cast 180gr .308 powders?

I tried Trail Boss, and Unique, both with good results at low to moderate plinking velocities.
Trail Boss if I remember correctly, you start with 75% case volume and work your way up.
9-11g Unique are pretty common starting points with cast bullets.
 
I use a lot of 4198 and 4895, H or IMR both work for me. I will swap data between these two H and IMR powders at cast bullet pressures and from starting loads only. Standard process of working up, checking velocity and accuracy.
These two powders are very close whether H or IMR. Not all powders are as close and some are dangerously far apart (like 4831). I also never swap data like this with full pressure jacketed loads.
I also really like SR-4759 but it's been discontinued by Hodgdon. I've only got a few pounds left but I've been able to replace most of my cast loads with 4198 and 4895 thankfully. Lighter loads I use Unique, 700X, Trail Boss, Longshot, Titegroup ... pretty much any pistol or shotgun powder will work.

From the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook 4th ed.
For a 180gr GC'ed bullet:
IMR4198 26.5 to 32.0 gr for 1859 to 2229 fps
IMR4895 33.5 to 39.0 gr for 1909 to 2372 fps
SR-4759 23.5 to 26.3 gr for 1827 to 2034 fos
That's with a 24" barrel and universal receiver according to the book.
There is data for various other powders including reloader 7, 3031, and others. I really recommend picking up the Lyman Cast Bullet book to anyone loading cast. It's $30 very well spent in my experience.
 
Best advice I can pass on is to get the latest Lyman Cast Bullet manual- It's #4. I haven't loaded 308 cast for a number of years but did use H4198 in my FR7. I do load a lot of mid caliber military rounds (3006, 303 Br, 8x57 and 7.62x54R) and have good success with 4198 and 2400. Either should work fine in your 308. Have tried 5744. Accuracy was OK but it left a lot of unburned powder in the bore and chamber with some loads. Powder being somewhat hard to locate right now you may not have a lot of options to get started. Most important is to check at least two reliable sources before starting to load.
Good luck. Cast is the way to go for inexpensive plinking and target shooting.
 
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ron hilchey said:
I tried Trail Boss, and Unique, both with good results at low to moderate plinking velocities.
Trail Boss if I remember correctly, you start with 75% case volume and work your way up.
9-11g Unique are pretty common starting points with cast bullets.
Click to expand...

Good suggestions. With Trail Boss the starting load is 70%, but it is well below safe pressure limits with any amount in the case as long as it's NOT COMPRESSED. I use both in every caliber I own for producing plinking rounds.
 
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