Opinions... powders for 308win
- Thread starter Kingofalderwood
- Start date
To the OP, please remember that these are SOLID bullets that you consider using. As a result there are higher initial start pressures involved and powder loads should be reduced accordingly. I ran some numbers in Quickload V3.6 (+V3.8 update):
.308 Winchester (SAAMI)
20" barrel
COL 2.800"
Case overflow capacity of 56 gr. H2O (assumed, varies widely by brand and batch)
2.014" case trim length
The following are "somewhere in the middle" loads with expected chamber pressures listed.
Therefore start about 2 grains LOWER and work up your loads in a safe and disciplined manner.
All calculations were made using a higher start pressure of ~ 6525 psi for SOLID copper bullets.
The use of the mildest primer that will do the job in the specified loads is also assumed.
165g Hornady GMX bullet (using a QuickLOAD database length of 1.370")
CFE223: 43.3 gr; 92.1% fill; 51,447 psi; 2,546 fps
Varget: 40.5 gr; 99.2% fill; 51,260 psi; 2,470 fps
H4895: 39.5 gr; 93.7% fill; 51,522 psi; 2,504 fps
180g Barnes TTSX bullet (using a Barnes published length of 1.475")
CFE223: 41.7 gr; 93.8% fill; 51,848 psi; 2,450 fps
Varget: 39.0 gr; 101.0% (compressed); 51,676 psi; 2,379 fps
H4895: 38.0 gr; 95.2% fill; 51,641 psi; 2,408 fps
Hope this helps you...
.308 Winchester (SAAMI)
20" barrel
COL 2.800"
Case overflow capacity of 56 gr. H2O (assumed, varies widely by brand and batch)
2.014" case trim length
The following are "somewhere in the middle" loads with expected chamber pressures listed.
Therefore start about 2 grains LOWER and work up your loads in a safe and disciplined manner.
All calculations were made using a higher start pressure of ~ 6525 psi for SOLID copper bullets.
The use of the mildest primer that will do the job in the specified loads is also assumed.
165g Hornady GMX bullet (using a QuickLOAD database length of 1.370")
CFE223: 43.3 gr; 92.1% fill; 51,447 psi; 2,546 fps
Varget: 40.5 gr; 99.2% fill; 51,260 psi; 2,470 fps
H4895: 39.5 gr; 93.7% fill; 51,522 psi; 2,504 fps
180g Barnes TTSX bullet (using a Barnes published length of 1.475")
CFE223: 41.7 gr; 93.8% fill; 51,848 psi; 2,450 fps
Varget: 39.0 gr; 101.0% (compressed); 51,676 psi; 2,379 fps
H4895: 38.0 gr; 95.2% fill; 51,641 psi; 2,408 fps
Hope this helps you...
Oops! Brain fart I guess. I just may have to look at lighter bullets then. Well, thats why I posted the question. Thanks for the heads up as to weights.
Ive read somewhere that the 308 was originally designed for 150g non-monolithic projectiles. I may be wrong however firing a 180g bullet would be pushing the rifles intended performance. Knowing that now, I may look at 130 and 150 loads.
sparkiei1981
Member
- Location
- Toronto ontario
No one has asked at what distance he will be shooting under 200 yrds lighter to heavier bullet dont make a difference if he shoting passed 600 yrds 178 and up grain then match the bullet to powder i use cfe223 in a 208gr amax
H4895 and Varget are what I use for the old 308. I know that the H4895 can be loaded for light loads and still get good ignition. I would probably pick Varget over the two- but I'm not sure I can shoot well enough to tell the difference.
- Location
- Union Bay Vancouver Island BC
I always get a kick of going out to "Little Iraq" (Sylvester rd. Mission BC) and watching some of the guys shoot their 300WM at 25 yds... LoL!! perhaps theres a reason theyre doing so but to me.. it just seems funny...
Remember OP
What works in my gun or his gun might not work in your gun... They've all got their own personalities... Even two guns off the same assembly line and two numbers apart on their serial numbers.
Some propellants will give you a great result at 100m and 300 m but be poo poo at 200 and 400..... or vice versa. Some will be accurate clear across the board and others might never get you tighter than 3 MOA...
