308 pet loads?

[Greg Nolan]

I just finished my trade from the 358 to a 308 Ruger Hawkeye. I plan to use 150 gr Accubonds and a non-lead load, e-tips or whatever. Does anyone have some good pet loads for hunting??
Thanks
Greg

 

[Desert Fox]

Greg, I use 44.8 grain Varget on a 155 grain Lapua Scenar. Velocity is around 2925 fps. I can substitute 43.5 grain of Reloader 15 and get the same velocity. This is just a starting load for most 308 but it's already max in my rifle.

 

[spires5d]

Well, at the present,I'm loading 150 gr. Hornady SP with 46.5 gr. IMR4895 powder at 2800 FPS. for my grandson. This seems to be a good load for whitetails. This also shoots well out of a Browning A-Bolt .308.







7Mags Forever and a 30 cal. will "Slam Dunk Um"

 

[SJB358]

Greg, I am also using Varget for my wifes 308 Hawkeye. Currently her 150gr load is 45-46gr of Varget (don't have my book with me), CCI BR2's and WW cases. She is shooting the 150gr SST for deer and such. I have ordered a few 150gr Accubonds and PT's in order to see which one shoots better. Last time I chronoed the load I got 2850. Good luck. Scotty

 

[Woodycreek]

I shoot 150 ABs and BTs with the same load of 49gr of Varget going 2930 out of Rem 700 Tactical 20". Same point of impact at 100 yards with the ABs and BTs.

 

[Guy Miner]

"49gr of Varget going 2930 out of Rem 700 Tactical 20"

That's cool, a .30 cal 150 gr bullet at 2900+ fps from a 20" barrel... :grin:

Agree with the trend here, Varget and RL-15 are excellent powders for the .308 Win, but dang... There's so many great combinations for the .308 cartridge. Here's a link to a good article about handloading the .308 Win:

http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html

Guy

 

[Woodycreek]

Guy,

It is cool but VERY VERY HOT! But it produces very small groups. Gonna try 44-46gr of Varget in my FN FAL and see what she does.

 

[Larry in SD]

In my 20" Remington Model 700 SPS Sporter 46.5grs. of Varget with 150gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips produced the best accuracy at 2731 FPS.

However 45.0grs. of Varget with either 165gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips or Partitions at 2612 FPS and 2620 FPS respectively produce a bit better accuracy.

The more and more I research the .308 it seems as thought 45.0grs. of Varget with a 165 to 168gr. Bullets is becoming a standard load of sorts. On the various forums it seems to be the load of choice for a lot of .308 shooters.

Larry

 

[Woodycreek]

I have had great results with Varget from 44gr and up using the 150 BTs.

 

[Guy Miner]

"The more and more I research the .308 it seems as thought 45.0grs. of Varget with a 165 to 168gr. Bullets is becoming a standard load of sorts. On the various forums it seems to be the load of choice for a lot of .308 shooters."

Very much so. For several years I seldom ran into a long-range .308 shooter who wasn't using some combo of 165/168 or 175 grain bullets over about 45 grains of Varget. Heck, I used 168 Nosler comp bullets and 45 grains of Varget for most of my match shooting, except when I was using the 155 gr bullet instead - and then I still used Varget for most of my shooting.

Good combination of velocity and accuracy. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago Varget started playing hard to get - so now I use some RL-15 instead, and it works every bit as well.

FWIW, Guy

 

[1Shot]

I will break the Varget cycle because I have many pounds of surplus IMR 4895. 43 to 44 grs IMR 4895 and 150's really shoots in my 308. But if you want a real deer killing load try 46 grs IMR 4895 and the Nosler 125 ballistic tip. BANG FLOP goes the deer.

 

[JD338]

Greg,

As already stated by several others, Varget is the powder to try first. If this doesn't get you where you want to be, try RL 15 and IMR 4895.

Give us a range report.

JD338

 

[Greg Nolan]

Thanks everyone :grin:
I'll start out with a couple of loads and see what she likes. Also I'll check out that reloading site.
Greg

 

[Divernhunter]

I have always used 51grs of Win748 with a nosler bullet and got excellant accuracy in most rifles/pistols.

 

[HTDUCK]

Guess I'm the odd man out.
I have been loading 308 for over 20 years and my go to deer load is 48 grs of H380 and a 165 NBT.
I've tried Varget but never had real good results with it.
YMMV.

Howard

 

[Guy Miner]

"48 grs of H380 and a 165 NBT."

Howard - that is very close to a load given to me 15 or 16 years ago by a fellow who used it with great success in Hunter Benchrest competition. At the time he was using a Sierra 168 Matchking, and did very well. I used his H380 load with wonderful results out to 300 yards in competition too.

The main reason I switched from H380 to Varget was that I could get nearly the accuracy, but also a huge 250+ fps velocity increase, which really helped with my results out at 600 yards and beyond.

I don't see many references to H380 and the .308 Win in published sources, but yes, it is another one of those very good combinations. I'd recommend anyone contemplating it to approach it carefully, and look for a published load to work from. Howard - if it's working for you - I wouldn't mess with a thing - that load can be very, very accurate...

Regards, Guy

 

[HTDUCK]

Guy it is extremely accurate out of my son's VSSF Rem 700.
46 Grs with a 175 SMK is even more accurate.

I"ve never chronographed these loads but I will next time we get to the range.