.308 Work Up

[engineerairborne]

I'm hopping this weekend to do some testing of some loads that I have worked up. I wanted to get some insight if anyone thought that the loads I worked up might not be good, and that how I plan to test them is proper.

This is what I will be testing.
.308 with CCI 200 primers. I have 5 loads each Reloader 17 45gr - 49.5 gr, spaced out by .5 gr. Then I have the same with Winchester 760. I will be using Hornaday 150grain SP bullets.

I have also purchased factory loads of Hornaday 150grain SP rounds. I will be using a CED M2 Chrono with the IR Screens.

My plan is to shoot each string starting with 5 of the factory loads first.

Is there anything that I should do in between strings. I was planing I running a bore snake through after each string.

This is my first time testing a new load so my questions are this.

1. Any thing that I should keep in mind that will be help full in testing these properly.
2. Do these loads sound resonable, in other words should I be concerend with my rifle exploding on me.

I will be firing these with my DPMS LR-308.

 

[josephberry]

Re: .308 Work Up

Just pay close attention to your bolt handle getting sticky. I've never tried r-17 in my .308 but in my .284 it got real hot real fast. What are you planning on doing with this load?

 

[engineerairborne]

Re: .308 Work Up

My Plan is to use it for hunting mostly. That and this is the first load workup that I'm doing, so just for practice doing load workups. I have found it very hard to find any data for Reloader 17, and the 760 for a 150 grain bullet. Guess I have the wrong suggested poweder, but I figure I will find out what I can do with it.

 

[bwanajcj]

Re: .308 Work Up

Sounds like you are on the right track, I would definitely watch the heat as groups can start to open up. you may want to consider 168 or 165 bullets if you don't get the accuracy from the 150's

 

[Bacarrat]

Re: .308 Work Up

I wonder why you picked RL17 as the powder? The only ones I know of that use that powder are the guys shooting heavier 200+gr bullets out of a .308. Most guys that shoot 150-190 class bullets usually use a faster powder like RL15, Varget, IMR4895, Tac, ect.

 

[mavrick10_2000]

Re: .308 Work Up

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bacarrat</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I wonder why you picked RL17 as the powder? The only ones I know of that use that powder are the guys shooting heavier 200+gr bullets out of a .308. Most guys that shoot 150-190 class bullets usually use a faster powder like RL15, Varget, IMR4895, Tac, ect. </div></div>

+1

 

[engineerairborne]

Re: .308 Work Up

Well that is a funny story, or not so funny story. I purchased the poweder online, and when I bought it I thought I was purchasing the RL15. Any way when I got it I did not look that close to it, and set it aside. by the time I got around to needing to use it, I realized that it was not what I have ordered, and I no longer had any of the order info. So I figured I would give it a try.

I have found some load information for 155 so I thought that I would try the 150.

Now if you ask why the 150, well the guy the next state over that I just happen to be in his store told me that the Hornaday 150 SP would be a good hunting round. So I bought 5 boxes.

So you could say that one thing lead to another and here I am. I'm to lazy to return these items, but not to lazy to put them together to make a hundred rounds to test fire.

Besides I'm just looking to have some expierimental fun.

I will post my results if anyone is intrested when I have them completed this weekend.

 

[engineerairborne]

Re: .308 Work Up

I got around to getting some shooting with these loads in this weekend, and while I do not have all of the data with me I can give a short synopsis.

I started off with firing 5 rounds Hornady factory 150gr SP. They came out with an Avg at about 2550. using a DPMS 308 with a 1-10 Twist 16” barrel.

The Reloader 17 with Hornady 150gr SP bullets had an Average at about 2200 at the max load I did of 49.6 gr.

The Winchester 760 with Hornady 150 gr SP bullets has an Average at about 2450 at the max load I did of 49.6 gr.

Also I found the Winchester 760 to be much cleaner then the Reloader.

All in all there was no signs of over pressure, and I’m thinking about working the loads up a little higher next time except that I’m only about .5 – 1.5 gr from max.

 

[buffybuster]

Re: .308 Work Up

R17 and W760 seem a little too slow with the 150gr bullet to get maximum velocity. Especially with a 16" barrel. I would look at 4895, TAC, Varget, 3031, BLC-2.

 

[Short-bus]

Re: .308 Work Up

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bacarrat</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I wonder why you picked RL17 as the powder? The only ones I know of that use that powder are the guys shooting heavier 200+gr bullets out of a .308. Most guys that shoot 150-190 class bullets usually use a faster powder like RL15, Varget, IMR4895, Tac, ect. </div></div>

I concur, that powder is too slow to be using withe lighter weight bullets. For that weight of bullet you should check out RL15, Varget, IMR4064, and i'm sure there are others, however those 3 tend to be the more popular with RL15 and Varget being the most popular. Those are faster burning powders (technically classed as medium burn rates) than the RL17. I use RL17 with my 208's, and hopefully soon with 240's. I top out at 49.0 gr so you should be ok, however with any reloading venture it's best to start under the max, and work your way up until you see pressure signs. There are so many factors to consider when getting load data from other shooters online. My rifle has a 20" McGowen which is hand lapped, a factory barrel is likely not going to be as smooth and a top end load that's still safe in my rifle, may blow the primers out of yours. Anytime you are going to get loading data from others on the web, it's best to just get a starting point that is well below max, and find the max on your own.

Branden