.308 favorite load?

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JmacD

Micah 6:8
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I’m relatively new to reloading myself though I’ve been around it and shot reloads/hand loads for years. I’m about to become the ammo factory for deer season and I’m wondering if anyone has a favorite Whitetail load for the .308 Win? My family has a big variety of rifles ranging from an ol 742 wood master to a long barrel custom precision. Just curious if y’all have some advice for the newbie.
 
I like 44-45grns. RL15 with Speer 150grn Hot-Cor. These shoot well from our Savages. This what I like for deer but you use your own judgment.
 
Newby advice sounds like this. Don’t fall into the ball powder trap. Get you a good extruded and don’t be tempted to throw and go. Take your time and measure out the powder as close as you can get to your target velocity and accuracy that’s acceptable to you. Most any dies will work. Most any primers will work. Any of these powders will save you some heartache. All of them are temp stable and AR Comp will give you highest velocities.

Varget
4895
AR Comp
4064
RL15

Any of those will get you where you want to go. Not as fast as most ball powders but every time you pull the trigger you will pull with confidence.

JB
 
Newby advice sounds like this. Don’t fall into the ball powder trap. Get you a good extruded and don’t be tempted to throw and go. Take your time and measure out the powder as close as you can get to your target velocity and accuracy that’s acceptable to you. Most any dies will work. Most any primers will work. Any of these powders will save you some heartache. All of them are temp stable and AR Comp will give you highest velocities.

Varget
4895
AR Comp
4064
RL15

Any of those will get you where you want to go. Not as fast as most ball powders but every time you pull the trigger you will pull with confidence.

JB
Don't forget to add benchmark and 8208xbr. Both work well in a volumetric measure also.
 
If I could find some 8208 that’s next on the list. Benchmark is on the faster side and should make for some great low flash perfect low light loads. If I saw an 8 pounder of either I would get them.
I would buy either also.
For me. Benchmark replaces imr3031.
It's stabile, measures well, and fits the same niche 3031 does without the Lincoln logs.
 
Welcome to THR.

I wouldn't obsess about the "perfect" .308 load. You only need minute-of-deer accuracy, which is only slightly tighter than minute-of-barn-door. Any competent rifle and bullet will do a better job than the human pulling the trigger - the human will be likely be surprised, stressed, and use extremely poor shooting discipline. (ask me how I know. ;))

The bullet should be big enough to put the deer down, but not so much that the deer becomes a pile of hamburger. Check the muzzle velocities for popular hunting cartridges. They tend to cluster around 2600fps for a 180gr bullet.

Component availability will dictate what you finally use. I'm using H-4895 (or CFE-223) under a 180gr plastic-tipped ELD-X for ~2600fps from a 22" barrel. The deer won't know if you use a different brand of bullet or powder.
 
I was faced with similar dilemma, and as Spare Parts suggests, there is what you would like to use and what you can find, and what is good enough to get the job done.

Currently what is available for 308 and in abundance is LC pull down brass.....which still has a live primer......(box of 500 for about $230), Hornady 150 and 165 grain Interlock bullets and Accurate 2495, which is said to be a clone of 4895.......and LEE dies. Could probably have all that on the way to your door today. (Midway and Hodgdon).

A load from those components will go BANG, and a deer or anything else standing in front of it is gonna be in big trouble when it does.
 
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Consider a load that gives you impact velocity in the 2200 fps area. Lower is ok if your bullet still performs and higher caused meat damage. If your taking a classic lung, heart shot a heavier cast lead bullet with a large meplat will make a nice through hole. Normally lead bullets are cheaper and easier to get. You can often trade for them during shortages for bulk lead.
 
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Most accurate powder I've found so far is 4895. Most accurate bullet was cheap Hornady boat tail 150gr target rounds, which are entirely inappropriate for hunting. I'm early in my .308 load development, but am trying to find a 165 to 180 grain bullet that gives maximum accuracy and maximum performance.

Where I hunt, most folks will carry one rifle but will have tags for deer, elk, bear, cougar, and wolf. A .308 with a 165gr bullet is capable of taking down any of those animals. Liking the Hornady ELD-X 178 grain, and have gotten 1 MOA out of them, but was teased with half MOA with the cheap 150 grain Hornady. Under 1 MOA is acceptable to me where 500 yard shots are possible.
 
You guys recommending 4895. May want to specify what one.

Take your pick. No, they are NOT the same powder, but they perform similarly after an appropriate load workup.

I've used IMR4895 and any 150grn FMJ bullet in my M1a, where it does well enough. For hunting velocity, however... or a longer barreled rifle, etc... I would start with IMR4064, I think it's a better choice.
 
With the shorter barrel, you might want to try IMR3031 with the 150's. With my 16" M1a, I've made the switch, and it's working very well. Granted... I can't argue with your results... ;)
How much 3031 are you running with your 150s.
 
Barrel length does nothing to determine the best powder to choose. The best powder for a 26" barrel is still the best option for a 16" barrel. The shorter barrel will be slower than the longer barrel, but the load that was fastest from the 26" barrel will still be fastest from a 16" barrel.

Lighter bullets usually perform better with faster burning powders, heavier bullets better with slower burning powder. But even in the shortest legal rifle barrel all of the slowest usable powder burns up long before you run out of barrel.

I don't think I've ever tried a 308 load combo that wasn't plenty accurate for hunting. I've found 308 to be EASY to load for. Pick a bullet, pick a powder appropriate for the bullet weight and load away. Some bullets will be more accurate than others, but like said, I've never found a truly bad combo.

Varget is my go-to powder because I get the accuracy and speed I want with 150-180 gr bullets and that powder is more stable than most across a wide range of temperatures. But lots of powders work well with 308. RL15, 4895, 4064, have all worked well for me.
 
@jmr40 all powders will burn complete in shorter barrels BUT the faster powders will do it with less flash. Important if you’re shooting first or last light. Important for a hunting rig to me. That said, I am slowly rebarreling my short 308s with longer barrels. The only one I have left that’s 16 inches, I already have the barrel just need to get it swapped.
 
With the shorter barrel, you might want to try IMR3031 with the 150's. With my 16" M1a, I've made the switch, and it's working very well. Granted... I can't argue with your results... ;)
I've been working up loads for my S.i l. Axis II 308. For this year we've settled on two options he's gonna try. 155Amax and 42gr of IMR3031 is giving 3/4" groups and 2750fps. I don't care what others say about A-max and other BTHP's not being hunting rounds, they work fine if your distance and shot placement is appropriate.
The other load we are still fine tuning is Hornady 125hp and 48.4gr of IMR4166. We've got 1 1/4" groups with this and has been getting better as we work up. We started
from 46gr and no pressure signs at 48.4. We're still a couple grains away from max, but we're at 3000fps and not wanting to go much higher, so we're gonna play with seating depth some more and see if we can get 3/4" groups or better.
 
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