen QL results before, but I think I should throw in my usual disclaimer: this is not reloading data. It is, however, useful in getting an idea what powders you think you might want to try. Cartridge : .308 Win. (SAAMI)
Bullet : .308, 150, Nosler AccuBond 56719
Useable Case Capaci: 47.939 grain H2O = 3.113 cm³
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.800 inch = 71.12 mm
Barrel Length : 24.0 inch = 609.6 mm
Predicted Data for Indicated Charges of the Following Powders.
Matching Maximum Pressure: 62000 psi, or 427 MPa
or a maximum loading ratio or filling of 115 %
These calculations refer to your specified settings in QuickLOAD 'Cartridge Dimensions' window.
C A U T I O N : any load listed can result in a powder charge that falls below minimum suggested
loads or exceeds maximum suggested loads as presented in current handloading manuals. Understand
that all of the listed powders can be unsuitable for the given combination of cartridge, bullet
and gun. Actual load order can vary, depending upon lot-to-lot powder and component variations.
USE ONLY FOR COMPARISON !
3 loads produced a Loading Ratio below user-defined minimum of 50%. These powders have been skipped.
Powder type Filling/Loading Ratio Charge Charge Vel. Prop.Burnt P max P muzz B_Time
% Grains Gramm fps % psi psi ms
--------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Alliant Reloder-17 112.5 52.2 3.38 3043 99.0 62000 8517 1.043
Vihtavuori N550 114.6 51.8 3.35 2999 97.4 62000 8302 1.058
Hodgdon CFE223 100.9 49.7 3.22 2985 99.0 62000 7930 1.056
Hodgdon H414 111.5 52.1 3.38 2982 94.4 62000 8259 1.055
Winchester 760 111.5 52.1 3.38 2982 94.4 62000 8259 1.055
Ramshot Big Game 106.7 50.2 3.26 2977 98.6 62000 7898 1.056
IMR 4895 106.4 47.0 3.05 2977 98.8 62000 7946 1.067
IMR 3031 107.7 44.5 2.88 2969 100.0 62000 7157 1.063
Winchester 748 98.9 47.0 3.05 2968 99.9 62000 7549 1.060
Hodgdon BL-C2 101.4 48.9 3.17 2968 99.5 62000 7800 1.067
Norma 203B 107.7 47.6 3.08 2963 98.8 62000 7840 1.069
Alliant Reloder-15 107.1 47.3 3.07 2960 98.3 62000 7857 1.069
Accurate 4064 110.2 47.6 3.09 2955 100.0 62000 7352 1.092
Hodgdon H4895 103.3 45.6 2.96 2948 99.1 62000 7674 1.072
Accurate 2520 101.8 47.4 3.07 2945 100.0 62000 7339 1.078
Lovex D073.6 104.2 47.4 3.07 2945 100.0 62000 7339 1.078
Accurate 2495 103.9 44.9 2.91 2939 100.0 62000 7051 1.098
Hodgdon H380 108.2 48.8 3.16 2937 97.0 62000 7818 1.074
IMR 4320 108.8 47.3 3.06 2935 98.5 62000 7549 1.058
Alliant AR-Comp 102.4 43.8 2.84 2924 100.0 62000 6601 1.067
Lovex S062 108.2 46.5 3.01 2922 99.5 62000 7400 1.079
Accurate 4350 115.0 50.8 3.29 2921 96.6 56053 8058 1.105
Hodgdon H335 94.0 45.3 2.94 2920 100.0 62000 7153 1.071
Vihtavuori N540 106.5 47.6 3.08 2920 100.0 62000 7274 1.073
Norma 202 104.2 45.3 2.94 2919 100.0 62000 7140 1.076
Vihtavuori N530 99.4 44.1 2.86 2918 99.5 62000 7357 1.072
Norma URP 115.0 50.3 3.26 2913 96.5 56286 8032 1.098
Hodgdon H322 99.6 42.7 2.77 2912 100.0 62000 6915 1.068
