.308 best powder?

[dagger dog]

My accuracy powder for .308 Win. in bullets 125-155 gr is RE 15, bullets 155-180 Varget out of 26" bbl.10-1 twist

 

[Sam Adams]

I've read a couple of articles about the Remington 700 SS 5R Milspec. The accuracy load seems to be 175 SMKs with 42.0 grains of Varget, OAL 2.800" - though each rifle is, of course, unique. That's probably a great place to start.

 

[KI.W.]

VihtaVuori N-140/-540 and -150/-550. Mr Obama knows that too. If you don´t trust me, ask mister Mc Chain.

 

[ants]

gindeep, you have lots of answers in the posts above. My experience is that I have to try many powders to discover how each of my rifles reacts. None are the same. Over time you collect 1 pound bottles of many, many different powders. That gives you the flexibility (and fun!) of finding the right powder for your rifle.

My name is ants, and I approved this message.

 

[qajaq59]

I tried H4350 yesterday just for laughs and came up with a good load just before it hit Max. Normally though I use R15.

 

[45ACPUSER]

Varget
N540
RL15
IMR 4895

 

[USSR]

I tried H4350 yesterday just for laughs and came up with a good load just before it hit Max.

There is no Max when using H4350 in a .308. You simply cannot get enough powder in the case for a Max load.

Don

 

[qajaq59]

There is no Max when using H4350 in a .308. You simply cannot get enough powder in the case for a Max load.

Don, you must be looking at an older manual. The new Lee book lists 47 gr as max. However, my older Lyman manual does say 49 if I remember correctly.

 

[lgbloader]

I go between Varget and IMR 4895 for 150gr bullets and IMR 4064 for heavier. I have a few other powders for 308 and 30-06 that I mess around with, such as BLC2, Reloader 15, and 4350 but I keep coming back to these three.

Cheers.

 

[rbernie]

rbernie, why the move from varget?

I'm annoyed a bit that I've not noticed the vaunted 'temperature insensitivity' in my chrono sessions and that each lot seems to be a bit different. More importantly, I can get TAC for about 60% of the price of Varget.

If I'm going to have to deal with 'average' lot-and-temp variances, I might as well do it cheaply.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Reloder 15 will give you the most speed (power) with bullets weighing up to 178 grains, which is most important with hunting rounds. I use this powder in my 308...for long range loads, it works great...its not temp sensitive, and lot to lot consistency is good.

Varget has a problem with lot to lot consistency...and it will not produce as much speed as RL 15, even on a good day.

IMR 4895 deserves an honorable mention here also.

 

[XD-40 Shooter]

Since I have a Remington 700 tactical .308 with a 20" heavy barrel, I'm going to load with H4895. Its faster than Varget in terms of burn speed, with the short barrel, I'll get a complete burn.

 

[Coal Dragger]

I have recently switched from Varget to RL15 for my Steyr SSG (25.6" heavy barrel 1-10 twist). The RL15 loads seem more consistent in this rifle pushing 155gr Matchkings, and 175gr Matchkings. Either Varget or RL15 under the right bullet will deliver sub MOA groups, but I find RL15 to cut that down even further.

My last good session with this rifle produced a five shot group well under 1/2 MOA with 155gr MK's in Nosler brass. Four of the rounds went into a group that measured about .15 MOA, then like a moron I questioned the group and put on two clicks down on the turrets and was rewarded with another impact about 1/3 MOA down from the rest of them. :banghead:

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I will probably be flamed, but I think Varget is over-rated.

I do not believe it meters as well as some other powders, and I therefore find more variation in the weights of the charges. If you are going to weigh all charges by hand, then I guess Varget would be OK.

I have switched over to Win 748, and have found it will do everything Varget will do, plus it meters better. I have switched to using Win 748 for all my 308 and 223 reloading needs, and have not looked back. Its an excellent powder.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

My newest 308 (an SPS Tactical) also has a 20 inch barrel...I still get the best speed and accuracy with RL15.

According to QuickLoad...the only powder that will give a complete burn AND good velocity is IMR 3031.

The next best for 100% burn is AA2520...

RL15 burns 99.8% of a 45.5 grain charge in a 20 inch barrel...and gets more velocity than either of those mentioned above.

This is based on my load...with a 165 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. This is not a "virtual" load...I have chrono'd it and QuickLoad was pretty darn close...QuickLoad predicted 2,614 fps with 44 grains of RL15...my chrono said 2,635 fps. (45.5 grains is MAX...at well over 2,700 fps from a 20 inch barrel)

44 grains of RL15 was the most accurate load I tested out of several different powders.....It produced 300 yard groups measuring slightly less than 1.25 inches across the widest points. (around .3 MOA)

 

[RikSors]

Have the same rifle (5R)...tried different powders but RL-15 gave the best result. 178 grn A-Max, Lapua case, CCI BR Primer. Surprisingly, 2.800 COAL.

 

[USSR]

Quote:
There is no Max when using H4350 in a .308. You simply cannot get enough powder in the case for a Max load.

Don, you must be looking at an older manual. The new Lee book lists 47 gr as max. However, my older Lyman manual does say 49 if I remember correctly.

Nope, not looking at any manual. I have used and know H4350 powder in a .308 Win case, and you simply cannot get into a maximum pressure situation using that powder in that case.

Don

 

[Galil5.56]

I'm annoyed a bit that I've not noticed the vaunted 'temperature insensitivity'

Every time I read how temperature insensitive these "EXTREME" (nice buzzword ) propellants are supposed to be, I always wonder if the conclusion is from actual testing of the same load/same lot across a wide range of temps, or if it's nothing but parroting Hodgdon marketing buzzwords?