Powders for 308

[Rob96]

I was wondering what everyone is using. I happed to have H322 on hand for my 45/70 and have seen 308 loads listed for it. Anyone ever use it?

 

[USSR]

IMR4895 for bullets of 170gr and less, RL15 for bullets of 175 - 180gr, and N550 for 190gr and heavier.

Don

 

[Mags]

Tac, Varget, H335, H4895, IMR 4895, Reloader 15, etc, etc, etc...
Maybe you should get a few reloading manuals.

 

[NCsmitty]

I know Hodgdon lists some loads for it, but if you look you'll see it is only used with the lighter bullets, and it's marginal at best because it's a little too fast burning. Pressure spikes are a possibility if you try to use it, so why use it when there are much better choices available? Save the H322 for your 45-70.
USSR and The Real Mags have sage advice that you should heed.



NCsmitty

 

[rcmodel]

have seen 308 loads listed for it.

Not from Hodgdon you haven't.
H-322 is way to fast for the .308 with any bullet weight heavier then 125-130 grain varmint bullets according to Hodgon data.

And even then, you can get 100- 200 FPS more velocity at less pressure with slower powders.

rc

 

[Redneck with a 40]

IMR 4895 with my Nosler 168 HPBT's.

 

[matrem]

Not from Hodgdon you haven't.

Not sure that he has, but I've seen it listed for 110, 125, 130,150, and 155grain bullets.
Much too fast to be ideal for .308 though.

 

[rcmodel]

Well, I just took a quick gander at my 2009 Hodgdons manual before I posted that, and they stopped at 130 grain bullets.

Don't know what all they used to list.

rc

 

[matrem]

I was going from their current web site.

 

[ants]

The printed manual is a subset of data found in the online Reloading Data Center. The online resource has a lot more loads than the manual.

But that doesn't mean those H322 loads are accurate or pleasant to shoot. You'll have to try that yourself. Go load a bunch and try them.

 

[jem375]

I use mostly IMR 4064 and IMR4895 in my 308's, although Varget and RL15 are tempting..

 

[ForneyRider]

IMR 4064 and 150gr Nosler BT have been great.

 

[NuJudge]

Practically all I load is intended for Garands and M1A's, so I use mostly one of the 4895's, occasionally 3031 or 4064.

I did some work with 125's for a father in law who could not take much recoil, and I used SR4759 there.

 

[Walkalong]

Just as a note.

Speer #13 shows H322 with 100, 110, 125, & 130 Gr bullets, but drops it after those weights. H322 is a good bit faster than the most recognized .308 powders.

 

[Rob96]

Practically all I load is intended for Garands and M1A's, so I use mostly one of the 4895's, occasionally 3031 or 4064.

Actually these are the three powders I am looking at. Was just curious if anyone has ever used H322.

 

[delta5]

I use IMR 4895 and BL-C(2) with 147 grain bullets. 42 grains of IMR 4895 and 45 grains of BL-C(2) both give me a consistent 2700 fps with those bullets. My FAL loves them

 

[Coltdriver]

I have a dialed in load for my M77 using Varget under a 165 grain bullet.

 

[freakshow10mm]

It's pretty hard to pick a bad .308 powder. Stay faster than H414/W760 (same powder) and you're OK.

 

[delta5]

It would be fun to see a range report on all of these powders from someone with a chronograph (someone let me use theirs on the range one day to check my reloads). I would be very curious to see the differences in accuracy between these powders.

 

[Redneck with a 40]

With 44.5 grains IMR 4895 and a 168 gr Nosler HPBT, I'm getting 2590-2630 fps out of my 20" barrel. With the short barrel, I can make solid hits out to 600 yards, which is further than I'll ever shoot.