Hello, my friend has a Ruger RPR in .308 and is having some issues finding an accurate load for it. He using IMR 4064 with Federal brass along with federal 210 primers. He's at 42 grains of powder that is shooting right around an inch, 42.5 it opens up to 2.5" at 150 yards. Factory ammo is pretty much cutting holes. Is it possible I can see a QL that I can relay the info to him please? Thank you. Take care.
308 with 175 Matchkings.
- Thread starter PaLuke
- Start date
Has he tried going up from there?
Don't have QL, but Hodgdon data using that bullet is showing a starting load of 41.5 and a max of 45.6 with IMR 4064, so shouldn't be anywhere close to max pressure yet at that charge. Maybe any QL data you get will correlate with that.
Don't have QL, but Hodgdon data using that bullet is showing a starting load of 41.5 and a max of 45.6 with IMR 4064, so shouldn't be anywhere close to max pressure yet at that charge. Maybe any QL data you get will correlate with that.
- Nov 4, 2004
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He might also consider trying a different powder. Varget might be a good starting point.
JD338
JD338
- Thread starter
- #4
300WSM
Handloader
- Dec 24, 2011
- 838
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175's are on the heavy side for a 308
IMO
168 is much better
IMO
168 is much better
RL338
Handloader
- Mar 23, 2017
- 2,907
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Here some Sierra data for your combo
True, unless it's m118 chambered so you can stuff more powder into it.
hunter24605
Handloader
- Apr 30, 2016
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I think he still had some room on table with 4064 before approaching max. If he can’t get the results he wants with 4064, I’d be looking at Varget or RL-15. I never went above 168 grain, but RL-15 was a top performer in my 308
300WSM
Handloader
- Dec 24, 2011
- 838
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I know you simply asked for a QL read out for that bullet/powder combo and you've gotten everything but that so far.
My question to you is this...
What factory ammo is cutting holes. Particularly the factory loaded bullet type.
Like...
Federal Gold Medal Match with SMK 175's ?
Or something else....
That said I can tell you in all my years of shooting 7.62x51 and I shoot that caliber competitively @ 600 yards the most accurate powder I've found that works across the most platforms is IMR4350
Good luck
My question to you is this...
What factory ammo is cutting holes. Particularly the factory loaded bullet type.
Like...
Federal Gold Medal Match with SMK 175's ?
Or something else....
That said I can tell you in all my years of shooting 7.62x51 and I shoot that caliber competitively @ 600 yards the most accurate powder I've found that works across the most platforms is IMR4350
Good luck
- Thread starter
- #11
- Thread starter
- #12
The 175 SMK bullets are not too heavy for the 7.62x51, as they were specifically designed for that cartridge. The 168 SMK falls apart as soon is it goes subsonic and you could see that in the 1000 yd targets. The 173 M118 bullet was a solid performer, but the dies were worn out and production was shifted to commercial manufactures and the 175 SMK was the result.
4064 is a solid choice for a powder, but there are others equally well suited. There are no magic powders that deliver velocities significantly different from the others. Knowing that the Federal GMM factory ammo is delivering better accuracy than the 4064 handload ammunition, might just be an indicator that the rifle prefers something different. Personally, I'd be looking at Varget, H & I 4895, RL-15, and 8208 and see if the rifle prefers one of these powders over 4064.
Useful Link:
www.snipershide.com
4064 is a solid choice for a powder, but there are others equally well suited. There are no magic powders that deliver velocities significantly different from the others. Knowing that the Federal GMM factory ammo is delivering better accuracy than the 4064 handload ammunition, might just be an indicator that the rifle prefers something different. Personally, I'd be looking at Varget, H & I 4895, RL-15, and 8208 and see if the rifle prefers one of these powders over 4064.
Useful Link:
Replicating the Federal Gold medal match ammo?
Has anyone here figured out the load recipe's for Federals .308 GMM ammo?
www.snipershide.com
Last edited:
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,565
- 4,978
Yup. The 175's handle that trans-sonic slowdown around 800 - 900 yards better than the 168's which were designed for shorter range competition.
I've had good fortune with Varget and RL-15 in the .308 Winchester for 600 yard matches.
