Loads for savage 11 .308

[fishnbeer]

I got a buddy who reloads and is gonna show me how its done. Im going to order up the dies and turret to fit his press later today. I got 100 once fired cases and wanted to do like 25 rnds of each type of load.

Thus far i have only shot factory ammo. My rifle shoots best with 150-155 grain bullets. Heavier rounds are all over the place. I primarily shoot paper but eventually i do want to bag a pig or deer with this rifle.

What would be a good all around projectile for me? Powders? ? What size rifle primers?

I know little about this topic. Just lookin for advice, thanks

[rsrocket1]

At your level, keep it simple so you don't get overwhelmed with stuff that won't make a difference when shooting pigs or deer at < 100 yards. The plain old Hornady 3031 150g soft points work very well at 100 yards and you should easily be accurate enough to get the job done with nearly any load that is in the ballpark. These are the same bullets that they offer free with their presses and dies. For powders, I use H335, but Varget, TAC, 3031, 4895 (IMR or Hodgdon), Reloader 10, 15 all work very well. For primers, CCI, Winchester, Remington, Federal will all work. I prefer the first 2, Remingtons are a little more expensive and Federals are a little soft so you may need to be more careful when priming with them (although I haven't had a problem with them).

Get whatever powder is in stock for now, 1 pound is enough and shouldn't set you back too much. 100 bullets should cost about $25 and 100 primers about $3-$4 so you won't be out too much no matter what you choose. You can save a little by buying 1k primers because that won't change and one primer works about as well as another in terms of performance.


Good luck and stay safe.

[Divernhunter]

For hunting I use: Nosler 150gr Partition bullets with Win 748 powder and a mag primer. It has been very accurate and effective on game in a number of rifles and my Encore pistol.

For paper shooting the same works well but to save money use Nosler BT bullets.....or another 150gr bullet of your choice

[fishnbeer]

I was just thinking about this whole non lead ammo thing. I saw on the dfg website the approved ammo list. Is non lead required for hunting all species? I thought it was just birdshot for waterfowl but then i looked at the approved list and its all bullets on there

Is non lead required for hunting deer? Pig? Squirrel?

[hk91666]

In 2019 it is required for all hunting. I like barnes ttsx and hornady amax in 150grs.with re15 powder. Accuracy is within an inch or so at 100yds. Pm me and ill send my load. I load for my browning lever action in 308.
Ps the ttsx is lead free and amax not.

[spamsucker]

There is no all-around bullet.
Large rifle primers. I prefer Federal 210's.
For powder, 4895, 4064, 3031, Varget are my go-to.
Start with 5 rounds of each until you find a load that shoots well.
Barnes 130 grain for hunting, Nosler/Hornady/Berger for target work.
If you mostly shoot paper then decide if you want tiny groups or lots of shots. Tiny groups Berger bullets. Lots of shots, Hornady A-max or SST or Nosler bullets. If you can find them military FMJ's from pulldown ammo are ok for plinking.

[Divernhunter]

Parts of the state require non-lead bullets now and have for awhile. It was called the Condor Zone.
The Barnes 130gr TTSX is a excellent choice for the 308win in the no lead area. It also works well other places. If you handload them be sure to push them fast. They preform better on game when pushed fast.

[fishnbeer]

From what i have heard from other guys i know is certain powder can be hard to come by. When selecting powder/bullets should i get a powders first then get bullets to match? Does it matter? Am i overthinking this?

[rsrocket1]

If you get 150g bullets, you'll have the widest selection of powders available for mid range loads. However, since bullets are easy to come by, why not get the powder, then the bullets? Do your research and make up a list of powders you would like to have and keep that list in your wallet or on your phone's "notepad" so that if you come across a store that has powder available, you know whether it is one you want to buy.

[Grunt81]

It's true that lighter bullets tend to shoot better with faster burning powder and heavier bullets shoot better with slower burning powders. I'm not talking about accuracy, as that has more to do with distance, wind, and barrel harmonics. I'm talking about being able to maximize velocity at a safe pressure.

Practically any .308 bullet from 110 grains to 220 carries the energy to ethically put down a deer or a pig. I have a Savage 11 trophy hunter xp in .308. The 1:10 has worked well for me up to 190 grains, and will experiment with 208 Amax soon. I don't doubt lighter bullets would shoot fine, but don't judge the heavy bullets out of the rifle based on facotry ammo. My experience is that cheap factory hunting ammo is loaded light. Reloading opens up a whole new world for you. Savages are known tack drivers, at least that's been the experience of many and why I bought one to begin with. I'm sure your rifle will shoot your hand loads well if you take the time to learn properly, regardless of the bullet weight.

Regardless of lead restrictions, I'd go with all copper bullets for hunting. I read an article published by a chemistry lab. The traditional thing to do is to cut out and discard the blood shot meat. But these chemists, using advanced technology, determined that microscopic lead fragments can travel anywhere from 12 to 16 inches away from the wound channel. This amount of lead isn't considered too harmful for adults but it is considered harmful for children. All copper bullets tend to be twice the price, but it's worth it for your health and the health of anyone who'll be eating what you shoot. With that being said, don't expect your hunting bullets to also be your plinking/target bullets. Aside from the TTSX, the Nosler E-tip has a good reputation. If for some ungodly reason I couldn't order all copper bullets, I'd at least go with a hunting bullet with bonded jacket.

Personally, I'd decide on a bullet weight to shoot, then pick the powder that will optimize their velocity. In the end, it's the bullet's construction that determines terminal performance. It's the bullet that links all of your effort, to the target. There are a wide variety of powders out there optimized for light, medium, and heavy weight bullets. If you truly have an issue with powder being out of stock, then sure, go ahead and pick up the powder first.

Learning and practicing the aspects which make accurate ammo are what's going to give you the most satisfaction from your hand loads.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle Here's Hodgon's online load data. Search through it and you'll be able to figure out which powders yield the most velocity for a given bullet weight, granted, it's guidelines based on their conditions.

There's my spiel. Good luck.

[JMP]

With .308, all you need to know about is Varget, 4064, or RL15. When you test your loads, just remember to not overheat your barrel as you have a thin hunting barrel. This will skew your results if you overheat it, much more so than a heavy barrel.

[kcstott]

I got a buddy who reloads and is gonna show me how its done. Im going to order up the dies and turret to fit his press later today. I got 100 once fired cases and wanted to do like 25 rnds of each type of load.

Thus far i have only shot factory ammo. My rifle shoots best with 150-155 grain bullets. Heavier rounds are all over the place. I primarily shoot paper but eventually i do want to bag a pig or deer with this rifle.

What would be a good all around projectile for me? Powders? ? What size rifle primers?

I know little about this topic. Just lookin for advice, thanks

Go buy a manual