Powder for 308

Striker33

Striker33

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Hey guys,

Just a bit of input needed. I can't get ahold of IMR 3031 or Varget which seem to be the powder of choice so I am using what I can get.

I am a reloading novice, and have recently started reloading my 308. I just finished reloading 60 rounds. I have 150gn sierra and 165gn Hornaday bullets, and IMR4895 and IMR4350 powders. I pressed 10 40gn, and 10 41gn with the 150gn Sierra pro hunter using IMR4895. I did 10 39gn and 10 41gn of 165 hornaday bullets with IMR4895. I also tried IMR4350 46gn in both the 150 and 165 gn bullets.

Has anyone used any of these loads?

I am using a Savage 11 with the accutrigger. These will be used as an all purpose hunting round. I will be picking up a good shooting rest.

Why do the books recommend less gn's of powder with the heavier bullet? It seems counter intuitive?

I rarely shoot greater than 200 yards, is the heavier bullet needed?

Sorry for all these questions, I think I know the answers but I would rather hear it from everyone else. (every gun seems to shoot differently)
 
For 308, I've found H4895 works really well. I've also seen great performance from Varget. IMR4895 (not to be mixed up with H5895) I heard is pretty good too.

The key is to test various powders and bullet weight combinations. Your rifle will let you know which one it likes best. :)
 
Striker33 said:
Hey guys,

Just a bit of input needed. I can't get ahold of IMR 3031 or Varget which seem to be the powder of choice so I am using what I can get.

I am a reloading novice, and have recently started reloading my 308. I just finished reloading 60 rounds. I have 150gn sierra and 165gn Hornaday bullets, and IMR4895 and IMR4350 powders. I pressed 10 40gn, and 10 41gn with the 150gn Sierra pro hunter using IMR4895. I did 10 39gn and 10 41gn of 165 hornaday bullets with IMR4895. I also tried IMR4350 46gn in both the 150 and 165 gn bullets.

Has anyone used any of these loads?

I am using a Savage 11 with the accutrigger. These will be used as an all purpose hunting round. I will be picking up a good shooting rest.

Why do the books recommend less gn's of powder with the heavier bullet? It seems counter intuitive?

I rarely shoot greater than 200 yards, is the heavier bullet needed?

Sorry for all these questions, I think I know the answers but I would rather hear it from everyone else. (every gun seems to shoot differently)
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard - looks like you're new-ish here. I'm sure other guys will chime in with more advice soon, but one thing raises a red flag for me - your question (bolded above) about using less powder with heavier bullets being "counterintuitive". Eeep.

With heavier bullets you use less powder (i.e. max load is less) because heavier bullets will produce higher pressures (all else being equal). There is no free lunch - moving more mass down the barrel will produce higher pressure for a given amount of powder.

The broader concern is that you should really be reading some reloading manuals to get this sort of info before jumping in to reloading. The ABC's of reloading is a good book. Learn to spot pressure signs and work loads up slowly!
 
Some F class shooters are having great success with VT N 150, some TR guys are using Rl15 another is using 4320 with good results
 
rel 15 would be my choice. 4350 works better with 180's than 150. win 748 works well if you can sorse some. other than that go with the 4895.
 
Barnes_270 said:
Welcome aboard - looks like you're new-ish here. I'm sure other guys will chime in with more advice soon, but one thing raises a red flag for me - your question (bolded above) about using less powder with heavier bullets being "counterintuitive". Eeep.

With heavier bullets you use less powder (i.e. max load is less) because heavier bullets will produce higher pressures (all else being equal). There is no free lunch - moving more mass down the barrel will produce higher pressure for a given amount of powder.

The broader concern is that you should really be reading some reloading manuals to get this sort of info before jumping in to reloading. The ABC's of reloading is a good book. Learn to spot pressure signs and work loads up slowly!
Click to expand...

I I thought it had to do with back pressure. I have actually read several books... Clearly I didn't absorb as much as I thought. :)
 
I find RL-15 gives the highest velocities in my .308 with the 130 to 180 grain bullets.....IMR4064 is a close second, but it does edge out RL-15 in the accuracy department....IMR4895 is very accurate as well...

The biggest problem these days is finding adequate supplies of reloading components....
 
Find a powder you think will work and start low and work your way up. Personally used CR17 which uses IMR3031 loading data and loaded close to the top and it was WAY to hot and yet the book said it would be OK... Never trust the book completely as it also has so much to do with the exact bullet being used. Read what bullet your book is using and those loads are safe for that bullet from the tests they did. Change bearing surface and things can go downhill very quickly.
 
Striker33 said:
I I thought it had to do with back pressure. I have actually read several books... Clearly I didn't absorb as much as I thought. :)
Click to expand...

Hey, no worries. Just want to make sure we all keep our fingers... :) Also be wary of reducing powder below book minimum. In some cases that is as dangerous as exceeding max loads.

My vote is for H4895. I've worked up several loads for the 308 Win with it, all of which were easy workups and produced MOA or sub-MOA loads. It's a very versatile powder - I shoot it in my 30-30 and 243 as well (where it has also produced MOA or sub-MOA loads). It's an "extreme" powder, which means it's largely temperature insensitive - work up a load in July and shoot it in January. H4895 is also ideal for reduced loads for getting kids into centerfire shooting (see here - PDF file). If you decide to get into casting bullets it's a great powder for shooting cast as well. Between H4895 and H4350 I've got 95% of my powder needs met.
 
enfield303t said:
Find a powder you think will work and start low and work your way up. Personally used CR17 which uses IMR3031 loading data and loaded close to the top and it was WAY to hot and yet the book said it would be OK... Never trust the book completely as it also has so much to do with the exact bullet being used. Read what bullet your book is using and those loads are safe for that bullet from the tests they did. Change bearing surface and things can go downhill very quickly.
Click to expand...

Going off what you've said here, the book didn't say it would be safe - as you point out, published loads are specific to the bullet used. If you're trying to extrapolate from published data for a bullet you can't find data for, you need to start LOW and work up slowly, looking for pressure signs as you go up. Jumping in near max with a different bullet from the published load is asking for trouble!
 
In all of my loads I started with the lowest recommended load. ( I used the sierra book for their specific bullet)

I was trying to find H4895 and couldn't that is why I tried IMR 4895 ... Clearly it is not the same, with different load data, but I hoped I would get similar results.
 
Striker33 said:
In all of my loads I started with the lowest recommended load. ( I used the sierra book for their specific bullet)

I was trying to find H4895 and couldn't that is why I tried IMR 4895 ... Clearly it is not the same, with different load data, but I hoped I would get similar results.
Click to expand...

Good to hear. What I'll often do is make up a series starting from the lowest load and progressing in 1 and then 0.5 grain increments as I get closer to max (this is for larger rifle loads). Often I'll make up only one each for the lower charges, and then as I get closer to what will likely be the final load I start shooting groups of three or more to get a rough idea of the accuracy potential. So far this approach has worked well, but nothing I've loaded for has been very finicky yet...

Yeah, getting specific powders is a PITA right now. Once you have good loads worked up stock up on those powders so you're in good shape for the inevitable next shortage.
 
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