308 load questions?

[grubbylabs]

I am very new to all of this, I just got my first 308. A friend has dies and a press so All I will need it brass powder and lead.


My rifle is a new Marlin XS7 it is a 308 and has a 1:12 twist. I would like to load some paper punching rounds as well as some that work for big game. My question is, what weight and type of bullets do I want? I know I can go look in a book and see all the different loads, but I figure some of you could get me close in producing a reasonable round for each or at least let me know what bullet weight would work best for each.

Also what reloading book would be good to start with? I want to be able to reload my 308 as well as 45acp.


Thanks for all your help

 

[dakotasin]

165 hornady interlock, varget or rl-15, speer #14, and power pistol for the 45 acp w/ loads taken out of speer #14.

 

[tango2echo]

The Hornaday 155gr, 168gr Amax, the 150 and 165 SST and the 165 Interlock are all great bullets. Varget is a top choice in powders, as well as AA2520 and R15.

Lyman #49 is a top-notch manual.

Power Pistol for hot stuff in the .45ACP and Unique for everything else. The Missouri Bullet Co. 200gr RNFP is perfect for plinking with the .45ACP and the 185gr Hornaday XTP for hot loads.

t2e

 

[tom357mag]

150 gr Nosler ballistic tip for big game , 150gr PSP for paper punching , IMR 4064 , Speer #14

 

[uncle gheezer]

308 loads that work for me

just got my first 308 last summer and haven't done a lot of development yet. however what i found is V-V N 150 42.5g Berger 168g #30411 HPBT match Fed 210m primer LC 93 match brass weighing 176 to 177g {about the same as FC match brass] shoots under .5'' at 100yds in my rem 788. COAL is 2.800 and measured with a comparitor oal is 3.184 . near as i can measure seems to be .041 off the lands.

 

[jtlgun]

All the above are good suggestions, since the 308 Win is one of the most "forgiving" calibres on the market. I took four trophies in Africa with a borrowed 308 using "less than top quality" (putting it mildly) South African made ammo. Just remember, while you can have target loads and hunting loads, practice with the same ammo (bullet, powder) you will use to hunt. I just finished restoring and accurizing a Rem 788 in 308 and am anxious to find it's perfect combo. Thanks, uncle gheezer, for the tips.