.308 Reloading help

[bigjake83]

Hello calgunners! Im seeking wisdom on reloading recipes..The rifle im reloading for is a Rem 700 5R Mil Spec .308, and to this point I have fired about 200rds of nothing but FED 168gr Match ammo. At this point I have 200rds of fire formed brass, 1000 Federal premium gold medal primers, 1000 Sierra matchKing bullets, 168/175grn. Iv been waiting to buy any powder till i ask around and got a Mojority Report, but i have always been a fan of IMR 4064, so if anyone can help be fill in the blanks it would be deeply appreciated...thanks

Bigjake

PS. I don't know if this matters or not, but im using Redding Competition Dies.

[CK_32]

The combo I use for my 700 is

175 SMK
Varget powder
CCI primers
Winchester once fired formed brass

Every rifle is different and I'm still messing with my loads but I'm toying around with 44.0 to 46.0 grains with standard seating debth. I like varget cause it's consistent and clean burning..

Only downfall I had for a while was they are bars not ball so my thrower had trouble at first but after a while I broke it in and it feeds pretty consistent now.

Best advice is go by the book start with standard measurements just find a good powder charge that works well with your rifle then screw with seating depths and all that later.

Remember always work your way up reloading is a long time consuming process don't skip and jump to a powder load and blow your gun appart and maybe your self. Start 10% below max load and work up until you see pressure signs. My book reccomended 45.5 as my max load I started at 40.0 grains and worked up to 47 grains where I got some pressure on the primers.. My sweet spot is around 45 so I'm trying to find that perfect load still..

Also highly reccomended ladder testing and remember not all rifles are the same everyone will have a different sweet spot powder charge that's just right. Good luck man I almost enjoy reloading as much as I do shooting

[bigjake83]

Thank you Sir.

My only queston is..Varget powder, does it come in different types??? IMR has a few different selections like 4064 or 3031, 4895 ?????

[Short Action Precision]

Varget is probably the most used powder when it comes to shooting 168/175 SMK's. Usually around 42.5-44 grains. Again there are other powders but I know most people have very good success with it.

[bigjake83]

Thanks S.A.P

Keep the info coming, ill take ill I can get.

[Richard Erichsen]

Thank you Sir.

My only queston is..Varget powder, does it come in different types??? IMR has a few different selections like 4064 or 3031, 4895 ?????

It's a Hodgdon propellent for rifle calibers. Instead of a number that indicates density and the speed it burns, it's just "Varget", unlike the other Hodgdon powders like H4198, H4895, etc.

http://www.hodgdon.com/extreme.html

R

[Fjold]

IMR 4064 was always the most accurate powder with the 165 - 168 grain bullets in my 308Win. The only bad thing about it is that it is a very coarse stick (extruded) powder and it doesn't meter very well. I used to weigh out every load.

[bigjake83]

thanks guys..

[CK_32]

Thank you Sir.

My only queston is..Varget powder, does it come in different types??? IMR has a few different selections like 4064 or 3031, 4895 ?????

Nope Varget is varget..

[Pryde]

The most popular choices are Varget, RL15 and IMR 4895.
Varget is very popular because it is more temp stable, RL15 is popular for 175gr SMKs because that's what the military uses to load M118LR.

Recently I've been using the XBR 8208 which was released about 2 years ago, I have found that it is as temp insensitive as Varget and it meters much better since the kernels are about half the size.

[Spanky8601]

IMR 4064 was always the most accurate powder with the 165 - 168 grain bullets in my 308Win. The only bad thing about it is that it is a very coarse stick (extruded) powder and it doesn't meter very well. I used to weigh out every load.

On my 5R I used to use IRM 4064 and it was a good powder. I used 42.5 grains with a 168 grain bullet. Rumor is that comes out very close to Federal Gold Medal Match specs.

Currently I am using 44.0 grains of Varget with the 168 grain bullets. When I do my part, quarter size 5 shot groups at 200 yards and 0 wind.

[Bt Doctur]

From the Speer #9 165Gr.
IMR 4350
748
BLC2
IMR 4064
IMR 4320
H335
IMR 4895
IMR 4759

[johnjohn301]

You'll find a link to Sierra's load map for the 168 MatchKings as well as some other useful information, thoughts and opinions.

http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/308win/

[Bt Doctur]

Hornady 4th edition 168gr.
H 322
AA 2230
IMR 3031
IMR 4895
H 4895
RL 15
IMR 4064
WIN 748
H 414
WIN 760

[finyllw]

CCI #34 primers, BLC (2) powder grains, Winchester 147grn FMJ.

Using this combo in my M1A. VERY good out to 400 yds. Haven't tried it any farther.

P.S. This was with iron sights.