.308 Win newbie

[varanidguy]

FWIW I have gotten the same type of performance out of AR-Comp as I did Varget, and it is less expensive and requires less powder in its loads.

[bazineta]

The Redding Instant Indicator die seems cool but if it were me , I'd buy a set of competition shell holders http://www.midwayusa.com/product/525...ngfield-45-acp before the Instant indicator . I have found when used correctly . The competition shell holders size cases pretty darn consistent . I only need to check the first 5 or 10 cases for correct size . If they are correct . They all will be pretty darn close to those tested . I find measuring every case for "case head space " is not needed for the type of shooting I do . The shell holders remove all press deflection resulting in very consistently sized cases .

After reading this, I ordered up a set of these, frankly, without a lot of expectations for them. Tried them for the first time today and have realized just how much time I've wasted trying to turn a die some absurdly small portion of a rotation.

To me, these are sort of a Dillon Super Swage kind of thing; you're skeptical until you try it, then it's immediately and blindingly obvious that it's the right thing.

[bazineta]

FWIW I have gotten the same type of performance out of AR-Comp as I did Varget, and it is less expensive and requires less powder in its loads.

Curious to see what your loads are with AR-Comp. I'm doing the normal (well, LC brass, so less than normal, I suppose) workup at the moment; wouldn't mind knowing what others have found, data not being as common at the moment as it is with older powders.

[SixPointEight]

I feel compelled to pass on a good piece of advice I was taught when I first started reloading for 308.

I was looking for accuracy, and I was convinced I knew how to get it. Digging on forums I bought Forster match dies sizing dies, and micrometer seating dies and competition shell holders, bullet comparators. I bought bullets and cases in batches. I weighed each one. I sorted bullets by ogive length. I uniformed primer pockets and drilled flash holes. I bought fancy match primers to go with my fancy match bullets. I measured powder charges to the 0.05 gr. I meticulously sized cases, and seated bullets a gnats *** off the lands.

And then a great match shooter took me under his wing. One day we're talking about my loading process and he smacks me upside the head and tells me, "quit driving yourself crazy. The best shooters in the club worry about that stuff less than you do. The more you worry about loading, the less you focus on shooting."

It really stuck with me. You don't need that stuff. You can load great ammo (and I have) on a Lee single stage C press, with regular old Lee dies, and a little bit of care. Things like neck sizing, bumping the shoulder, trimming bullets, match primers, 0.01gr powder charges, Lapua cases and bullets, sorting by ogive length, seem important when you read all the posts online. But seriously standard equipment and following the directions in the book will get you 90% of the way there. If I use all my fancy doodles and gadgets, I could get 0.75-1.5" groups at 300 yards. Loading regular old Sierra match kings into winchester cases on standard dies and regular powder charges will get down to 1.5-2.5".

One more thing I learned out there, if you're shooting a factory barrel, all that other stuff is worthless. Find yourself a 1moa load and shoot it.

Anyways, I'm sure some will disagree with me.

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[flyinverted]

As a 20 year loader of 9mm, .45 and .223 and now soon to be .308, Thank you for that advice!

[varanidguy]

Curious to see what your loads are with AR-Comp. I'm doing the normal (well, LC brass, so less than normal, I suppose) workup at the moment; wouldn't mind knowing what others have found, data not being as common at the moment as it is with older powders.

I settled on 40 grains loaded under a 175 grain SMK or Nosler Custom Competition, using military brass, Remington LRP's (Number 9 1/2), at 2.800" OAL (+ or - .005), shooting out of a Black Hole Weaponry midlength gas barrel. It is over gassed but this load is accurate. I'm not that great of a shot, using so-so glass (Primary Arms 4-14x44 FFP scope), but consistently getting under an inch @100 yards. Once I get some practice under my belt and find a spot in the desert, I really want to push it out and see if the accuracy holds. I got a five shot group @100 yards that was all same hole, I was stunned, but the stars had to have aligned for that one.

Being military brass, at 40 grains, I'm only like .5 or .6 grains under max. From what I've read, due to the thickness of military brass, you should always deduct about a grain of powder so you don't go over max loads. However, I haven't seen any pressure signs (blown or flat primers, messed up rims, etc). I couldn't afford a JP LMOS carrier, so I'm running a JP heavy Silent Captured Spring, with the heaviest weight spring installed. With an adjustable gas block to throttle the gas down, it is cycling (mostly) reliably, is shooting very accurate, and with that JP system, it can stay on target very well. Also using the KAK Industry dual ejector bolt. Loving it so far. Last range trip I think I found the sweet spot with the gas system (finally!) but it was called early so I couldn't fire more than 40 rounds out of it...but had no malfunctions after finding that sweet spot, so next range trip we'll see. Gonna try to fire some free hand to see if that effects the cycling at all.