Hodgdon VARGET 109.2 46.7 3.02 2909 98.1 62000 7499 1.068
Norma 204 115.0 52.5 3.40 2909 91.0 61440 7907 1.065
Norma 201 104.6 45.2 2.93 2908 99.5 62000 7351 1.086
IMR 8208 XBR 101.6 44.9 2.91 2908 99.5 62000 7275 1.073
Ramshot Hunter 115.0 52.5 3.40 2905 94.2 56682 8140 1.095
IMR 4064 110.1 46.0 2.98 2903 98.3 62000 7372 1.072
Lovex S065 114.7 49.6 3.21 2902 96.0 62000 7623 1.080
Accurate 2460 97.0 46.1 2.99 2899 99.8 62000 7130 1.089
Lovex D073.5 97.3 46.1 2.99 2899 99.8 62000 7130 1.089
Vihtavuori N135 114.0 45.7 2.96 2899 100.0 62000 6672 1.078
Ramshot TAC 100.6 47.9 3.11 2896 96.3 62000 7553 1.076
Rottweil R901 102.6 43.1 2.79 2892 100.0 62000 7011 1.096
Vihtavuori N140 106.4 46.1 2.99 2890 100.0 62000 6843 1.075
Lovex D073.4 95.5 45.2 2.93 2885 99.8 62000 7008 1.087
Accurate 2230 96.4 46.1 2.99 2885 99.1 62000 7135 1.084
Ramshot X-Terminator 98.2 46.3 3.00 2884 98.5 62000 7269 1.079
IMR 4451 Enduron 111.0 48.5 3.14 2883 94.2 62000 7541 1.072
Lovex S070 115.0 50.3 3.26 2883 94.1 59326 7737 1.097
Alliant Reloder-12 99.2 44.7 2.90 2878 100.0 62000 6738 1.076
IMR 4007 SSC 109.1 48.9 3.17 2877 93.5 62000 7539 1.081
Alliant Reloder-10x 97.0 40.5 2.62 2868 100.0 62000 6491 1.087
Hodgdon Benchmark 100.2 43.6 2.83 2862 99.7 62000 6915 1.080
Lovex S060 103.0 44.3 2.87 2859 98.7 62000 7040 1.078
Accurate 2200 91.5 41.1 2.66 2858 100.0 62000 6746 1.078
Accurate 2015 99.8 42.2 2.73 2856 100.0 62000 6423 1.092
Alliant Reloder-16 115.0 49.5 3.21 2856 96.4 50727 8043 1.142
IMR 4350 115.0 50.5 3.28 2855 92.7 58693 7539 1.091
IMR 4166 Enduron 109.7 46.4 3.01 2854 94.3 62000 7277 1.079
Vihtavuori N150 115.0 47.9 3.11 2853 99.4 57946 7167 1.103
Give a communist a helicopter ride, he flies for an afternoon. Throw a communist out of a helicopter and he flies for the rest of his life.....
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Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 140
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 140 |
I lean toward Varget for my Ruger M77 308 Win.
150 grain bullet with 46 grains of Varget
165 grain Nosler PT with 44.5 of Varget (2700 fps 1 inch or less groups)
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 14,185
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Varget, 748, IMR-4064 or one of the 4895s.
Take your pick.
RL-15 might be a good one as well.
The last time that bear ate a lawyer he had the runs for 33 days!
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 27,498
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 27,498 |
IIRC Mule Deer (or writing under his real name) surmised that one could find a good load for the .308 using a ground up charcoal briquette - i.e. the .308 shoots great with most any reasonable powder you can put in it.
Of the ones I have personal experience with:
748 is very accurate, produced top velocities and leaves a lot of powder fouling.
TAC at top pressures is very accurate, produced top velocities and burns cleanly.
