Resurrection of the .308 & upping the game

[Stevenstl86]

What twist is that barrel? I had a 11.25 twist pushing 175 smk at 2723 with single digit es and sd. Varget 43.9

 

[JWgroups]

I have a stock Remington Gen II 5R, 24" that shoots 178 gr Hornady ELD's with IMR 8208 XBR really well.
Lupua Palma brass
Federal GN205M primer
IMR 8208 XBR 42gr
seating .020 off lands
shooting between 1/4 and 1/2 MOA at 400 yards
bugholes at 100 yards

 

[Merf45]

I have 3 308s remi to. 700 tactical savage model 10 tactical and an anderson 308 ar10 and my son has an encore 308 we love shootn them my 700 loves 168 amax 1/12 twist savage 1/10 does good wth 175 and sons encore loves factory 150 grn core lockts. 308 is an awsome fun round

 

[dragon798]

Varget is my go to powder for everything 308. But, I've been reading recently about CFE223 and decided to build some test loads with it using 185gr Juggernauts. Also built some with Varget and Win 760. I've actually found that Varget will gain a little speed in cooler weather. I know this is counterintuitive, but I've read where other people experienced this as well.

 

[FatOldMIHunter]

Varget is my go to powder for everything 308. But, I've been reading recently about CFE223 and decided to build some test loads with it using 185gr Juggernauts. Also built some with Varget and Win 760. I've actually found that Varget will gain a little speed in cooler weather. I know this is counterintuitive, but I've read where other people experienced this as well.

I like CFE223 for my .308. I also like H4831.

 

[sturner]

I'm thinking of picking up some CFE 223

 

[Braunschweiger]

I still love my 308s. I use Varget and Hornady 168 A-Max for just about all my 308s.

 

[Capt RB]

CFE223 lapua brass pretty sure it was 210m 195TMK 300yds 2707fps

 

[Don A Parsons]

178 ELD-X & M's as well as 185 Juggernauts sitting in front of Varget or IMR 4060,,,

Friends don't let friends shoot anything less than 168's,,, Ha...

Old Moose hunter saying in the old days...

Actually the 150 grain'ers on up to the 200's work good in both of my 308's...

I'm doing the 2 gun thing coming up as I thin out the last of my other rifles... I agree,,, everything that I hunt here in the Americas along with target shooting is super easy with the 308,,, very forgiving to reload for...

Biggest challenge it taking on the cross winds,,, that's what keeps them Intresting in my books...

Thanks for the thread as I'll follow along...

Cheers from the North

 

[Mike D Texas]

I have plenty of fancier rifles and calibers to choose from but I find myself grabbing my R700 5R Milspec in 308 more often than not. The rifle is factory stock except for the Jewell trigger. It's topped with an old school Leupold Mark 4, 4.5-14x50 with illuminated TMR reticle.

My pet load for it is currently Berger 175 VLD hunters over a stiff load of RL17 in Lapua brass with GM215m primers. No pressure signs and it averages 2808fps at 75° f @ 1600' elevation.

I had a Kenton knob made for it and drops are verified to 600 so far.

 

[YZ-80]

Well, the 'ol girl shot the 168 ELD-Ms pretty good. Full disclosure - these are "girlie man" 4-shot groups but based on past performance, I'm pretty sure I'll come up with a solid load. Here's the rig and a couple groups. Will slap on the magnetospeed next trip.

 

[YZ-80]

How exciting for you and your son. The newest hit in 308 for powder (in my opinion) is IMR 8208XRB. What it does in addition to all of the things Varget (my other top choice) is it fills the case well. Oh, I forgot to mention, I have not been able to find either of these powders anywhere - especially the 8208 - either everyone else has discovered the great properties of this powder or some military contract is eating up the supply.

For bullets, the ELD-X are great for over 300 yards and I like the partitions for 0 to 299 - although for a single choice going with the ELD-X should be OK. Your current load also is just fine. If you know you are going to hunt under 300 yards, the Nosler partitions will stabilize in flight faster then the ELD-Xs due to the bullet design.

You could also experiment - SAFETY first, with .007 or so off the lands - be sure you are not touching the lands, work up slowly, and this will allow (all things being equal) for more powder capacity in the case without increasing pressure.

Sorry - one more thing - try the Lapua brass if you can. Also, recall that every different type of brass will have a different case capacity.

Good luck

Dr. T

Well, thank you for the thoughts. I'm currently at a CBTO of 2.171, which puts me .015 off and running .002 neck tension with some good 'ol PMC brass. Gun is shooting great (maybe better) than my old 42 grain IMR 4895 load. Great groups w/Varget at 42 and 44 grains even. Things opened up to just under 1 MOA in between. Overall, very pleased I got this thing back out of the safe and glad I didn't do something silly and sell it!

 

[wbm]

My pet load for it is currently Berger 175 VLD hunters over a stiff load of RL17 in Lapua brass with GM215m primers. No pressure signs and it averages 2808fps

Man that is some load. I can only get a bit over 2600 with 49gr of RL17! That's about max! Where are you finding room for more powder to get 2800?....and no pressure signs? How long is your barrel?

 

[Capt RB]

Man that is some load. I can only get a bit over 2600 with 49gr of RL17! That's about max! Where are you finding room for more powder to get 2800?....and no pressure signs? How long is your barrel?

Mine runs 168 bergers at 2840 and 195tmk's at 2707 but my barrel is 2.99vs 3.00. I show pressure at lower charges but extremely good speed. the 2 lots of FGMM run 2704-2722 and 2740-2753 respectively. The other 308 I have runs the same ammo at 2595-2610 for the fast lot and 2568-2585 with the slow lot. Shoots great but is slow hoping the new barrel is faster. Both are 26" Rock creek and factory ruger which I'm not sure if it is a douglas or the hammer forged they now use. The new one is a Douglas XX #7 contor I sent to 300 below for cyro treatment before it's sent to the smith.