what powder to use?

WAREWOLF

WAREWOLF

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I have a springfield M1A and i am starting to reload for it as I cant find any .308 or 7.62x51 any where.

I just wanted to check with the reloaders that know way more then me, what powder should i use for my M1A, i am using winchester and Remington new .308 bras with rem primers and 150 grain hornady FMJBT and sierra matchking 150 grain BTHP, and maybe some sierra match king 168 BTHP. I keep here about that you need to use a fsat burning powder for the M14/M1A.

any help would be great I have Hodgden Varget, and IMR 4198 would these work without damaging my M1A
 
I use Winchester 748 for my M1A loads.

I believe that lots of people use IMR 4895 with good results as well; please wait for somebody else to confirm that it's 4895 though as I'm not 100%.


I have tried a few different bullet types in my M1A but I keep coming back to the 155gr Hornady A-Max, my rifle just seems to prefer them.
 
Keller said:
I use Winchester 748 for my M1A loads.

I believe that lots of people use IMR 4895 with good results as well; please wait for somebody else to confirm that it's 4895 though as I'm not 100%.


I have tried a few different bullet types in my M1A but I keep coming back to the 155gr Hornady A-Max, my rifle just seems to prefer them.
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Thanks i have seen people talking about IMR 4895 as well. do you find the Winchester 748 works with no damage to the riffle. sorry for the dumb question but i keep hear about bent oprods useing to slow burning powders. I have never used win 748 what kind of burn rate is it?
 
It might actually be H4895 that I was thinking of, though IMR 4895 is very close to H4895.

Win 748 works well with the 155gr bullets that I use in my M1A, not sure I'd use 748 with anything heavier than a 168gr bullet though. 748 isn't a fast burning powder and I began using it on advice given to me by a local retailer who's advice I trust.

As for bent oprods, I'd avoid using heavy bullets in an M1A/M305. Stick with 150gr to 168gr bullets and work up your loads from the bottom/mid range of your reloading manual.
 
Keller said:
It might actually be H4895 that I was thinking of, though IMR 4895 is very close to H4895.

Win 748 works well with the 155gr bullets that I use in my M1A, not sure I'd use 748 with anything heavier than a 168gr bullet though. 748 isn't a fast burning powder and I began using it on advice given to me by a local retailer who's advice I trust.

As for bent oprods, I'd avoid using heavy bullets in an M1A/M305. Stick with 150gr to 168gr bullets and work up your loads from the bottom/mid range of your reloading manual.
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I am not planing on useing anything heavier than 168 grain bullets. just going to use 150-168 grain there just seems to be a lot of confusion on what powbders are usable for M1A's by burn rate and what they do to peak pressure in that gun. thanks for the help i will try out the winchester 748 if I can get my hands on some.

would any one know if varget would be a good powder for what im doing whit this rifle?
 
I've never used Varget myself so I can't really say.

Do a google search for "M1A, .308 loads" and you'll see lots of results and read lots of opinions on powers and bullets that work well for others.

I can only speak from my experience, but for my M1A 155gr Hornady A-Max bullets and Win 748 powder has worked very well.

What part of Ontario are you in?
 
4198 is too fast. The good powders include Varget, 748, BLC2, H335, 4895, 4064 with RL15 being about the slowest I would use.

The bent op rod comes from too much pressure at the gas port (slow powder) If you avoid max loads, all these powders will be easy on the gun.

The ball powders meter perfectly. no need to measure powder charges once the thrower is set up. (748, BLC2, H335)
 
Keller said:
I've never used Varget myself so I can't really say.

Do a google search for "M1A, .308 loads" and you'll see lots of results and read lots of opinions on powers and bullets that work well for others.

I can only speak from my experience, but for my M1A 155gr Hornady A-Max bullets and Win 748 powder has worked very well.

What part of Ontario are you in?
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i am in the GTA as well. I know i will have to test a few differnt loads to see what will work best with my rifle. i just dont get why the slowr burning powders will damage an M1A. the thing that sucks is no one i can find has powder instock no winchester 748,IMR 4895, H4895,


if you where i can find some instock please let me know
 
when it comes to the prusser thing with M1A's i understand there is higher port pressure with slower burning powders and may cause excess wear and tear on the riffle, at least that is what i have been hearing around about loading for this riffle.

My thing is if port presure is an issue HOW? I thought M1A/M14/M305's gas sytems where self regulating.
 
I haven't tried it yet but I have read quite a few posts where guys are using IMR4064 with good results in the M14.
Canada Ammo, P&D and a few other site sponsors usually have 308 bulk in stock. I know that P&D has S&B 147gr FMJ in stock.
Have you tried calling around or just looked locally?
 
Ganderite said:
4198 is too fast. The good powders include Varget, 748, BLC2, H335, 4895, 4064 with RL15 being about the slowest I would use.
The ball powders meter perfectly. no need to measure powder charges once the thrower is set up. (748, BLC2, H335)
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Ganderite is correct.

I also use 748 on mine due to the research I did; a good balance of stability, medium burn rate, low flame temp (for prolonging barrel life), availability, and meters like a dream.
 
emerson said:
Buy a reloading manual, or 3. Hornady has 308 Service rifle loads listed. The people here giving you advise are generally sound, but the internet is a buckup source, not reference material.
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I have 4 reloading I referenced before posting this. I just have seen a lot of stuff about port pressure with certain powers an I am just looking for advice. I know that what is said versus real world is 2 different things.

That is all this post is for experiance with certain powders for the platform to make a sound judgement where to start for your loads for the M1A/M14 platform
 
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