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IMR 8208 XBR

dar1246

dar1246

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 6, 2008
1,094
2
55
Nebraska
www.youtube.com
Has anybody used this powder yet? Read on it and some buzz of shooters liking the powder.

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Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I have some on order. But it hasn't come in yet.

If it's anything like the OLD IMR 8208 it will be a good powder. I was one of the original petition signers trying to get this powder remade. But the efforts of some of the other benchrest shooters are far greater than mine. One shooter from the Johnson City, TN area even donated an 8 pound jug to Hodgdon to have something to get the right burn rate / recipe right. Thanks Jerry. Most people will never know that because he would never say it for credit.

I’m looking forward to trying it.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I check with Hodgen website. It looks like it works with lighter bullets more than the heavier bullets. I listen to the video and he talks about the 308. Talks about maybe better than Varget.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

Yeah,I got a pound of it. I'll be doing a load workup for the .223 and 55/75 weights, and the .308 with the 155/175 weights. It seems as though it is going to be similar to Varget but work better with a thrown charge as the granule is smaller. Gimme a week and I'll have it done with chrono too.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I got 4 LB. and have been working up loads in .223, 6 Dasher, and 6MM RAT. Meters very nice, with the 6 RAT getting SD's in the low single digits in fireforming loads using 28.5 gr. under a 87gr. V-max. Velocity was 2840 fps (22" barrel). Have read it is close to Benchmark in burn rate. Worked well in .223 with some 64gr. Berger varmint HP.
From the little bit I've used it I like it.
Pretty good loads available from IMR web site, that is what I used to get started.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I tried Benchmark in my 308 and it shot great. The IMR 8208 in is route today. I should have it in a hour or two. If the burn rates are similiar. It should work fine. It is suppose to be less temp sensetive.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

Picked up 4 lbs and just started testing the powder in .223. Meters very well. Velocity is a tad behind Varget but the es and sd look very good.(sd of 2 with one load).I have to bed, and install a new trigger on my rifle before I shoot again. Will post results.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

picked up a 1lb jug today along with 1lb of imr 4895 and reloader 15 to compare.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I've seen a chrono print out of load development for 6.5x47 and xbr shooting 130 bergers. Velocity peaked out just short of 3100fps before pressure went south. Pressure increased substantially with minimal increases in charge wt.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

In the Hodgdon Reloading Magizien, they list it as a good powder all the way up to uses in the 458winmag with 500gr HDY JRN, and at that they say its velocitys will be very comprable to the other poweders listed.

Otherwise from what I've read about it, It looks like it will work in alot of chamerings untile you get overbore. The artical also says that its not a remake of the old 8202 but something modeled after a "propellant made in Australia that had been used in the loading of high-performance, sniper-grade ammo."

They continue "Its fine grains flow through a powder meansure like quicksilver, and its minimal residue left in a rifle barrel is easily cleaned. What's more, whenloaded in a PPC case behind a 65- to 70 Grain 6mm bulled, its pressures and velocities were likewise similar to 8282. So they asked lou Murdica (underwriter of the original 8202 production), why not give it a try?" Long story short thats what they now are calling 8202.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

It flows very nicely in my powder measure.
I'll be out on my belly in the snow to test it out this week in my 308.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I went to the range today and tried some of this stuff. Well, what do you know? I think they hit this one out of the park! The load below is the 168 SMK with CCI BR2 and 42.8 gr. of the IMR 8208XBR. I was using some once fired Black Hills brass, full length resized, nothing special. I was shooting this out of the AR-10T at 100 yards, bipod and rear bag, from the ubiquitous picnic bench. Oehler 35P was at 12' from the muzzle. It was 41* F, 30.09 mmHg, 4700' ASL. The POA was the .30 cal hole to the right of the three shot group, with the pencil line thru it. The brass looks great, no pressure signs whatsoever. I'm really liking this stuff. This load was taken straight out of the new "H" manual, in an article therein.
100_4977.jpg
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

Sorry, 24". I just ran the numbers, and it will go subsonic around 1125 yards. That's great, but I won't have enough scope elevation to get that far anyway. 1K is doable though. 36.5 IPHY.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

Nice but first off 168 SMK don't fly well at a thousand,a precetage tumble and go sub sonic they were designed for 300 yd line, they work to 600 to 700yd. It has to do with the angle of the boat tail, which is different than the 175 SMK angle; other mfg. may be a better option.

