.308 Hand load information

[Jeffjoiner5]

Hey guys, I am the proud new owner of a semi auto .308. This is my first .308 rifle of any kind, I have several bolt guns in different calibers and an ar-15 in the safe and am excited to see what I can reach out and touch with this new rifle. Its the 20" P308 and so far its been great. I have been into hand loading for quite some time but first timer for .308 and would love to hear from you seasoned vets on load info.

I bought a box of Hornady 168gr BTHP MATCH bullets and have loaded them with 3 of my favorite powders as follows:

40.1g of TAC
38.4g of 4895
37.3g of varget

Anyone loading anything similar? Have any good or bad results with similar loads? Ballistics information on loads with any of these powders?

I went with the 168gr round because my local reloading supplier doesn't have the 175gr. I've read of people having good results with both.

Any input or advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

 

[DirtyRod]

Where are you getting your load information? I don't know about the others but 37gr of Varget seems really low for a 168gr bullet. It's been awhile since I loaded anything other than 175s but folks are normally in the 43-45gr range for 175s so 168s should be higher. According Hodgdon both Varget and 4895 have a starting range of 41gr for a 168gr bullet. Did you work up those charge weights?

 

[KYbulldog]

Where are you getting your load information? I don't know about the others but 37gr of Varget seems really low for a 168gr bullet. It's been awhile since I loaded anything other than 175s but folks are normally in the 43-45gr range for 175s so 168s should be higher. According Hodgdon both Varget and 4895 have a starting range of 41gr for a 168gr bullet. Did you work up those charge weights?

You can garner a lot of data from the reloading thread. I started at 41.5 and worked up to 43.5 before starting to notice very slight cratering on primer. Best accuracy was in the 42.2-42.5. Fwiw FGMM contains what looks like 42.5gr of varget.

 

[Ren]

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to the hide! As your first post your saposta post a pic of your rifle. j/k

Try here for the .308 load info. http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/snipers-hide-reloading-depot/479-loads-308-winchester.html

37 gns of Varget behind a 168 sounds way too low. My 175 load is 42.5 and 43.9 and that is considered soft for a 175smk. But... the usual disclaimer applies, start low and work up. Do your research and buy a reloading manual.

Laters,
Ren

 

[lte82]

42-43gr of varget is a sweet spot for a lot of rifles with 168-185gr bullets. Id start at 42 and work up from there.

Your tac and 4895 loads are also low. Also which 4895 are you using? Imr or hodgdon?

 

[Jeffjoiner5]

Thanks for the responses guys. I normally use the Lyman 49th for my load info, but with these being hornady bullets I used the hornady book. It called for a starting load of 32.6 and max of 41.7 for the varget where my Lyman book calls for a starting load on 41 and max 45.7 for a 168gr. HPBT. I went right smack in the middle of what the hornady book said. I guess I should have asked first, would have saved me 34 round lol. The 4895 is an IMR powder.

*edit: sorry for the low quality pic, have only managed to photograph this thing with my phone thus far. Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 FFP glass.

 

[KYbulldog]

Nice rig. When I started loading I used the one book one calibre. My only complaint then would have been it didn't appear to have been updated in a while. But it fit the bill for me just starting out. I compared notes with it and my RCBS hand loading book. Tried imr4895, RL15, varget. Now looking at doing some loads with xbr. If you're interested in some budget ammo that reloads well and is from my experience been very consistent quality…try the 168bthp match from prvi partizan. 15-17$/box.
One Book, One Caliber Loadbook for the .308 Winchester: Loadbooks USA: Amazon.com: Books