handload for .308 win

[rem700]

Does anyone have a good handload for a ..308 win i shoot a rem 700 ps...

[CB on the run]

Still looking myself but I can tell you what bullet not to try. Mine would not stablize the 130 Barnes(tried 3 powders: IMR3031, 4895 & I think H335). My gunsmith said the bullet is too short for the 30 bore. I love Barnes bullets and the way they perform on game and I chose the 130 for a flatter trajectory and slighty less recoil but it didn't work out at least in my Rem 760. He told me to go with a 165 - 168 grain. I be seeing him within the next week so I'll try to remember to ask about a powder. I believe he said something in the medium burn rate but I'm really not up on powder.

CB

[shaman]

My favorite 308 WIN load is also my favorite whitetail load overall.  It's not a full-house load.  In fact, it's there to mimic a 300 Savage.

I start with once-fired Federal Brass and 165 grain Hornady Interlok SP.     I originally used Varget powder and the original goal was to use 150 grainers, but my Savage 99 did not like 150 grain bullets and I found I could use H4895 and get the same velocities I wanted.  That meant one less powder I needed to stock.  I use CCI 200 Larger Rifle primers.

The current load is 42 Grains of H4895.  However, the goal was to hit 2600 fps, which was the MAX for a 165 grain bullet out of a 300 Savage.  I started at the MIN load and stopped and when I got to that velocity. It just so happened the Savage 99 started printing 1 MOA around that time as well.  Varget, H4895, IMR4895, BL-C(2) -- any powder in this range will give you a place to start.  H4895 works well, because it does not seem to care about the extra room in the case and gives consistent velocities.

I don't know what this load would do at 300 yards, and I don't care.  All my big deer have been taken with this load.  The venues where I take the Savage 99 are usually treestands in oak hickory Savannah , and I'm hard-pressed to find a shot much beyond 80 yards.  The recoil on this round is very mild. 

My pet 30-06 load is very similar, except I targeted 2700 fps for the velocity.  It nails them to the ground at 200 yards, and that's all I care about.

[rem700]

shaman
 
I've like the bl-c(2) powder the best. nosler case trim to 2.009 over all length 2.815 to 8.820 which as more effect on your load powder or lenght 

[CB on the run]

Powder. Your case length needs to be correct so the round will chamber.

[rem700]

my case lenght is ok..... if i trim to 2.005 i get gas blow buy
(neck is all black) at 2.009 it stops. i have play with case lengh for a long time and this lenght is the most consistent of shooting good groups. The round will chamber just fine, but i can not find a consistent over all lenght I do know that the bullet will engage the rifling at 3.010 (with the bullet im using right now) but to cyclie the gun over all lengh is about 2.850 max..     

[shaman]

One reason I backed off BL-C(2) in my various .308 loadings is that I was amazed at how variable the velocities were shot to shot.   I am a big proponent of buying a chronograph. I have one of those cheapie Chrony units-- it's accurate as all get out, but just doesn't have any bells and whistles.  It made my reloading life much simpler.  This was one of those times where the chronograph told the story. 

If you have two loadings, one with something like H4895 and an similar load  done up with BL-C(2) and you see a 5-20 fps variation in one load  and 50-75 fps variation with the other, which one are you likely to pick?   I've had this happen with both 308-based loads and .358-based loads.  BL-C(2) got relegated back to loadings for the .223 rem on my bench.  Of course, the next guy will swear by BL-C(2), and there is always enough difference in each others' reloading techniques that it makes sense that what works for one may not for the other.

 I used to work in a wire foundry, and the boss used to tell us:  "Son, if you farted off your left cheek when you made this wire on Monday, you sure better remember to let one rip off your left cheek on Wednesday."  I think that was a bit of an exaggeration, but he was the boss. One thing was for sure:  I had no idea how to vary which cheek, so I waited until my breaks to fart.  Don't ask me which cheek I use at my reloading bench.

As I understand it 308 WIN is a bit harder to load than the 30-06 and the difference has something to do with the neck dimension-- don't hold me to this.   Somebody threw that out one time when I was complaining about finding a good load for my Savage 99.    I do know I was able to find a 30-06 load that shot  wonderfully in all my '06 rifles right away.  308 WIN made me grow as a reloader.

I would not be at all surprised that 130 grainers are not going working.  If you look through enough loading manuals, there are always fewer choices for the 308 WIN than the 30-06.  308 WIN is pretty much a 150-180 grain animal, whereas you can load '06 from 110 up to 220 grains and still have a decent load. All these short-action rounds suffer a little bit from this tendency, but folks find the working window to be adequate-- otherwise we wouldn't have seen the Wizzums and Ultra WIzzums and Super ultra WIZZZZZZZums.  In a lot of ways, this sort of thing makes you appreciate the genius behind the 30-06 Springfield all the more, especially when you consider the state of art in powder, bullet, and instrument technology in 1900. 

If you start digging into this deeper and deeper you eventually start hearing about barrel harmonics, and methods of loading that take this into account.  One method I have investigated involves loading 5 rounds at a certain load, adding .2 grains of additional powder and loading 5 more rounds and so on (never exceeding the MAX load) . Somewhere in there, you end up with a .2-.6 grain window where it all comes together and groups as good as it is going to get and then the  groups start widening.  I don't have a link, but I know the method is out in the 'net if you go looking.  As a deer hunter, and not much of benchrester, I can tell you that I've never needed to go that far.  Usually nocking off 5% off MAX  is enough to get a working deer load.

[rem700]

nosler accubond 200gr (little high for 308, 200gr) they are high becasue all i can shoot at is 100yd 2.5 should be right on at 200yd

[shaman]

That's a good looking group.  I'm interested in what lead you to pick 200 grain.  That's a big bullet, especially for deer.


BTW: I'm going to take back part of what I was saying about the 308 WIN.  I was browsing Hodgdon's data site this morning, and I'd forgotten the wealth of data on the 308 WIN.  In fact, I saw about as many bullet weight choices in 308 WIN and even 30 WSM as 30-06.  I haven't really gone looking in while.  Practically however, as you saw with the 130's, everything is not going to work in every rifle. 

[rem700]

There are back bear were i hunt and just something to play with, a new bullet. i use 150gr to hunt deer with, the info out there on the net .308 and 30-06 are almost the same ballistic.