[varanidguy]

I feel compelled to pass on a good piece of advice I was taught when I first started reloading for 308.

I was looking for accuracy, and I was convinced I knew how to get it. Digging on forums I bought Forster match dies sizing dies, and micrometer seating dies and competition shell holders, bullet comparators. I bought bullets and cases in batches. I weighed each one. I sorted bullets by ogive length. I uniformed primer pockets and drilled flash holes. I bought fancy match primers to go with my fancy match bullets. I measured powder charges to the 0.05 gr. I meticulously sized cases, and seated bullets a gnats *** off the lands.

And then a great match shooter took me under his wing. One day we're talking about my loading process and he smacks me upside the head and tells me, "quit driving yourself crazy. The best shooters in the club worry about that stuff less than you do. The more you worry about loading, the less you focus on shooting."

It really stuck with me. You don't need that stuff. You can load great ammo (and I have) on a Lee single stage C press, with regular old Lee dies, and a little bit of care. Things like neck sizing, bumping the shoulder, trimming bullets, match primers, 0.01gr powder charges, Lapua cases and bullets, sorting by ogive length, seem important when you read all the posts online. But seriously standard equipment and following the directions in the book will get you 90% of the way there. If I use all my fancy doodles and gadgets, I could get 0.75-1.5" groups at 300 yards. Loading regular old Sierra match kings into winchester cases on standard dies and regular powder charges will get down to 1.5-2.5".

One more thing I learned out there, if you're shooting a factory barrel, all that other stuff is worthless. Find yourself a 1moa load and shoot it.

Anyways, I'm sure some will disagree with me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

Yep, I'm using Lee standard equipment. Their dies, shell holders, the Classic Turret press, etc. I'm sure my loads aren't perfect, and some of the really experienced shooters have much better advice than I do (like Randall and Milotrain), but my loads have been satisfactory for my purpose. At or just below 1 MOA and I'm satisfied. And that's out of a semi-automatic homebrew AR build.

[JMP]

Keep it easy. Use 168gr SMKs, and you'll work up and find that you want 44ish grains of 4064 or Varget. That works well in almost any 308 rifle.

[Pablo5959]

Yep, I'm using Lee standard equipment. Their dies, shell holders, the Custom Turret press, etc. I'm sure my loads aren't perfect, and some of the really experienced shooters have much better advice than I do (like Randall and Milotrain), but my loads have been satisfactory for my purpose. At or just below 1 MOA and I'm satisfied. And that's out of a semi-automatic homebrew AR build.

^^^ another one for keep it simple.

10 round group.
Cast, powder coat, gas check.
LNL progressive press.
RCBS sizer
Lee expander
RCBS seater
Lee Crimp

[1badlvn]

I load exclusively imr 4064 for 308 win. I've experimented with rl15 and varget and I found that imr 4064 is the way to go.
I use 175 SMK out of a Remington 5r 24 inch
Imr 4064 42.5 gr for non mil cases and 42g for mil cases
Trim to 2.005
Seat to 2.800
Gives me .75moa at 100 and 5 inch 5 shots at 400 using. 4-16 scope.
These loads chrononaround 2720 for me and I get sticky bolt lift above 42.5 gr especially in mil spec cases.


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[45R]

44.5gr of 4064 under a 175 SMK in a LC case and 210M primer with bullet seated .020 off the lands. This is my go to load as well as my 1K load.

42gr of RL using the same combination has worked well with either 168 or 175 SMKs.

[SixPointEight]

I'm a huge fanboi of Varget. 4064 produces similar results and is temperature intensive. I have no issues loading with it

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[jjchan1]

Start off with once fired brass so you can practice on work out all your "reloading kinks". Then if you get serious enough, lapua brass. Its expensive, but will last you 10-15 loads. casin also make a significant difference in loads and neck sizing due to different wall thicknesses. Thise are just a few things to keep in minds.

Also, if you dont already have a case trimmer, I highy highy highy highy suggest a giraud triway trimmer + drill. Trimmer will cost you not much more than your manual hand trimmers but save you alot of time and effort.

[Tere_Hanges]

I cant find any load data for CCI#34 primers and IMR4064 or IMR4895 with Hornady 150gr FMJBT. I was going to just use a similar load and start small. Any concerns with using the primer and powder combo?

Im loading .308win and .3006 for an M1A and an M1.