Varget to me.. seems expensive to shoot as you need a lot per case. some other propellants , you can get away with less if youre just out to plink and have fun.. But they do react differently
anyway... I just bought a lb of Varget. and some 168's Gonna give is a shot (pardon the pun)
I paid 45 bucks for it.. (f'n ridiculous if you ask me but...) How does that compare to you other guys out there?
and primers.. got some BR-2's a brick cost me 80 bucks before Justin gave me the reach around. dont mean to go off topic here.. just curious.
Remember OP
What works in my gun or his gun might not work in your gun... They've all got their own personalities... Even two guns off the same assembly line and two numbers apart on their serial numbers.
Some propellants will give you a great result at 100m and 300 m but be poo poo at 200 and 400..... or vice versa. Some will be accurate clear across the board and others might never get you tighter than 3 MOA...
Varget to me.. seems expensive to shoot as you need a lot per case. some other propellants , you can get away with less if youre just out to plink and have fun.. But they do react differently
anyway... I just bought a lb of Varget. and some 168's Gonna give is a shot (pardon the pun)
I paid 45 bucks for it.. (f'n ridiculous if you ask me but...) How does that compare to you other guys out there?
and primers.. got some BR-2's a brick cost me 80 bucks before Justin gave me the reach around. dont mean to go off topic here.. just curious.
Last edited:
- Location
- Union Bay Vancouver Island BC
varmint + target = varget
He said in his original post that it was rifle with iron sights,,,,usually means hunting in thicker cover which equals shorter shots. That's my take on it anyway. Just one more point i'll make about your bullet weight choice,,,,TTSX loves speed and requires a certain amount of it to open reliably. I like my terminal velocity to be above 2000 fps, but preferably above 2200 fps.
If you look back a few post to the Quickload data that was offered to you, had you used Varget with the 180 gr. TTSX your muzzle velocity would have only been 2375 at best,,,,,that's pretty slow. At 200 yards you might not get the expansion that is desirable. Smart move (IMHO) to drop down to the 130-150 gr. TTSX! With the 130 gr. TTSX you'd be good out to at least 300-350 yards with your barrel length which is a heck of a lot further than most people choose to shoot at with confidence but at least you know the bullet is capable of doing it.
I'm using 130 gr ttsx with varget and getting just under 3000fps from a 24 inch barrel. Sub moa out too 200m which is as far as I've tried so far. Unfortunately didn't get lucky with hunting this year to tell what it's performance on game will be.
I have some h4895 that I want to experiment with, see if any more velocity can be gained and still be subject moa. I'll take accuracy over velocity.
I have some h4895 that I want to experiment with, see if any more velocity can be gained and still be subject moa. I'll take accuracy over velocity.
On the day I sighted in my gun I had to deal with a pretty good side wind:
Settled on 2" high at a 100:
Its a bush gun so 50 to 100 yards. It will be used for moose and deer. I have my 300wm for anything over 200 yards. Ive already developed a nice round for that one.
I'll be sighting the bush gun at 100 yards and would like it to shoot under 1.5" at that distance. Although it is a hunting only rifle, I like to develop rounds that are dead accurate. Presently I've decided on Varget and a TTSX 150g bullet. If I can't get Varget then its H4895. Going to start there. Set the bullet off the lands maybe .050" but that'll probably change too.
Good choice for that application!
Tried buying Varget but nothing. Picked up H4895 instead. In talking with the sales staff they were lamenting over the scarcity too.
On another note. I'll be priming with magnum primers to start. (Got over 3000 for a song) Im figuring on starting at the low end and working up because of the primer. Some say its like adding 1/2 to 1 grain by using a magnum primer. Other say it didn't really matter in their experience.
Any thoughts?
On another note. I'll be priming with magnum primers to start. (Got over 3000 for a song) Im figuring on starting at the low end and working up because of the primer. Some say its like adding 1/2 to 1 grain by using a magnum primer. Other say it didn't really matter in their experience.
Any thoughts?
4320 is similar in speed to 4895 and Varget. It will make good ammo, but it is not the best for max accuracy. If you can get it cheap, buy it. Good for 223, too.
