Nosler 190gr ABLR out of a 308 20"

[jb1023]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]I have a Howa 308 w/20" 1:10 heavy barrel. I'm trying to find a recipe for the 190 ABLR using RL-17. I have RL-17 and IMR4064 and I would like to test these bullets using each powder, once I can find them available somewhere. I want to use the 17 because it, based on online research only, produces better velocity with the heavier bullets. Is that true, I don't know, and that is what I want to test. I sent Nosler an email and they said with a 20" the 190 ABLR will be border-line to reach 1k and still have the energy to expand. They also state that they don't have any info on recipes using RL-17. The JBM site says if I have a MV of 2400 I will have the stated necessary energy for expansion(1300 f/s) out to about 950 yds. At that point the bullet drops below 1300 f/s. My Berger manual lists a starting load of 40gr of RL-17 for both the 185 juggernaut and the 190gr bullets. Do I start with 40gr and work up from there looking for pressure? The wights are comparable but the bullet profile will be different so that is my hesitation. The Berger manual starts listing 17 at the 168gr bullet with a starting load of 42.0gn. 17 is not listed for the 175gr bullets. Then above the 190 bullet weight is the 210gr and that has a starting load of 38.0. Nosler v7.0 (online and physical), Sierra v5.0 and Lee manuals do not list RL-17 for any 308 recipe so I'm thinking that 17 might be newer than those manuals and none of them appear to list anything newer on their sites.


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[jb1023]

[FONT=&quot]My COAL is 2.965. I have not tried loading any of the Berger 168gr hunting VLD's, which I was able to find, to that length yet but I did load up some 168gr Midway blemished ballistic tips to that length, minus .020, and they fed fine from the internal box as long as I was meticulous loading them up all the way to the rear. Don't know what the dimensional differences are between the Midway and the 168 VLD/178 VLD/178 A-Ma[FONT=&quot]x/[/FONT]185 Juggernaut/190 ABLR (all the bull[FONT=&quot]ets I am looking at testing) [/FONT]but [FONT=&quot]COAL and seating depth is[/FONT] definitely something I will need to watch.[/FONT]

 

[jpd676]

JB, I don't know where to tell you to get enough data that makes you feel comfortable loading the 190. I can say I have a 20" Remington LTR in .308. I decided to load 208 Amax's in it with reloader 17. I got roughly 200 fps more with reloader 17 then I did with other commonly used .308 powders. Reloader 17 also gave me better groups (2400 fps). It has transformed my .308 into something more than I thought it could be. Good luck, it is worth the effort in my opinion.