Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

[navyboarder89]

I've been looking hard for some decent load data for the large Hornady 225gr BTHP Match round chambered in .308. I looked in Hornady's latest data manual, its not in there. I found one decent topic here by MontanaMarine, if I remember correctly he was loading 48gr of Reloader 17, so that is all I have to go off of for now. But if anybody has anymore information it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Helmet]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

Wow! That's alot of bullet for a 308. I got good results for the 208 Amax with 42gr of Varget. That already seemed like a little too much bullet for the 308. Can that monster be pushed fast enough out of a 308 to be worth using?

 

[HarryBallz2029]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

I am by no means an expert on shooting those heavy bullets but that just sounds to me like overkill. What are you gaining by running a 225 compared to a 208 which I still think is heavy for a 308.

 

[Tx_Flyboy]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

Op is gaining better wind drift performance by running the 225s vs 208s.

The g1 BCs are .711 vs .649...significant enough to notice if you can get the 225 up to a decent velocity.

 

[Aimsmall55]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

Op, I have been running 185 vlds with 46.5 alliant comp 2000 pro out of a gap crusader and I was loading on the very light side of what some other guys were loading. 2700 fps is what I was getting and its a 23" barrel. Just wanted to drop that by ya. Not sure what it's potential is with a 225 but it pushes the hell out of the bigger bullets. Ismh that I've only loaded 185's so check!!!

 

[Bluesop7]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

I'd do some research into RL-17. I hear that its just about your only choice for getting any sort of velocity with heavy 308 bullets.

 

[Helmet]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

I know MontanaMarine likes to play around with RL-17 and the heavy 308s. He also is at high altitude and gets away with using a 1-12" twist. It doesn't say where you are from, but for those of us that live closer to sea level you will probably need a faster twist. Also, RL-17 is very temperature sensitive. If you are willing to step it down to a 208 gr Amax you can use Varget with good results. If you have your heart set on shooting/lobbing 225gr bullets out of a 308 you will probably have to use RL-17 and most likely need a 1-10" twist. What make of rifle are you using?

 

[navyboarder89]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ArmchairElite</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I know MontanaMarine likes to play around with RL-17 and the heavy 308s. He also is at high altitude and gets away with using a 1-12" twist. It doesn't say where you are from, but for those of us that live closer to sea level you will probably need a faster twist. Also, RL-17 is very temperature sensitive. If you are willing to step it down to a 208 gr Amax you can use Varget with good results. If you have your heart set on shooting/lobbing 225gr bullets out of a 308 you will probably have to use RL-17 and most likely need a 1-10" twist. What make of rifle are you using? </div></div>

Im shooting my Rem 700 VTR, my main concern is the thin walls on that triangular barrel. I know I wont be able to drop the rounds in the box, because the bullet is so long. So Im going to have to single load it. I havent looked yet what the twist is on that barrel, Ive only got 50 rounds of shelf ammo through it. Im new to reloading and trying to learn. So any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[navyboarder89]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

Oh yeah, Im basically at sea level. I live in Alaska right on the southern coast.

 

[Helmet]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

Good news. I think you have a nice long throat in that gun.
Bad news.
1. I think you have a 1-12" twist.
2. You are at low altitude.
3. It's cold there.

This is probably the perfect storm for a bullet that long not stabilizing. Keep in mind that MontanaMarine is pretty high up. You could still try it just for fun of course, but I don't think it will work. MontanaMarine also experimented with the 208 Amax alot which is a fantastic round, especially for the price. Brian Litz gave it a .324 G7 and a .633 G1 average which is fantastic. The 208 Amax is 1.532" long, but the plastic tip is .15" long and doesn't count towards the overall length making it 1.382" long. You could probably make that work. Try it yourself on the stability chart. http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi

 

[Helmet]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: navyboarder</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Im shooting my Rem 700 VTR, my main concern is the thin walls on that triangular barrel. </div></div>Don't worry about the thin looking barrel walls. Nothing bad will happen there because the bullet is heavy.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

<span style="color: #CC0000"><span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">Stop!</span></span></span>

MM needs to be a part of this discussion.

My guess is that the load in question may <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #CC0000"><span style="font-weight: bold">not</span></span></span> be intended for the.308, but rather for the .30-'06, which he also uses a lot, and for which such a load makes a lot more sense.

 

[MontanaMarine]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

I've loaded some of the 225s in the 308, and 30-06.

For the 308, The only powder I've tried is RL17. VV N550, W760 might be other useful powders for the 225gr in the 308Win.

