on the 308 bandwagon with 215 advise

[MudRunner2005]

Varget is probably the fastest powder that should be used for the 215 in a 308. A lot of guys use it because accuracy is usually very good. Most seem to get to the 2500-2550 range out of 28" barrels.

If you need more speed, a long throat and re17 or h4350 will usually do the trick. Ive had rifles that would push well into the 2600's with h4350 and 2700's with re17 ( max loads).

The best way for a modest man to measure a loads pressure is to mic the case web of a given shell before and after firing. Once a case's web grows .0005" or more you are pretty much at the max of that rifle. Saftey wise the 308 will experience .0006-.0007 case growth at SAAMI max pressures. The action will handle this just fine, but you will drop case life down to just a couple firings.

P.S. My current 215 load expands a case web .0003" per firing.

Agreed! Varget is great. I use it in mine. Another powder that's slower than Varget that would be perfect for the heavy bullets is CFE223.

 

[mikebob]

Varget is probably the fastest powder that should be used for the 215 in a 308. A lot of guys use it because accuracy is usually very good. Most seem to get to the 2500-2550 range out of 28" barrels.

If you need more speed, a long throat and re17 or h4350 will usually do the trick. Ive had rifles that would push well into the 2600's with h4350 and 2700's with re17 ( max loads).

The best way for a modest man to measure a loads pressure is to mic the case web of a given shell before and after firing. Once a case's web grows .0005" or more you are pretty much at the max of that rifle. Saftey wise the 308 will experience .0006-.0007 case growth at SAAMI max pressures. The action will handle this just fine, but you will drop case life down to just a couple firings.



P.S. My current 215 load expands a case web .0003" per firing.

thanks for the advise

i have both re17 and h4350. unfortunately my max coal is 3.010 to lands and 3.00 to clip so i dont think i can pack enough in there to do any better but i am going to try..

 

[Canadian Bushman]

Agreed! Varget is great. I use it in mine. Another powder that's slower than Varget that would be perfect for the heavy bullets is CFE223.

Ive done a little testing with CFE, and it looked pretty good but the case fill is way down. If i recall it was in the 60-70% range. I think that may be the reason i havent seen anyone in the ftr game using it. Most there seem to be using Varget.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

thanks for the advise

i have both re17 and h4350. unfortunately my max coal is 3.010 to lands and 3.00 to clip so i dont think i can pack enough in there to do any better but i am going to try..

Thats probably gonna be your largest handicap. The little oh 8 case needs every bit of displacement in order to justify using the 215 over its lighter alternatives.

Also with the 308 match chamber ive been using the 215 likes to be right up on the lands or a small jam. Im currently about 3.09 COAL. My last barrel was 3.150" and i think i may throat back to that dim because the speeds were significatly better, and my LA fed better.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Ive done a little testing with CFE, and it looked pretty good but the case fill is way down. If i recall it was in the 60-70% range. I think that may be the reason i havent seen anyone in the ftr game using it. Most there seem to be using Varget.

That should be opposite of Varget... Varget is faster, therefore you use less of it. Slower powders (CFE223 is slower than Varget) will give you a higher fill ratio %.

 

[Michael Eichele]

I am a fan of H4350 under the heavies (200-215). Running the Palma case, H4350 and 205m primers, I'm getting single digit extreme spreads and great velocity without pressure. The key is a good barrel length. 26-28" is magic with H4350 and 200-215 grain pills. Don't be afraid of some compression.

 

[mikebob]

I am a fan of H4350 under the heavies (200-215). Running the Palma case, H4350 and 205m primers, I'm getting single digit extreme spreads and great velocity without pressure. The key is a good barrel length. 26-28" is magic with H4350 and 200-215 grain pills. Don't be afraid of some compression.[/QUOTE

what gr would you start h4350 with. I dont think i will have room to reach any kind of pressure with 3.010 lands but i will give it a shot. i may see if i can find some 200gr bigngreen was talking about and go that route.

 

[Michael Eichele]

Depending on your barrel and chamber, starting at 43.0 is probably safe. I was running 47 grains in a 28" 5R at 2600'sec. YMMV.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

That should be opposite of Varget... Varget is faster, therefore you use less of it. Slower powders (CFE223 is slower than Varget) will give you a higher fill ratio %.

CFE is a ball powder, and at 40-45grn it doesnt come close to filling the case. You are right though, it is slower. It also provided good velocity, but i dont remember the exact speed i worked up to.

 

[mikebob]

Well after some testing even at 2410fps it still kicks 175,185, and 210gr. butt. They all pretty close until you reach 700 yards then the 215 actually starts passing them all in velocity and energy. I am going to be limited on distance to 1100 yards dialing but that plenty far, any more than that I will get 300 mag out. so I may stick with it until some 200.20x become available. At least this way no guessing on if I have enough energy at full dial distance.

 

[Michael Eichele]

Well after some testing even at 2410fps it still kicks 175,185, and 210gr. butt. They all pretty close until you reach 700 yards then the 215 actually starts passing them all in velocity and energy. I am going to be limited on distance to 1100 yards dialing but that plenty far, any more than that I will get 300 mag out. so I may stick with it until some 200.20x become available. At least this way no guessing on if I have enough energy at full dial distance.

Look at the 180 Elite too. While the down range energy of the 215 is quite a bit higher, the windage between the 180 and the 215 is close. I'm running the 180 at 2804 and the 215 at 2550. They're within 5" of each other at a 1000 yards in a 10mph wind. Both are on par with a 260 running 140 VLDs. The plus side to them is higher energy over the 260. Better barrel life too.

 

[mikebob]

i bought some of the 180 today after not being able to find the 200 anywhere. i dont think i will be able to push them as fast as you but even at 2700 they prettty close in energy to the 215. i am going to try the h4350 this weekend if i can hit 2450 to 2500 and shoot bug holes still i will probably just stick with them. my brother shoots the 180 so he will get some free bullets.

 

[mikebob]

i loaded up some H4350 loads from 43-48gr in .5gr increments at 2.994 so would fit in my clip. i didnt think i would get the 48 seated but it did really compressed. I shot all these at 200 yards off the bench 32 deg 3mph wind in my face. my 215 varget load is zerod at 100 yards so i dialed up 2.2 moa which shooter said is 200yards zero. All these hit about 1-2 higher but my chrony was spitting out numbers like 3110fps so i think time for a new one. I need an expert to help read this one all shots about 1-1/4 verticle and 3/12 horizontal.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

i loaded up some H4350 loads from 43-48gr in .5gr increments at 2.994 so would fit in my clip. i didnt think i would get the 48 seated but it did really compressed. I shot all these at 200 yards off the bench 32 deg 3mph wind in my face. my 215 varget load is zerod at 100 yards so i dialed up 2.2 moa which shooter said is 200yards zero. All these hit about 1-2 higher but my chrony was spitting out numbers like 3110fps so i think time for a new one. I need an expert to help read this one all shots about 1-1/4 verticle and 3/12 horizontal.

You are using win brass, so you will have a little more capacity then us guys using lapua. That will play in your favor with the short oal.

It also looks like you may be getting a bit warm around 47-48 gns, but thats just me looking at your primers on a computer screen. Did you happen to mic the cases webs before firing?

As for the ladder. Now that you know about where your top end is, i would go run another ladder over a smaller spread at a further distance. Maybe 45-48 in .5gn increments at 600.