Shooting IMR 8208 xbr Lapua case, 155 Lapua, Russian primer, oal 2.855 45.3+++ gr out of a DTA SRS 22" Barrel 2920 fps. As ffl said all positives. In AIAW 25" barrel, mag length 155 OAL, load north of 45 grs .010 jump to lands, ran OCW test 5+ load progression all shot same POI +/- a 1/4". Chronograph has being repaired, so no fps but they are up there 2900 and more. No presure signs either load
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

Sorry, I live at altitude. They fly just fine to a grand and little beyond that even, up here. Especially in the summer.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I just bought 8lbs of this stuff, and I'm going to try it with 175 SMKs in Lapua cases. I'll be shooting them from my Rem 5R. I'm trying to stay at 2600 fps, so my Kenton knobs will be effective.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I bought 8 lbs. I had finally got a pound of varget but now I think I will skip it and go straight to this stuff.
I have been using 4064 and shooting average around 1/2 MOA @ 100 and 200 yds with a Remington 5R with rem/win shoulder sized(lee) brass, CCIBR primers, 44.5gr 4064, 175gr SMK. With new brass its closer to 1 MOA.
Im hoping 8208 does better with new brass and even better with fireformed brass. Hopefully tonight I will get it loaded and test it Saturday.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

Here's some chrono data that I shot yesterday
Sierra Match Kings -168gr
Lapua Brass
CCI BR Primer
IMR 8208 XBR
48 DegF
Rifle- Remington 700P (26") in an AICS stock with a round count at 360 before this session
-I shot 10 rounds of the each load
-there were 10 pre-count rounds sent downrange before the session to heat up the barrel.
-Chrony Beta Master at 10 ft from barrel

42 grains = 2688 fps+/-12
42.3 grains = 2713 fps+/-13
42.5 grains = 2731 fps+/-13
42.7 grains = 2727 fps+/-16
42.9 grains = 2745 fps+/-14
43.1 grains = 2752 fps+/-12

Muzzle velocities with XBR are a little higher than with Varget and a lot Higher than with RE15. There were no visible pressure signs on the casings but I havent measured them yet.
This was an exercise to prove to a friend that at 100 yds ladder tests on this round are inconclusive. The next round of tesitng will be on 1" round pasters at 100 yds. One paster per load-type.
I'd love to hear comments or criticism of my findings and methods-as long as they're constructive!
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

FWIW, I ordered a copy of Quickload last week and asked him if 8208 was in the current edition.
He said they are still working on it but it is very, very close to IMR 3031.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I am pretty sure the old 8208 data is in quickload, but maybe not. I have shot up at least 16lbs of the old 8208 T just plinking. If I had known how much that stuff sold for a 8lb jug I could have bought a whole bunch of this new stuff. I guess those who thought they were going to sell their stockpile of 8208T powder and retire are pissed. We tried a little of the brx in 6PPC and was hoping it was a tad faster than it is.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

So I tested it and it was not good. The groups did not match or beat 4064 and get this. I had three rounds out of ~60 that had delayed ignition. It was slow enough that I heard the firing pin strike immediately followed by the bang. Never had that happen before and called them about it. They said it could be the primers but I have been using these CCI BR primers in all my 308 rounds and also tested varget for the first time with the same primers and had no issues. Varget I think will outshoot my 4064. I tested both powders in 1/2 gr increments up to max. Now I have to pick the best couple and work up in 1/10 gr.
Gonna try the 8208 with 223 and several different bullets. I got 8 pounds. It better do good in something. I am also going to try 168gr SMK's. More to follow.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

If you could please provide some additional information: case, full length resized or neck resized, bullet, load increments tested,factory or match chamber, OAL, jump to lands.

What was the group size each, POI, fps and what method did you use to identify the nodes and refine the loads. The reason I am asking your experience runs counter to everything myself and others have seen.

As far as the primers CCI BR they have worked fine, some other issue is going on, not seated, contamination or something but it was not a lack of brisance,
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I got a chance to test this powder his morning. Conditions were about 40 degrees F, slight varying breeze and sunny. Good Day for shooting. Distance to target was 98 yards. The gun was a 20" SPS Tactical 308, McMillan A5, Falcon 4-14x FFP, Timney trigger, CDI DBM. A rear bag was used. The charge increments in this test are coarse, but my goal was more to establish a velocity profile for this powder.

I used Federal twice fired cases, CCI BR2 primers, 175 SMK bullets, 2.81 COAL. All brass was fully match prepped.

41 grains: Poor accuracy, low velocity. Not acceptable. I was unimpressed. Over MOA.

