Very Light .308 Loading

[gbw]

I got my grandson a .308 to hunt with later on if he wishes - Kimber SS Select Classic w/ wood stock & Leupold 2.5-8 x 32, nice enough little rifle.

He's 8 and nervous about recoil. He won't be hunting for a year or 2, meantime he wants to shoot the rifle.

I want to make up some very light, i.e. low recoil, 150 gr. loads - say in the 1600 - 1800 fps range, to let him get used to shooting.

Has anyone done this, and if so how was the accuracy, recoil, and what did you use?

Thanks,

 

[jwrowland77]

H4895. I've done reduced recoil loads for my daughter and they worked great.

I started with reduced loads and up the charge just a tad every range visit. By time deer season rolled around, she was shooting a normal load and never knew different, because I didn't tell her I was increasing the load.

 

[gbw]

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks! How low did you go to start?

 

[jwrowland77]

I followed the Hodgon instructions to a T.

You take max charge times 60%. Then I just slowly worked up from there

 

[Starter52]

I've done it using 150 grain round nose bullets (designed for .30-30 loads) and 10 grains of Red Dot powder. Jacketed bullets will work but cast lead is better if you can find it.

Recoil is OK from a bench rest.

 

[joneb]

http://www.hodgdon.com/ If you click on Data at the top you will get some options.
This might get you closer to what you want,View attachment 207757
I would think a 125gr bullet would have less recoil.

 

[Toprudder]

Haven't tried it myself, but Trailboss powder and 150gn projectile, 1170-1400 fps. From the Hodgdon website.

 

[Elkins45]

Trail Boss would probably be the way to go here. Even better if you could use cast lead to minimize cost.

 

[rsrocket1]

Get some 30 cal m1 carbine bullets like the 110g from Xtreme or the #3005 short jacketed Hornady 100g bullets and load them with 10 grains Unique. 1500 or so fps, recoil and noise are a little more than a 22 mag. Not intimidating to anyone.

I've developed loads to hit the same POA as with my full power 150g 2640 fps load at 100 yards so I don't have to adjust the scope.

 

[MrBorland]

The Hodgdon 60% Rule gets you down to 2000-ish fps (I tried it with my 7mm-08 and can confirm this). A reduced load with Trailboss can get you in the range you're interested.

http://www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

 

[Toprudder]

The 60% rule only applies to H4895.

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/H4895%20Reduced%20Rifle%20Loads.pdf

There is a formula for calculating Trailboss loads for any rifle rounds as well:

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-Reduced-Loads%20R_P.pdf

 

[30Cal]

Get something in the 100-125gr range.

 

[Walkalong]

A 100% fill with Trail Boss and a 125 Gr bullet will be very light recoil. (I did that for a friends kids) The next step up will be AA 5744 or IMR 4759, then the 4895 loads.

 

[Average Joe]

10 grains of Red Dot, makes a nice mild load in .308

 

[joneb]

10 grains of Red Dot, makes a nice mild load in .308

I use Blue dot for reduced loads for 308 Win. with Nosler 125gr BT, the load shoots 3/4" @ 100yrds. I did not include it in post #6 as there is no reputable published data, and with a 45% case fill the chance of a double charge is possible.

 

[41 Mag]

My thoughts are you simply can't go wrong with H-4895. Why, because you can start with a 125-130gr bullet at around 36'ish grains and work it all the way up to the top end listed load in the standard load data for that weight bullet. It gives you a very wide range of loads in which none really have a lot of recoil.

I used the reduced loads for my oldest grandson when he was 3 shooting my Ruger Compact and 125gr bullets. At the time he wasn't much bigger than the rifle,

That said the fit of the rifle is just as or more important than the loads he will be shooting. If he can get up on it good and snug, it will be easier for him to shoot and he will notice less of the recoil than if he is stretching to be able to get a full sight picture in the scope. This was him checking his target, when he was actually shooting it was still a bit long for him but it was the shortest stocked rifle I had, and he is a stubborn red headed kid.

He practiced with it all spring and summer and two weeks before his 4th birthday hit paydirt on his first hog, a one shot drop at 55yds.

If your planning on hunting deer I highly suggest looking into the 130gr bullets, or is you go with the 125's get some of the Accubonds, and be done with it. Just bear in mind that most of the lighter weight 30 cal bullets are more or less for varmints, and even though your velocity will be down, we had one bad experience with the 125gr BT and dropped it from our choices almost immediately. The second and final nail was when he shot a young coyote at about 150yds and hit it broadside and did not get full penetration. I had the hide tanned for him and asked the taxidermist to tell me what the bullet did. He said it never made it to the offside lung and had blew up just inside the onside.

