Powder for 308 on progressive

[zerobarrier]

Hello all,


I am going to start reloading for my 20" rem 700 and I wanted to know which powders meter the best. I have a hornady LNL. I reload for my AR15 on it using h335 which meters perfectly. It is usually dead on and sometimes +/- .1. and the oal length is +/- .004, so I am happy with those variances. Anyways I was thinking IMR 4064, 4895, blc 2, cfe223, h4895, imr 4320. Will all of these work well. Or any other powders that I did not mention that work well. Oh I am using 175gr smk's. The IMR 4064 and 4895 are available at my LGS.

Thanks

 

[rduckwor]

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

H335 will work but won't get you top velocity.

If you can find the CFE 223, that look pretty good.

As for metering, hard to say. Generally the spherical or flatten disc powder will work better than extruded.

Good Luck,

RMD

 

[mtrmn]

Tac, 748

Since 4895 is available, that'd be my choice. Can't hardly beat 4895 in 308 for semiautos, and my Dillon has no trouble metering it.

 

[kerreckt]

RL15 meters pretty well and is a good choice for .308 with 175gr. SMKs. If you can't find RL15 I would use IMR4064 although it does not meter as nice as RL15, IMHO.

 

[up 2 snuff]

4895 is good for 308 and can also be used with heavier 223 bullets.

 

[Jeff H]

Another vote for 4895 and RL 15. Both great powders for either heavy 223 or 308 and Garand 30-06

 

[threefeathers]

Tac meters very well.

 

[jmr40]

TAC, or any ball powder will meter better. But I wouldn't choose a powder for that purpose. I use TAC for some loads because it performs best with those bullet weights for me, in my rifle.

There are lots of good stick powders that might perform much better for your needs even though they might not meter as well. I'd choose the powder that gives me the velocity and accuracy I want regardless.

 

[HexHead]

I use Varget for my .308 and .223 with my 550b.

 

[zerobarrier]

OK I think I will buy a pound or a few of IMR 4895 and see how it works. I'll get CFE 223 if I see it

 

[jmorris]

All of the IMR powders that I use are extruded and generally not liked by progressives. I have loaded a bunch of .223 and .308 with IMR 3031 on Dillons and LNL's, won't be doing that again.

As above, 748 and TAC are good.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Hello all,


I am going to start reloading for my 20" rem 700 and I wanted to know which powders meter the best. I have a hornady LNL. I reload for my AR15 on it using h335 which meters perfectly. It is usually dead on and sometimes +/- .1. and the oal length is +/- .004, so I am happy with those variances. Anyways I was thinking IMR 4064, 4895, blc 2, cfe223, h4895, imr 4320. Will all of these work well. Or any other powders that I did not mention that work well. Oh I am using 175gr smk's. The IMR 4064 and 4895 are available at my LGS.

Thanks

H335 - WC844 is the 5.56mm NATO round powder (.223 Rem)
BL-C(2) - WC846 is the 7.62mm NATO round powder (.308 Win)

Of course there are many other powders that will work well in each but those powders are ball powders and will meter like water and are good choices when loading on a progressive press.

 

[GaryL]

I like the IMR 4895 & 4064 powders for 308. In my 550b, I get + or - a couple tenths (maybe 0.3gr worst case). I don't shoot a lot of it, so when I want better than a tenth, I fill an '06 case with powder and use it to trickle a few kernels of powder into a pan on a scale. So I set the 550b to throw 0.2-0.3gr below my target charge - pour it into the pan on the scale, slowly roll the '06 case to bring it up, and pour the charge back into the case and then right back to the 550b to set a bullet. Its maybe not super fast, but it's easy enough to do.

 

[tcj]

I use 4895 & Varget for 308 & 30.06 on my LNL. I prefer 4895 but both meter fine.

 

[BillB204]

Hate to burst the bubble, but in my extensive attempts I have not been able to find a ball powder that will shoot the heavier .308s as well as the stick powders. And stick powders will not meter as well as ball powders. I've found that RL15 is probably the best metering stick. And it gives me very good accuracy. So you may be in a position of deciding whether you want optimal metering or optimal accuracy.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Hate to burst the bubble, but in my extensive attempts I have not been able to find a ball powder that will shoot the heavier .308s as well as the stick powders. And stick powders will not meter as well as ball powders. I've found that RL15 is probably the best metering stick. And it gives me very good accuracy. So you may be in a position of deciding whether you want optimal metering or optimal accuracy.

Have you tried AA2520? It's a ball powder and it delivers accurate ammo with bullets up to at lease 175gr in the 308.

 

[BillB204]

Have you tried AA2520? It's a ball powder and it delivers accurate ammo with bullets up to at lease 175gr in the 308.

I'll give it a try. I'm shooting an AR-10. Are you able to get <.50 with AA2520 in an auto load?

 

[Arkansas Paul]

BLC2 meters well and was made for the .308 IIRC (I read somewhere it was designed for the 7.62 Nato round). May not be true, but its a good choice either way.

 

[BillB204]

BLC2 meters well and was made for the .308 IIRC

Arkansas, It may have been "made" for .308 IIRC; but I can't get any better than 1 moa with 168s and 175s. And in all my internet research, I haven't found anyone claiming to shoot .50 with 168+s using this or any other ball powder. I'll be trying BLC-2 with 150s and 155s soon. Are you able to get <.50 in an auto load with 168+s. If so, I'd like to know your load.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Never actually used it myself. I was merely passing along what little information I had to the OP, since BLC(2) is a powder that he inquired about.

And to reference your post #15, I agree. I haven't found ball powders to be as accurate with heavy bullets as extruded powders either. And the extruded powders don't meter as well. No doubt about it. Can't have your cake and eat it too I guess.

In reference to loads that shoot under 0.5 MOA, well of course that's going to be different from rifle to rifle but the one that worked for me was H4895.

 

[BillB204]

In reference to loads that shoot under 0.5 MOA, well of course that's going to be different from rifle to rifle but the one that worked for me was H4895.

Great group Arkansas. How many shots? Was this a .308 AR-10? Both 4895s work well for me too as well as 4064. But I seem to be getting the best consistent small groups with RL15. Here's a 3 shot group with H4895. Measured .24" The problem is I can't do this as consistently as I can get .50" with the RL15.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Thank you sir.
It was only a 3 shot group.
It was with a bolt action. Built on a small ring Mauser action.

That's a mighty fine group there. I need to get me an AR-10. I love the platform and the caliber.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'll give it a try. I'm shooting an AR-10. Are you able to get <.50 with AA2520 in an auto load?

I will put it this way, AA2520 has the nickname The Camp Perry Powder and with good reason. That powder wins matches there and if it can win there it can win anywhere. If you're looking for an accurate ball powder for the .308, AA2520 is it...

 

[zerobarrier]

Ok so they were out of the powders I said they had, oh well. So I bought some IMR 8208 xbr, I guess we will see how it works. It is a stick powder but the sticks are smaller then the h4895 so I think it will meter well, but I will find out.

 

[BillB204]

I will put it this way, AA2520 has the nickname The Camp Perry Powder and with good reason. That powder wins matches there and if it can win there it can win anywhere. If you're looking for an accurate ball powder for the .308, AA2520 is it...

I've heard that AA2520 had that nickname. But I've also heard that it was a nick name that was established about twenty years ago and that it may no longer be the "Camp Perry Powder". Have you personally used it in a .308 auto load or any .308? If so, what kind of groups are you getting? I’m curious enough about it to try it. But I haven’t heard or read anything about the size groups it can give.