41.5 grains: Poor accuracy, better velocity but still too low for me. Over MOA.

42.0 grains: The first thing I noticed when shooting this load was the change in tone of the report. It became very sharp and instead of a thud as experienced previously, it sounded more like a crack. Volume seemed to increase slightly too. There were no pressure signs and bolt lift was normal. <span style="font-weight: bold">This charge yielded the best 5 shot group I have ever shot with this gun.</span> Velocity was very acceptable and close to my goal of 2600 FPS.

42.5 grains: I was a little wary of the increase in muzzle blast and change in tone from the last group, and realizing that .5 grains is a huge jump when this close to the max charge weight, I opted to "stand back" for the first shot incase anything bad happened. Upon firing, no KB and bolt lift was normal, no pressure signs so I was just worried for nothing. Shot the remaining 4 and the group was very impressive. Velocity was superb.

SCAN0002.jpg

42 grain group is at the top. Measures .411" C-C

SCAN0001.jpg

42.5 grains at the top. 1 intentional flyer and 1 unintentional flyer.

IMR.jpg


Conclusion: I wont be buying anymore Varget. This stuff rocks. Varget was all over the palce for me and I got MOA on a good day. Although 42 grains yielded the best group, I think 42.5 grains is the most promising. I'm going to do some more testing with that charge. Also, POI between the 42 and 42.5 grain charge is very very close which is exciting.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I use either remington or winchester brass. (I dont mix when developing loads but once i get one that works I load the same in either. I tried new brass and neck sized (lee dies) Tested in 1/2 gr increments 39-42.5 gr, rem 700ss 5r, OAL 2.8.
Groups were about an inch or more. I will measure them tonight.

I dont shoot at 200 much here but with 4007SSC I had one 1/2" group. So I am going to shoot @ 200 tomorrow with VARGET,4064, and 4007SSC with 175SMK's. and 8208 with 168 SMKs.

With my ar-15 though I had pretty great results with 8208. the 69SMK was the best tested but the 55fmj right ~1" @100yd. So I will probably shoot those most since they are 1/2 the price. Decent results with 55GR VMAX, and 52gr SMK too. ZERO delayed ignition.

I deprime before I tumble and always pop out the stuck media from the flash hole but I am thinking those three could have gotten past me somehow. Its the only thing that makes sense.



 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

What is your seating depth or o-give measurement?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: EdZ</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I got a chance to test this powder his morning. Conditions were about 40 degrees F, slight varying breeze and sunny. Good Day for shooting. Distance to target was 98 yards. The gun was a 20" SPS Tactical 308, McMillan A5, Falcon 4-14x FFP, Timney trigger, CDI DBM. A rear bag was used. The charge increments in this test are coarse, but my goal was more to establish a velocity profile for this powder.

I used Federal twice fired cases, CCI BR2 primers, 175 SMK bullets, 2.81 COAL. All brass was fully match prepped.

41 grains: Poor accuracy, low velocity. Not acceptable. I was unimpressed. Over MOA.

41.5 grains: Poor accuracy, better velocity but still too low for me. Over MOA.

42.0 grains: The first thing I noticed when shooting this load was the change in tone of the report. It became very sharp and instead of a thud as experienced previously, it sounded more like a crack. Volume seemed to increase slightly too. There were no pressure signs and bolt lift was normal. <span style="font-weight: bold">This charge yielded the best 5 shot group I have ever shot with this gun.</span> Velocity was very acceptable and close to my goal of 2600 FPS.

42.5 grains: I was a little wary of the increase in muzzle blast and change in tone from the last group, and realizing that .5 grains is a huge jump when this close to the max charge weight, I opted to "stand back" for the first shot incase anything bad happened. Upon firing, no KB and bolt lift was normal, no pressure signs so I was just worried for nothing. Shot the remaining 4 and the group was very impressive. Velocity was superb.

SCAN0002.jpg

42 grain group is at the top. Measures .411" C-C

SCAN0001.jpg

42.5 grains at the top. 1 intentional flyer and 1 unintentional flyer.

IMR.jpg


Conclusion: I wont be buying anymore Varget. This stuff rocks. Varget was all over the palce for me and I got MOA on a good day. Although 42 grains yielded the best group, I think 42.5 grains is the most promising. I'm going to do some more testing with that charge. Also, POI between the 42 and 42.5 grain charge is very very close which is exciting. </div></div>
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

Today I shot 8208 with some 55gr Remington FMJ's in my Remington R-15. 43.9grains was the best at .436" 3 shot group. ready to load up on these. the 69gr SMK's did better last week but these are 1/2 the price. I will still tweak those to see how tight I can get em.