I switched to the Barnes 130gr TTSX and never looked back. Of course the boy was getting more and more capable as well and the charges were bumped up accordingly. He was shooting factory 150gr loads when he was 9 and not having any issues what so ever with them.

One last thing, you might also look into picking up one of the extended eye relief scopes as well. This will give them a better sight picture as well as allow them to have a bit more room between the scope and his eye. Just a little more forgiving thats all.

 

[Salmoneye]

+2 on Red Dot

 

[Sunray]

1170-1400 fps is slower than a 120 grain cast bullet starting load. Those start at a bit over 1500 fps and go up to a bit over 2200.
"...the fit of the rifle is just as or more important than the loads..." Absolutely. Mind you, 'I want to shoot it' can overcome the fear of recoil. Might be better to start him with a .223 if a semi-auto is out of the equation.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

41 Mag, that photo of your grandson with the hog is priceless. What a face!!!

While all the older loads using shotgun powders will work I feel the tested loads using H4895 are probably better for those who want to use those loads for hunting. The H4895 loads were tested on game. A 125gr or 130gr SP bullet with a charge of 36.0gr or 37.0gr H4895 will do a very good job especially if you use a bullet meant for the 30-30 because it will more reliably expand at the reduced velocities. (Sierra 125gr HP/FN buller #2020)

 

[Toprudder]

41 Mag - excellent post! Lots of good information, and left a smile on my face, too.

 

[joem1945]

+1 on Trail Boss which I've done in 8mm and .308. Use a Mag rifle primer.

 

[30Cal]

The 125gr Speer TNT is brutally accurate, but will perform very poorly on anything bigger than coyotes.

 

[Shadow 7D]

You can make a decent plinking round with Buck over a few grains of pistol powder.

 

[41 Mag]

Thanks folks, that boy really is somethin else, but there are two more not far behind him. This one turned 13 this past Thanksgiving day and celebrated by reaching out a little over 300yds with my 25-06 AI, to take the 10pt buck my bud told me to come over and try to get....just like the hog a one shot drop.

But to the OP, what you really have to keep in mind is that most bullets that you might want to hunt with fail to open at the lower velocities. I realize your simply looking at paper for now, but it is something to keep in mind. That was one of the reasons we started with the 125gr BT, trouble was it was still fragile even only leaving the barrel in the 2350fps range. As we upped the powder charge weight a little at a time over the course of the following spring he was more accustomed to the recoil and noise. That little rifle only weighs 6.5 pounds loaded and ready to hunt so even the low recoil loads still popped him pretty good for his size. Still though he is stubborn as a mule and I didn't cut him any slack. The deal was HE had to be able to hold the rifle up by himself, and do everything else to get on target, and I would take it off safe when he was ready. IF he couldn't do those things he didn't get to shoot. Luckily for us my friends property was a very target rich environment so we had several chanced to practice things before he actually was able to get the shot he, (I) wanted.

However with the 130gr Barnes, while they are a bit pricey, they will deliver the goods especially up as close as 50-75yds even starting out slow, just not too slow. The recoil is light, and they are VERY accurate. To practice with we used the Speer 130gr since they were MUCH cheaper then simply switched over to the Barnes when we went hunting. We had a little bit of difference in POI between the two on paper but nothing that we couldn't accept, and they grouped great, just an inch or so low. So we didn't have to change anything up.

 

[redbullitt]

Didn't read through all the posts, but light loads are great for plinking and lighter loads can be great for close range hunting in your situation.

Trailboss and mid/light bullets make superb plinkers. Little recoil or blast.
Accuracy is plenty good for practice and plinking in your situation. Should do great to get a new shooter comfortable with the same rifle they will be hunting with. Get used to these and you can step up incrementally until you are at a power level suitable for hunting.

"The Load" might also be worth a look if you are comfortable with it.

H4895 and a light weight 125 class bullet (nobler BT has done well for me at low speeds, but not as good as the 30 30 style) is a great reduced hunting load. The flat nosed 30 30 style bullets do even better at that velocity in my experience. I usually have the person shooting this load to be within 100 yards of their target to shoot. Usually were around 2000 fps on the 125 class bullets.

I have been with a handful of people killing deer this way. Terminal performance is more than adequate; you just have to hit them properly.