Newbie about to start loading for short barrel .308 and looking for some advice

[Josh06]

I just got done working up a load for a 16.5" 308 bolt gun that will be suppressed once the can is out of jail. I'm going to be using the 168 ABLR with Benchmark. 42gr Benchmark in Peterson Brass got me 2605.

 

[VinceMule]

jlarose85 there a lot of powders that work well. Our family favorite is Win 748 with a cci 200, next would be Varget, H4895, IMR 4895 where the most accurate load will be right close to the max load for the rifle.

In your bullet range, I will mention a few bullets that I and family members shoot white tails here in the South with along with hogs:

125g Sierra pro hunter
125g Sierra tipped game king
135g Sierra Single shot pistol bullet, buy every box you can get your hands on if/when you see them
155g Berger VLD Hunting bullet

All of the above bullets work extremely well. Deer run further with the barnes.

 

[hydehunter]

It's not one of the Enduron powders so it's still in their product line if I'm not mistaken

I sent them a email for info on it but no info yet

 

[Rflshootr]

Mid to upper end loads with IMR 3031 work very well with bullets in the 125-150 grain range.

 

[Recon$$]

RL-15 & 168 Barnes did phenomenal in a 20" I used to own. I was also able to push it way passed published data without concern.

 

[Greta06]

Varget may not get you the speed you want, try cfe 223, win 748 or staball match. I never got good sd's from cfe 223, but inside 300 yards it doesnt matter. I like the 130 and 150ttsx, tried the 110 but didnt like the performance. I run an 18 inch 308.

 

[jlarose85]

Varget may not get you the speed you want, try cfe 223, win 748 or staball match. I never got good sd's from cfe 223, but inside 300 yards it doesnt matter. I like the 130 and 150ttsx, tried the 110 but didnt like the performance. I run an 18 inch 308.

If I can get 2900fps from the Varget I'll be good to go for what I'm trying to do. Wanting to get as much speed back as possible with my short barrel I looked at a lot of the faster powders like the ones your mentioned. My concern with most of them is that those powdered are mostly ball and don't seem to have great temp stability (Tac, CFE223, BLC2, etc). StaBall match peeked my interest because of the temp stability and it seemed to get better velocities from what I found but like I said, if I can get 2900 from the Varget il calling it good for my basic whitetail load