IMR4895 has been a part of extremely accurate loads for as long as most of us have been alive, and works across a broad range of velocities and charge weights. It also works well for cast bullet loads.
RL-15 works great, accuracy on par with IMR4895 although in my rifles it seemed to be more specific as to what charge weights worked well.
Varget didn't seem to be quite as good for accuracy as RL15 but I'd allow that was probably my rifle or something unique to my situation since so many others prefer it.
If I had to choose two for the rest of my life it would be TAC and IMR4895, but part of that is because they both work extremely well in other calibers I load for.
Been meaning to try some ground up charcoal. I'm thinking a magnum primer might be best since it's probably a bit on the slow burning side...
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery.
Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2000
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I like... Varget, TAC, 2000MR, RL15.
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Joined: Oct 2000
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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For giggles I ran a powder profile on .308 with a 150-grain Accubond. I'm sure you have seen QL results before, but I think I should throw in my usual disclaimer: this is not reloading data. It is, however, useful in getting an idea what powders you think you might want to try.
It would be a useful comparison to run the same QL for a 165!
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,263
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Varget is my go-to powder. But RL15 works very well too. I've gotten good accuracy and comparable speeds with 4064 and 4895. But no better than Varget and RL15. I chose those simply because they are more stable over a wide range of temps.
Most people don't really want the truth.
They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Big Game with a magnum primer.
P
Obey lawful commands. Problem solved.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Member #547
Join date 3/09/2001
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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I use Varget. I have chosen IMR 4166 over IMR 4064.
GrimJim
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Joined: Nov 2005
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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I have used IMR-4064, REL-15 and Win 748 recently. IMR-4064 is working best for accuracy with 150 grain bullets, REL-15 for 165-168 grain.
I should likely get some Varget to try and I might if I get low on the others. I finally quit on charcoal when I got some BL-C(2). Actually, I can't recall why I quit using that powder. It worked well in .300 Savages too.
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,438
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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4895, 4320, Varget, 4166. I have also had good success with H322 and Rel7 for light loads. GD
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 16,129
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
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IMR 4064 is quite a versatile powder, I use it in my .257 Roberts, .30-06 and .35 Whelen. When I was loading 165 gr. bullets in my .308 I used mostly Win 748 though I also used IMR 3031 and IMR 4895, 748 gave the best accuracy of the three.
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Joined: Jan 2007
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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I'd buy Handloader 313 while it's still available maybe on the news stand. There's a multitude of choices suggested there including Hodgdon Varget, Benchmark, CFE 223, H-4895, BLC(2), H-322, IMR-4895, Winchester 748, 8208-XBR, Accurate A-2015, A-2460, A-2495, A-2520, A-2230, Norma 203-B, Alliant RL-15, RL- 17, Power Pro 2000-MR, Ramshot X-Terminator, TAC and Vihtavuori N150. Given the variety I tend toward newer powders that might be cleaner, more temperature tolerant and easier to throw with a powder measure. Although I have plenty left I tend to use less BLC(2), 748 as well as the log IMR powders across the board - though I used a lot of log IMR powders for accuracy in past years. Especially 4064 in a .30-'06 where I thought the log style powders filled the space well for more consistent powder position in the slightly larger .30-'06 case. I also figure that a 150 grain premium bullet is the choice for anything I am going to shoot with a .308 - my most used is a Steyr Scout as an old man's rifle. I might even go down in weight in a premium bullet before I go up in weight - and use a larger bore before I do go up in weight but that's a little bit of a romantic nod to big bore in the footsteps of Elmer Keith and Bob Hagel a want and not a need. This means I mostly go with Varget. Other prime choices for my money are RL-15 or maybe Norma 203B and H4895. As noted almost anything will work in times of shortages but if all my first three choices ever failed - hasn't happened yet - I'd figure it was the rifle and not the load.
Last edited by ClarkEMyers; 07/01/18.
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Campfire Tracker
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Varget,varget, & varget
Lefty
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