samsplacci71
Regular
- Location
- Toronto area
^^^ indeed a good point. You can also use H4831 or H4831sc (short cut)
308 Reloading Noob
- Thread starter CPA
- Start date
^^^ indeed a good point. You can also use H4831 or H4831sc (short cut)
I'm new to reloading and have a 308 as well, so far I've tried Varget and IMR 4064, F210 and F210M primers, projectiles Hornady FMJBT 150 gr, Lapua Scenar 155, 167, 185, Berger 168 VLD's, and SMK 175's. In Remington and Lapua brass with 43.0 gr to 47.0gr of powder, jam and jump.
So far everything has shot fine, everything shoots better then factory ammo. Even the cheap Hornday FMJBT 150gr projectiles in Reminton brass, with F210 primers, and IMR 4064 shot well, and that is using all my "cheap/worst" combination. This past weekend that cheap combination shot three 5 round strings at 300 yds and got 1.008 moa, 0.516 moa, and 0.512 moa.
Remington brass is not suppose to be very good, Lapua, Norma, and Winchester are all suppose to be much better and the Hornady projectiles are budget bulk/cheapest projectiles I could find. But it was still knocking on the 1/2 moa door at 300yds and I'm still learning to shoot, I'm sure a better shooter could have brought those down below 1/2 moa. I made this combination for when friends want to shoot my rifle so they don't waste all my nice/expensive loads, but have been shocked at how well even this cheap load shoots.
Don't think you need to have the best of everything (brass, projects, primes, powder) to get something that performs half decently well. From my limited experience the 308 is very easy to work with and you have a gluttony of options, almost too many option that will all shoot well. Pick somewhere to start and just see how your rifle responds.
If you're set on running really nice powder and can't find Varget then look at Vihtavuori N150, from what I've read and been told it's very much an equal to Varget. But Vihtavuori N150 is made in Europe and is a little more expensive, it appears to be easier to source/find. I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard/read excellent things about it from precision shooters. Vihtavuori is the line of powders Lapua uses/quotes their loads with.
The biggest difference I found is that once you have a fire formed case it shoots much more consistent and the amount of powder you need changes slightly. 44.5 gr of IMR fits into a fire formed case for me with no compression and no pressure signs, 44.5 gr of IMR 4064 is a compression load in a new Lapua case and it just starts to show a bit of flattening/mushroom of the primer.
If you look here;
http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
1/2 way down the page there is a "308 Load Map", it shows what some top shooters have run. People run all sorts of different combinations of powders, brass, primers, projectiles and still get amazing accuracy.
So far everything has shot fine, everything shoots better then factory ammo. Even the cheap Hornday FMJBT 150gr projectiles in Reminton brass, with F210 primers, and IMR 4064 shot well, and that is using all my "cheap/worst" combination. This past weekend that cheap combination shot three 5 round strings at 300 yds and got 1.008 moa, 0.516 moa, and 0.512 moa.
Remington brass is not suppose to be very good, Lapua, Norma, and Winchester are all suppose to be much better and the Hornady projectiles are budget bulk/cheapest projectiles I could find. But it was still knocking on the 1/2 moa door at 300yds and I'm still learning to shoot, I'm sure a better shooter could have brought those down below 1/2 moa. I made this combination for when friends want to shoot my rifle so they don't waste all my nice/expensive loads, but have been shocked at how well even this cheap load shoots.
Don't think you need to have the best of everything (brass, projects, primes, powder) to get something that performs half decently well. From my limited experience the 308 is very easy to work with and you have a gluttony of options, almost too many option that will all shoot well. Pick somewhere to start and just see how your rifle responds.
If you're set on running really nice powder and can't find Varget then look at Vihtavuori N150, from what I've read and been told it's very much an equal to Varget. But Vihtavuori N150 is made in Europe and is a little more expensive, it appears to be easier to source/find. I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard/read excellent things about it from precision shooters. Vihtavuori is the line of powders Lapua uses/quotes their loads with.
The biggest difference I found is that once you have a fire formed case it shoots much more consistent and the amount of powder you need changes slightly. 44.5 gr of IMR fits into a fire formed case for me with no compression and no pressure signs, 44.5 gr of IMR 4064 is a compression load in a new Lapua case and it just starts to show a bit of flattening/mushroom of the primer.
If you look here;
http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
1/2 way down the page there is a "308 Load Map", it shows what some top shooters have run. People run all sorts of different combinations of powders, brass, primers, projectiles and still get amazing accuracy.
Last edited:
Bluedevil25
CGN Regular
- Location
- Saskatoon, Sask.
Don't use Lapua brass, Varget powder or the 165gr Nosler Partition out of a .308. My dad shot a bull moose (137 2/8) at 227 yards with this combo last fall and the Moose dropped instantly. It dressed out at 617lbs. The Lapua case was never to be found! 
Bwahahaha!
Bwahahaha! 
