308 win load probelms

4064 is a good powder. As is 3031. But man 3031 meters like Lincoln logs. I use both. It’s going to come down to what your rifle likes. If you’re getting 1” groups, that’s what I’d stick with. It’s a hunting rifle. I’m all for finding the most accurate load. But in these times, I’m not sure how much powder I’d be wasting chasing very marginal improvements.

I agree , especially for hunting. I spent 30 yrs for probably 18 calibers, chasing the perfect load, group, bullet, brass and powder. It didnt matter if it had a trigger, I was obsessed! Now I shoot for fun, hunt, protection, and survival.
I would like to have the time , money, spent over the perfect load and with the reloading situation now, more so.
But I did have fun along the way! Happy shooting! 1" groups for hunting is good.

Brad young said:

I got some Nosler accubond lr 168gn

Click to expand...

What COL are you using?

With different bullets you get different results sometimes. You may wanna tinker with the OAL
My most accurate 308 loads have been with 3031. And it doesn’t meter as bad as it used to.

If your 4064 load was off compared to RL15, they have different results. I don’t have my powder chart, but you should find one in nearly any reloading manual. If you want to stay with the same numbers, get a powder close to the one you liked. reduce by 10-15% and work up. Check your COL, that makes a difference too...

Good Luck
Dan

IF you can get your hands on some Accubond , it has a similar shape to the BT, but I suspect the Accubond LR has a different profile. I haven’t gotten any yet, but they changed enough to get the BC where they wanted it for the +500yd range of hunting and the technology allows a lower FPS for terminal performance.
Instead of changing powders, can you determine the comparable jump to lands distance and try that first? Do you have a chrono and can verify your velocity is comparable? I regularly switch BT for AB and those seem to be close enough. Good luck.

Most of the time Nosler Ballistic Tips prove to be a little more accurate than Accubonds. It depends on the individual rifle, and most of the time the difference is small.

The good news is that 308 is one of those cartridges that seems to shoot well with a lot of different powders. IMR4064 is known to be one of the good ones and a lot of target shooters claim the most accurate. The only real downside is that compared to some newer powders it is more sensitive to temperature swings. In cold weather (20's or colder) it will be noticeably slower than when fired at temps in the 70's and you could see an overpressure load if shooting in triple digit temps with a load developed in the 70's. But unless you shoot in extreme temps it does fine.

Reloader 15 is another good powder that I've used. You may just need to tweak that load some. Varget is my go-to 308 powder if you can find it. Another good one is IMR4166 as is Ramshot TAC. There are others, but those I have used. With component shortages we have to use what we can find.

Personally. I absolutely love the ELD-X bullets, they have a very good Ballistic Coef, they fly straight, and in my case. 0n the 30-06,.308, .243,, 300BO All shoot great with them..

So 44.5 of IMR 4064 is giving you a 1" group at 100 with your new bullets? What's the problem?

1 inch groups at 100 yards is a fairly low bar for handloaded / custom tuned ammunition.

Welcome to the forum btw.

I sute will be glad when we can go back to gettimg what we want on the shelves anytime we want it.
I was fortunate that years ago I tried several bullets and loads for everything I owned to see what worked best. Now looking at my logs saves me from having to do complete workups and what supplies to buy when I see them.

H380

If your using the same bullet and different powder I try to match velosity of the previous good load and then test around that area a few grains. A new bullet is kinda square one but you can try the same procedure. This is where the expense of a cronograph can help.pay you back

4064 giving you 1" @ 100 yards is good to go. Unless you want a new hobby, tweaking that load.