Also had a dud in my 308 with Varget so im pretty sure I must have missed some media in the flash hole.
Maybe I will do some more testing with 8208 in my 308.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

i mixed up my targets. That was the .308 with varget.
the .223 was 24.6gr of 8208/55gr FMJ(Rem) and it was .361"@100yd.
So now that my cheap 223 is done im loaded up for a ladder test with my 308.
39-45 gr in 1/2 gr increments with 175gr SMK's. I know its over max but I have never seen any signs @ max loads. The only bad thing is that the chart shows 8208 as having the highest pressure of all the powders so I will pay close attention. I will have to do it at 200 yards. And since its not easy getting to the 200 yard target I will probably paste a seperate target for each round and try to compare them that way.

I have not tried it with out a factory crimp since all my other powders have much better results with it.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

1/2 gr. increments are too large ( espcially if working up form mag. length 2.8) suggest you work up from 42.+ in .3 increments around 43 it is going to start stacking up)how far to take it is up to you but go slow and smaller increments, forget the 44-45 gr. stuff IMO. Look at the work up for 168 above, see a trend?
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

My first loads with the 155 Lapua were sub-moa at 100.
5 consecutive 5 shot groups in .3 grain increments.
I can't wait to shoot it at longer range and over a chronograph.
I also think it will be quite interesting in the new Lapua small primer brass.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

So far as 8208 being on light side for a 7mm-08, the 6mm guys are all over this powder for there loads, can't get enough. Runs great in .223 and my 155L .308 load 2920fps out of 22" barrel runs under a 1/2moa at 300 when I do my part.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I noticed some of the guys were using it on 155 in their 308's s0 I thought it might be workable for a 7-08 using 140gr. It seems we need something between Varget and H4350. RL15 is my other candidate.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

Well I did 3 shot groups from Min-Max(imr website data)@ .5 gr increments. Nothing looked good. Every other powder I could easily pick the winner and work up/down .1 - .5 gr. They usually start big, get small and open up again.

I emailed sierra and they said 8208 is probably a little fast for 175's and to try 150's.

With a 1-11.25" twist I dont think I can go much bigger than 175 but dont want to go smaller. I tried some 168's and they were nothing to write home about.

With Varget last week I had 5 groups with two holes. 2 rounds in one hole and the 3rd hole not far away. 2 with 168's and 3 with 175's.

So since I had nothing like that with 8208 I thought maybe I should trying going past max. I never have with any other powder and IMR seems to post hotter loads I will keep a close eye out for signs of pressure.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

did the ladder test this weekend and the only thing that seemed half way promising was the very bottom. 39-40.5 grains. Guess I will keep this powder for my 223 and stick with varget for 308. that kinda sucks but stick with what works I guess.
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I had great luck with the 8208 in my 308...
Did an ocw test all the way to the published max of 45.3 gr with 8208 no signs of pressure
Found an accuracy node at ~44.8gr with 155 Palmas(2156)
OAL 2.860
CCI 200
Lapua Brass fireformed and trimmed to 2.005
Shot consistent 5 shot .5 to .7 moa groups.

Also loaded 42.8 gr with Nosler CC 168's
Win Brass, twice fired, trimmed to 2.005
OAL 2.840"
CCI 200 primers
Shot solid .5" five shot groups. A very accurate combination in my rifle.
I do not know the speed as I do not have a chrono.

Thanks
 
Re: IMR 8208 XBR

I'm shooting the 8208 XTC in my AR-15. My 600yd groups off the bench with a scope = 4". 80gr A-Max @ 23.8gr. A bit over the book's max but I still haven't run into any pressure problems. 4th time fired in the same brass and the primer pockets are still tight. 10-shot avg vel was 2756 fps.

When this powder starts to build pressure, it starts spiking fast. Tests on the crony showed the velocity was going way out the top when I got up around 24.5gr on this load.

I'm getting a bit more velocity with it than I ever did with Varget but I've started with a new barrel too. One of the variables here as I haven't tried Varget in this barrel to compare it against.

I worked up some loads with my .308 Remington 700 that look very promising but the day I shot, my crony crapped out. I was shooting 175 Berger VLD's that went 3.7" at 600 yds for 5 shots. It was a bit windy that day also but what's a guy going to do? 1st chance I had to shoot and I had drove an hour+ to get to the range.
 
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