I moly coated my 225s, used 48.0gr RL17, seated bullet to oal 3.08", and it worked. 2500 fps from 20.5" 1/12 bbl, at 4500' elevation, temp was around 30F in my initial tests.

I'm gearing up to try the 225gr in my other 308 that has a 26" 1/12 Rem varmint bbl. I'll load basically the same load, looking for around 2600 fps.

For those who ask what is to gain by using the 225, or 208, in the 308 Win. You gain the same things you would if loading those heavies in a 300 WinMag. Reduced drift, increased supersonic range, increased terminal energy.

I noticed recently there was a thread in the F/FTR section where there are some who feel using the heavies in the 308 for FTR is "cheating" and even did a little survey to get an idea if bullets should be restricted to a lighter weight to eliminate an "unfair advantage" in ballistics offered by the heavies. So it seems there are a few knowledgeable shooters out there who recognize what the heavies are bringing to the table. The ballistic benefits can be taken advantage of in the large and smaller cases.

Anyways, here is a link to the thread I started back in December, where I was shooting the 225s in my 20.5" 308.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2979364

 

[navyboarder89]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MontanaMarine</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've loaded some of the 225s in the 308, and 30-06.

For the 308, The only powder I've tried is RL17. VV N550, W760 might be other useful powders for the 225gr in the 308Win.

I moly coated my 225s, used 48.0gr RL17, seated bullet to oal 3.08", and it worked. 2500 fps from 20.5" 1/12 bbl, at 4500' elevation, temp was around 30F in my initial tests.

I'm gearing up to try the 225gr in my other 308 that has a 26" 1/12 Rem varmint bbl. I'll load basically the same load, looking for around 2600 fps.

For those who ask what is to gain by using the 225, or 208, in the 308 Win. You gain the same things you would if loading those heavies in a 300 WinMag. Reduced drift, increased supersonic range, increased terminal energy.

I noticed recently there was a thread in the F/FTR section where there are some who feel using the heavies in the 308 for FTR is "cheating" and even did a little survey to get an idea if bullets should be restricted to a lighter weight to eliminate an "unfair advantage" in ballistics offered by the heavies. So it seems there are a few knowledgeable shooters out there who recognize what the heavies are bringing to the table. The ballistic benefits can be taken advantage of in the large and smaller cases.

Anyways, here is a link to the thread I started back in December, where I was shooting the 225s in my 20.5" 308.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2979364 </div></div>

Appreciate the help. I will load it up in some Hornady Match brass with 48gr of RL17. Unfortunately Im not equipped with a chronograph, so I cant get my velocity. But I will load it up in the next couple days and see how she fires.

 

[MontanaMarine]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

48.0gr was good to go in my rifle, but you are shooting a different barrel, likely different throat, different brass maybe different oal, and no moly.

I'd suggest you back off to 45 gr or so, and work up in .5 or 1.0 gr increments.

 

[ProImaging]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

in my savage with 208 amax's i blew a primer at 48.5 backed it down to 47 of RL17. tried it out yesterday and will probably go with a 185 berger, the 168's did good to 600 yards then fell apart at 800 and 1000 yards.

 

[Helmet]

Re: Need help reloading 225gr Hornady BTHP Match .308

MontanaMarine: Thanks for clarifying. Just goes to show that alot of people have read your thread.

navyboarder: After you try out the 225 BTHP at a reduced load let us know how it worked out. I'm curious to see if you can make it work at sea level.

 

[fiveinone]

I have loaded a bunch for my Rem XR100 with 26 inch one in twelve twist and quite a fast barrel. Using H414/760 I ran the 225's up to 2650 with no adverse pressure signs, backed back to 2600 and am gonna shoot up a bunch, My range is only 500 yards so its more bullet than I need but wanted to try it. Temp was plenty cold here, less than 40, and am not so sure if I would get a sticky handle on a warmer day. Primers looked pretty, no cratering or flowing, cases measured out, extraction was perfect and at 2650 muzzle energy works out to 3500 ft lbs which is one stout 308. My next project (another, no it can't be done) is to run some 250 grain bullets up to 3100 in my L61R Sako 375 H&H. I am thinking some compressed 4350 or maybe 414 or a slower ball double based powder might just do it. Max listed load is about 80 grains but I can measure out about 95 in that case. My hunting load in that gun is 77 grains of 4064, 5 more than book, got slightly sticky at 79. My first over published load project, Called tech as Sierra. "Well it looks like it works in your gun, do it"

 

[fiveinone]

I have found that 414 is not getting me uniform velocitie sin a 5 shot spread and am going to H 4350 when I can find some