308 win. What is your powder choice

[Sargesniper]

Started out with IMR064 and had some good results, nothing fancy in my rifle, but good enough for most hunting situations.
Tried Varget out and the groups tightened up to around .6" @ 100 yards.
A friend gave me a pound of 4166 and groups were in the same ballpark as Varget.
I haven't tried any of the VV powder nor the 8208 etc.

Give VV N550 a try. It may give you good groups as it did for me. 1/4" groups @ 100 are common in mine (2). See the load above I use.

 

[Sargesniper]

Shortmagman,

What load did you find most accurate with VV?

 

[Michael Eichele]

Wondering what your favorite powder is with 168+ gr. bullets.

I have read a lot of choices in the past but a few I have success with are hardly mentioned if at all.

Whichever one my gun likes.

Of all the 308s I've had, each has shot a variety of powders well but excelled with one. None have excelled with the same powder. It's been something different for every one of them with the exception of H4350 under the heavies (185-215). Among my favorites are (not in any particular order):

Benchmark
Imr4320
Imr4064
Varget
H4895
RL15
RL17
H4350
N540
N550
N135
Imr4895

 

[Sargesniper]

Whichever one my gun likes.

Of all the 308s I've had, each has shot a variety of powders well but excelled with one. None have excelled with the same powder. It's been something different for every one of them with the exception of H4350 under the heavies (185-215). Among my favorites are (not in any particular order):

Benchmark
Imr4320
Imr4064
Varget
H4895
RL15
RL17
H4350
N540
N550
N135
Imr4895

I'm surprised you have so many not liking the same load. Three or four others I know shoot the same load with the same results. One is shooting an aftermarket barrel also. The others including mine are factory rem. barrels.

The 308 is so flexible that it is hard to find something that won't shoot in it. Some just shoot a tad better with a different combo.

I have not tried anything heavier than 178 gr. in mine. I'm confident it would shoot heavier bullets just fine though.

 

[Jud96]

When I did a lot of reloading for .308 when my cousins first got into long range, all I loaded for them was IMR 4064 because it was always on the shelves. Recently I have seen a lot more powder in stock at the local shops and at my closest Cabelas. There are a dozen good powders for the .308 but CFE 223 seems to make the best velocity from what I have read and heard online. Some powders that will work include IMR 4064, IMR 4166, CFE 223, Varget, H4895, and IMR 4895 give the best speeds and can be very accurate! The load I shot was 44.0 grains of IMR 4064 with a 168gr A-MAX going 2700fps. This load shot under 1/2 MOA in two factory rifles and shot a lot of ground hogs and a few deer, worked every time.

 

[Sargesniper]

When I did a lot of reloading for .308 when my cousins first got into long range, all I loaded for them was IMR 4064 because it was always on the shelves. Recently I have seen a lot more powder in stock at the local shops and at my closest Cabelas. There are a dozen good powders for the .308 but CFE 223 seems to make the best velocity from what I have read and heard online. Some powders that will work include IMR 4064, IMR 4166, CFE 223, Varget, H4895, and IMR 4895 give the best speeds and can be very accurate! The load I shot was 44.0 grains of IMR 4064 with a 168gr A-MAX going 2700fps. This load shot under 1/2 MOA in two factory rifles and shot a lot of ground hogs and a few deer, worked every time.

Yes, I loaded 4064 for years, Both of the 4895's and a few others as well. N550 is just better for me. It has been consistent in my rifles out to 400 yds. 1/4" MOA is frequent out to 400.

Don't have access to any more distance for shooting.

 

[just country]

morning, I have 2 308 caliber rifles.

1 is a custom made mauser action with a BMG barrel from WWII, timmey

trigger. all smithy work done by Tip Burns, Canyon Lake TX.

1 Ruger M77V mint condition

I found that bullet weight normally dictates the type of powder. I find a load. look

at the burn rates of a mentioned powder. then load 2 each rounds. shoot for

consistancies (sp) in grouping.

I use light 30cal. bullets. barnes 130gr. TTSX and sierra 135gr. match very good out

to 300yrds.

I use RL-15-4320 powders with the lighter bullets. very good accuracy.

Heavier bullets I prefer the 165gr to 168gr bullets. barnes, sierra and berger.

4064 and 4831sc work very well with these weight bullets.

The 308 cal. is very practical. very accurate. knowledge for thought.lightbulb

 

[Shortmagman]

Sargesniper,

The load that I found to be very accurate out of my Rem 700, 5R gun was this:

175 Sierra Match, Lapua cases, Fed M primers, and 46.4 grains of VV N550. This load achieved velocity of 2600 ft/sec and was accurate out to 600 yards.

 

[Sargesniper]

I'll have to work up to it and try. I think the max load for it with a 168 is 47.2 gr.

I never pushed it any harder than 44.4 gr. This was very accurate in both of mine.

What primers and cases are you using?

 

[Sargesniper]

I have only loaded 168 and 175 gr. SMK's in mine. Tried the 178 HDY. but they didn't shoot as well. RL-15 is good also for heavier bullets, just not as good as N550 for me.

 

[Greyfox]

This is some work from about 10 years ago with IMR4895 when I was trying to duplicate Fed 168 Factory Match loads in my Rem Milspecs. My reloads of 43Gr, Win LR primers, Fed Match brass. They were nuts on with the factory loads out to 600 yards, the furthest I tested them. The hand loads produced consistently tighter groups that were more noticeable at longer ranges as well as lower ES.

 

[Sargesniper]

This is some work from about 10 years ago with IMR4895 when I was trying to duplicate Fed 168 Factory Match loads in my Rem Milspecs. My reloads of 43Gr, Win LR primers, Fed Match brass. They were nuts on with the factory loads out to 600 yards, the furthest I tested them. The hand loads produced consistently tighter groups that were more noticeable at longer ranges as well as lower ES.

I will admit that the best group i shot at 100 was with H-4895. I was not able to repeat it though.
My load was 1.2 gr. less and a Win. LRM primer. The case, ( you may not believe) was RP Plated case. .196" @ 100 yds. Never could repeat though.

It just might boil down to what you have confidence in. I am confident with N550, confident enough to stick with it.

 

[Sargesniper]

I load Varget almost exclusively for .308 these days.

Varget must be VG in a lot of rifles. I can't get it to shoot as good as N550 in mine though. I wish it would as it is much more wallet friendly. I see it going for $23.77 right now. A good $10.00 cheaper.

 

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IMR4064 and Varget