Regards, Guy
I've had good fortune with Varget and RL-15 in the .308 Winchester for 600 yard matches.
Regards, Guy
TackDriver284
Handloader
- Feb 13, 2016
- 2,348
- 1,658
Yup. Those 168 SMK should be fine for those 600 yard matches, the 175 can can perform better out to a thousand, no more than that.
300WSM
Handloader
- Dec 24, 2011
- 838
- 470
That FGMM ammo duplication has literally been beat to death.
Many have tried to replicate that loaded round with someone saying their buddy John worked for Federal and here is the secret load recipe to others saying you can't duplicate it as it's a special powder concoction just for Federal that even Jesus can't buy.
The consensus seems to be 41.75ish charge of IMR4064 is in those FGMM 175 loaded rounds.
But...
They also use the gold medal 210 primer
And pay attention seating depth of the factory.
Now exactly what is the powder type of the one's your friend shot who knows...
Again some say they switched over the years from 4064 to R15 to ...to ...to...
But there are many that say they never switched and it's 4064
I would say if you're cutting one hole with factiry fgmm then you're not replicating sonething in your daisy chain of powder, charge, primer, case, depth...
You already said he was using regular 210's
Good luck
Many have tried to replicate that loaded round with someone saying their buddy John worked for Federal and here is the secret load recipe to others saying you can't duplicate it as it's a special powder concoction just for Federal that even Jesus can't buy.
The consensus seems to be 41.75ish charge of IMR4064 is in those FGMM 175 loaded rounds.
But...
They also use the gold medal 210 primer
And pay attention seating depth of the factory.
Now exactly what is the powder type of the one's your friend shot who knows...
Again some say they switched over the years from 4064 to R15 to ...to ...to...
But there are many that say they never switched and it's 4064
I would say if you're cutting one hole with factiry fgmm then you're not replicating sonething in your daisy chain of powder, charge, primer, case, depth...
You already said he was using regular 210's
Good luck
xphunter
Handloader
- Sep 15, 2005
- 1,163
- 2,056
I would give Varget or H-4895 a try.
I use Varget in my TR rifle (Single-Shot and is throated for the heavier bullets) with 180's, 185's, and 200's). It shoots great at 600 and 1000 yards with the 200.20X.
Far be it from me to comment on 1000 yd match shooting, but we're not talking about that but about groups at 150 yds.
Obvious to me would be if factory ammo is cutting holes, the first thing on the agenda is seating to that overall length when you're using the same bullet.
Second would be to chrono the factory ammo and be close to that with your velocity. You know for sure they aren't using IMR 4831 burn rates, so near velocities with 4064, Varget, RL 15, etc, would get you in the ballpark.
Thirdly, I realize at 1000 yds all kinds of things come into play, but there's absolutely no way something like standard primers verses match primers will take you from cutting holes, to 2.5" at 150 yds. They are the same primer with only tighter tolerances on what's allowed.
Matching up a few basics should have you reasonably close. Not 1.5" MOA. If matching up a few basics has you way off, I'd look closely at something you're doing in the reloading process. I can make very good loads shoot like crap using the exact same components if I'm doing things that are making the cases out of alignment and bullets not seated concentric.
Obvious to me would be if factory ammo is cutting holes, the first thing on the agenda is seating to that overall length when you're using the same bullet.
Second would be to chrono the factory ammo and be close to that with your velocity. You know for sure they aren't using IMR 4831 burn rates, so near velocities with 4064, Varget, RL 15, etc, would get you in the ballpark.
Thirdly, I realize at 1000 yds all kinds of things come into play, but there's absolutely no way something like standard primers verses match primers will take you from cutting holes, to 2.5" at 150 yds. They are the same primer with only tighter tolerances on what's allowed.
Matching up a few basics should have you reasonably close. Not 1.5" MOA. If matching up a few basics has you way off, I'd look closely at something you're doing in the reloading process. I can make very good loads shoot like crap using the exact same components if I'm doing things that are making the cases out of alignment and bullets not seated concentric.
xphunter
Handloader
- Sep 15, 2005
- 1,163
- 2,056
Well said ShadeTree!
