Reloading for a short barrel .308 WIN

[del2les]

Have you considered and addressed other potential issues with the rifle itself? Is the bore rough, over-sized, need a deep cleaning, crown square, loose mounts, bedding issues, etc??

Through the decades, I have seen a couple of nice factory 308's that would not group well, and those had oversized bores that slugged out at .3095-.310

 

[gvjm]

Go to 748. I remember reading, Ballisticstudies, that it was originally developed for the military for shorter barrels. I had a 19 1/2" barrel 308 for years and found no better combination with magnum primers. RL-15 was a close second. Click the link.

.308 Winchester

 

[Howard Van Horn]

My favorite Utah Mule Deer rifle is my Rem Model 660 with a 20" barrel. The load I have used since 1996 is:
150 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip (#39585), Military Brass, CCI 200 LR Primer, and 45.0 gr. IMR 4064. Average vlolcity is 2702, Extreme Spread 101.4 and Standard Deviation 26.66. After trying many different powders and bullets since, this load hits right on. I always come back to what works best. The furtherest deer kill was just over 300 yards.

 

[rustyshackleford]

The rifle has a 1:10 twist on a 20" barrel.
I have always loaded IMR 4895 for my 30.06 and .308.
I have tried the IMR 4895 and Varget with varying loads.
The closer I get to MAX load the worse the group spreads.

The rifle will be used mainly for mule deer and an occasional cow elk.
Been trying to find a combination of powder and between a 125 gr. - 15 gr bullet.
I have tried flat base, boat tail and Barnes tipped.
The spire point flat base 150 gr. Remington Core-Lokt is giving me the best groups at 100 yards,

Is there a reason you are trying to shoot such light bullets? I've got an FN SPR with a 20 inch 1-10 twist. It shoots great with 168 or 175 GMM, like everything else does, but I'm gonna start feeding it 185 juggernauts most likely. RL-15 has been giving me good results and I'm about to dabble with H4895

 

[baldhunter]

I've never loaded for a short barreled 308,but you may have other problems with the rifle besides the load.Bedding can be a big issue.Is the barrel floated?I prefer a floated barrel.Hard pull trigger?Check those things first.Sometimes a rifle will just hate a particular bullet,but most of the time you can find something it will shoot very well.This is what I load in my 308 Win.
Win. Case
WLRM Primer
168gr Nosler Ballistic Tip
44.5grs TAC
45.5grs Varget
46.5grs Accurate 4064

150gr Nosler Ballistic Tip
45.5grs TAC
46.5grs Varget

 

[WV338]

I have a 20" barrel and it loves 155 Sierra Tipped SMK over 45.1grs IMR-4064 at 2.790" OAL = 1/2" groups

 

[Kaptoe]

Good recommendations here

In my 20" I shoot 150AB over imr4064 and h4895. You can really stuff that case as well

As one poster also said don't overthink coal. I have on numerous occasions found factory that shoots well and I simply seat the die on the factory ammo to duplicate coal. Worked in my 280ai and 338 win perfectly

 

[amadjuster]

I had a flat bolt Ruger M77 that wouldn't shoot very good groups until I used H380 behind a Speer 165 gr. boattail, CCI 200 primers and LC brass. H380 is not supposed to be good in a .308 but it worked in that rifle.

 

[new2mud]

I believe many of us running shorter barrels have found easier, more forgiving loads due to shorter barrels having less barrel whip than a longer barrel of the same contour.

A 1:10 twist should shoot pretty much any bullet--I shoot 110-grain V-max for prairie dogs up to 208-grain A-max with my 20" .308 barrel.

I don't believe I caught where you stated what brand barrel it is. The lore with .308s is that if you're not finding a suitable load with Varget and 175 SMKs or 185 Juggernauts, it could just be a poor barrel.

 

[alpine hunter]

I have been reloading for many years and various calibers; always longer barrels.
Recently bought a .308 WIN with a 20" barrel. I am having incredible trouble getting a good reload. I have never loaded for a short barrel before.
It will shoot the factory Remington Core-Lokt quite well and will group consistent - not tight but a workable hunting load.
I have tried several different powders with varying ranges of powder fill and a few different bullets.
Any suggestions for loading with a short barrel?
TIA!

Blaser R8
50cm barrel
Swiss Reload RS40 43,7grs
CCI-BR2
Hasler Ariete 148grs
COL 71,5mm
870m/s
1,5cm

 

[JuddL]

When I shorten the barrel I'll typically move to a faster burning powder so I get closer to 100% burn rate. Currently I'm using 8208 and lapua 155's.

Good luck!

 

[Kpknifemaker]

I just started working up loads for my Remington 788 .308. I was looking for Varget but couldn't get any locally, but had Vihtavuori N140. First try had sub moa with 40.5 and 40. Fed Match primers. I am loading for elk hunting so chose Barnes TTSX 180g.

 

[mongo4567]

I have a 20" Rem 700 tactical with a 1:10 twist. I couldn't get it to shoot anything in the 150 grain range really well. I tried lots of bullets and powders, got a few to 1.25" or so. It liked the GMXs the best with the longer length. It will shoot any of the 168 grain range in one hole. It is the same on my 18" barrel AR10 with a 10 twist.

 

[Bigbowhunter]

I have been reloading for many years and various calibers; always longer barrels.
Recently bought a .308 WIN with a 20" barrel. I am having incredible trouble getting a good reload. I have never loaded for a short barrel before.
It will shoot the factory Remington Core-Lokt quite well and will group consistent - not tight but a workable hunting load.
I have tried several different powders with varying ranges of powder fill and a few different bullets.
Any suggestions for loading with a short barrel?
TIA!

I have a .308 Remington 600 Mohawk with an 18.5-inch barrel. It is surprisingly accurate. Once I shot a handful of different factory rounds of different bullet weights and it shot a decent group. The bullet weight range was from I believe 110 grains to 167 grains.