reloading for the .308

[hzrdous]

I just bought a rem. 700 vtr in .308, it has a 22" barrel with a 1-12" twist, I was wondering if anybody could suggest a load. I want to shoot the 168gr. match king. I've got a reloading book, but just wondering if anybody has a good place for me to start. I dont have much experience with the .308, this being my first one. Thanks

[Mooseman684]

42.0 Grains of IMR 4895 pushing a 168gr. Sierra Matchking BTHP is a duplicate load of the Military M852 Match Ammunition...very accurate out to 1000 yards.
It is a great starting point...There are many other powders to choose from for the .308 / 7.62 Nato cartridge.
Rich

[hzrdous]

Is that 42.0gr in commercial brass or surplus brass? I heard their was a difference. Thanks for the load, sounds like a good place to start, if its good enough for the army its good enough for me.

[mitch_mckee]

Originally Posted by hzrdous

I just bought a rem. 700 vtr in .308, it has a 22" barrel with a 1-12" twist, I was wondering if anybody could suggest a load. I want to shoot the 168gr. match king. I've got a reloading book, but just wondering if anybody has a good place for me to start. I dont have much experience with the .308, this being my first one. Thanks

I use 41.0 grains IMR 4895 and it is very accurate out of my 20" barrel. That load is not near max and I suspect that Mooseman's 42.0 grains might be better out of your 22" barrel.

[samuel]

That sounds like an ok load but to be on the safe side,I would advise loading a few at 40gr,s and working up in 1/2gr incriments and looking for both accuracy and pressure signs.42gr,s of IMR 4895 is pushing the 51,000 CUP mark which is fine but you may find accuracy before you get that far.As to military casings,always drop the charge at least one grain below commercial casing loads. sam.

[Ron AKA]

Here is what I posted in response to a similar question. Some good links in here if you really want to explore possibilities.

Post 1:

It has been a long time since I reloaded a .308, so I can't give you specific advice. I think I used 4895 powder but... For equipment I think the Lee stuff is good. The Classic Cast press is nice, and I think their dies are ok too. They make a nice cheap case length trimmer. I would not use their powder measure or powder scale. Spend a bit more and get a quality balance beam type (expense of digital not worth it in my view). I have a Redding that has lasted over 40 years. I hear Lee has a good reloading manual but have not personally used it.

Nosler has on line reloading information and note which load was most accurate. See here:

Nosler: bullets, ammunition, rifles, brass, and reloading data.

This site as a lot of good cut to he chase information in particular how to load the .308 for accuracy. Some good info here on the best powders, primer, cases, and bullets for accuracy.

.308 Winchester Cartridge Guide

I think I would get good cases and load from day one rather than buying factory ammo first.

Here are some links to the powder manufacturers, and most have on line reloading data. I like the Hodgdon site.

Reloading Powders

For bullets I like Sierra boat tails, and Nosler Partitions for larger game.

Hope that helps you get started.

Post 2:

For hunting I would suggest the following as a starting point:

150 grain Sierra spitzer boat tails (#2125), Federal 210m primers, IMR 4064 powder, starting lower, but working up to 45.5 grains if primers look good.

For target shooting:

175 grain Sierra Match Kings (#2275), working up to 41.7 grains of Varget powder, and perhaps working up further to 43 grains if pressure signs look good. Same Federal primers. This load has been used to win championships, and the shooter says he seats the bullets so they are 0.018" off the lands. You will have to do that by trial and error, based on measuring the length when you first see the land marks when you chamber a freshly loaded round, and then make the round overall length .018" shorter. The shooter reports using 43 grains, but Sierra recommends a max of 41.7, so it will be your judgement. If you don't want to buy different powders, you could also try this 175 grain Match King bullet with the 4064. Max load is listed as 42.8 grains with it.

The above comes from the link I gave you earlier. Within it is this very helpful link. It is the Sierra roadmap to loading the .308.

http://www.6mmbr.citymaker.com/f/Sierra308Win.pdf

If you don't have a reloading manual yet, here is an online one. You need to read these manuals and understand what you are doing and double check my numbers before you start. Hope that helps.

http://www.lapua.com/fileadmin/user_...oguide2008.pdf

Ron

[Mooseman684]

That load I gave you is straight from Military Data sheets I have...Muzzle velocity is 2550 and Pressure is 50,000 PSI designed for the Match
M14 / M1A rifles...
and using Military Brass and a NON - MAGNUM Primer.
OAL is 2.83 inches.
Loading is a fine art of testing and developing the most accurate load you can so you can start at 40 gr. and work up from there...
I find it interesting that the M118 round uses a heavier Bullet(172 gr.) Non-HP and 2 more gr. of the same powder and achieves the same pressure and velocity isHigher at 2640... and is designed for High accuracy weapons like the M14, M21, m24 and M40A1...
Weird that pressure did not increase...Hmm
Good luck !
Rich

[hzrdous]

So I would assume it's safe to say that Imr-4895 is one of the better powders for the .308. It seems thats what a lot of people are using.

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by hzrdous

So I would assume it's safe to say that Imr-4895 is one of the better powders for the .308. It seems thats what a lot of people are using.

Not so for the benchrest guys. Most popular now seems to be Varget, followed by Alliant Reloader 15, and IMR 4064. 4895 is probably one of the older powders and probably is popular with us old guys..

Ron

[lefty o]

dont matter what the BR guys are using as 99.9% of them are not shooting a .308.

[billy]

Originally Posted by lefty o

dont matter what the BR guys are using as 99.9% of them are not shooting a .308.

WHAT?
you mean ive been chasing rainbows?
all this time loading for .308 too.........

[lefty o]

i dont know what your chasing billy, just stating a fact that the .308 is not a big choice amongst BR shooters.

[JOEGUN94]

i used win 748 with 168 bthp on a remington 700. as far as i am concerned, that rifle shoots far better than i can shoot.
i started with 40 grn and ended with 44.2
i did not go downstairs to check this tonight, just from memory . this worked for me.

[Rangersniper175]

Two loads I have had very good accurate rounds are 46gr. BL-C(2), OAL 2.797", with a Nosler Ballistic. The other I like more is 42gr. Benchmark, OAL 2.795", 168gr HPBT Sierra Matchking. And my 308 has a 1-12 twist. Have been getting 1/2"-5/8" 5 shot groups out of it that is acceptable to me maybe somebody else might think different.

[mitch_mckee]

Originally Posted by hzrdous

So I would assume it's safe to say that Imr-4895 is one of the better powders for the .308. It seems thats what a lot of people are using.

I use IMR-4895 because I can use it in nearly all the calibers that I reload. .30-30, .30-06, .308 Win. Makes it simple that way. I also use Unique for pistol reloading for the same reason.

[hzrdous]

So what powder should I start with? There seems to be so many, where do i start?

[Mooseman684]

We can NOT decide for you...It is up to you what to load !
We just told you what we do and what we use...and what works.
(Individual results May Vary !)
Rich

[lefty o]

browse thru some manuals, and pick what looks good to you. great starting powders in my opinion are imr 4064, imr 4895, and varget.

[runfiverun]

that imr 4895 40-42 gr load is great for the 308 almost the universal load it is also an great hunting load