HELP: .308 - New Reloader

[KSAR TECH]

Hey Folks,

New to this forum and looking for some assistance. Never reloaded before but my father in-law has reloaded for years. Settled on his .284 load in the early 90s and hasn't looked back. Also he hasn't reloaded for a .308. Will be using his talents and RCBS setup. Details below.

Rifle: Rem 700 SPS Tactical (20" 1:12 twist heavy barrel)
Bullet: 165gr Nosler Accubond
Brass: once fired Federal Brass
Powder: ???

Looking to reload some 165gr nolser Accubonds for my SPS Tac. I will be sending these towards mule deer and moose. Looking for some guidence on a powder selection. I hunt in the BC Interior in temps between 15 deg above to 20 deg below. My shots are typically within 100yrds hunting Fir stands but a 200+ scenario is not crazy to think of.

From reading around I am think I am looking at IMR 4064 vs Varget. My buddy with same rifle uses 44.1 gr Varget with 155 match bullets. He thinks its slow but I've witnessed him shooting 1.5" groups at 300 from a bench. He also has no crimp on his rounds and they are too long for to push in the mag so I was hoping to get some advice from people making a hunting round.

I have been shooting 165gr Fusions which provide exceptional accuracy 6-8 shots under .5"@100yrds. But now I have 200 rounds of brass and am interested in working up a hunting load. Looking for equal accuracy to that of the Fusions with a bullet that is supposed to be better for heavy skinned animals in addition to our mule deer.

Any suggestions, especially from people with SPS Tacs would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[Danny Boy]

I use Varget for the 165 gn Hornady SP and Barnes TSX loads.

What works well for me may not work for you.

You will find a good selection of powder here: http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

Good luck.

 

[mpwolf]

Varget, H4895, Reloader 15, 4064, N150 and a bunch of others will all get you there. That's one of the really nice things about the .308. Sounds like the rilfe isn't fussy, if it shoots the fusions so well. Pick one of those powders, seat the bullet to a length that will cycle through the magazine, and give it a try.

 

[Milsparro]

I use BLC-2 pushing 180 grain core-lokts.

 

[BCboy]

Try to find a powder that is not temp sensitive , Do you have any buddys that reload ? see if you can buy a little bit of powder off them to try out ---Varget, H4895, IMR4895, benchmark etc.....

 

[kamlooky]

Hornady 150gr Interlock with IMR 4320 here.

 

[brownie]

Reloder 15 is not temperature sensitive.