I have a Rem. 700 .308 Win. with a 20" barrel and a 1:12 twist. I currently reload with Varget, H4895, and RE-22. I just ordered the Nosler BT in 150 & 165. I'm hoping this bullet will work for target shooting(up to 600 yds.) and deer hunting. Does anyone have a good starting point for loads and group sizes they are getting? I have tried the 155 A-max and SMK with pretty good results, but didn't think these would be good hunting bullets.
Hunting and target .308 loads
- Thread starter jkjohnson
- Start date
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,749
- 5,829
jkjohnson - you're loading one of my favorite all-around rifle cartridges! I've used the .308 for both hunting and target shooting. The 150 & 165 Nosler ballistic tip bullets are excellent for deer, expanding rapidly even at fairly low velocity. I've also found them to be very accurate.
I've long since settled on 46 gr of Varget, Lapua brass, Federal 210 match primers and a Nosler 165 as my primary hunting load for the .308 Win. Velocity from the 24" barrel is right at 2800 fps, and accuracy from my rifle is excellent. Am getting groups just over one inch at 300 yards. I can live with that. It's a warm load, I recommend working up towards it with an eye on the usual pressure indicators. I'll be using that load again this fall for hunting. Nothing fancy, it just plain works. Winchester brass also produces good results without the cost of the Lapua. I've seen the same, and similar loads, shoot well from 20" Remington LTR rifles at 600+ yards.
I generally substitute Nosler's 168 grain comp bullet for target practice, and it shoots very well at 600 yards.
Welcome to Nosler Reloading! Regards, Guy
I've long since settled on 46 gr of Varget, Lapua brass, Federal 210 match primers and a Nosler 165 as my primary hunting load for the .308 Win. Velocity from the 24" barrel is right at 2800 fps, and accuracy from my rifle is excellent. Am getting groups just over one inch at 300 yards. I can live with that. It's a warm load, I recommend working up towards it with an eye on the usual pressure indicators. I'll be using that load again this fall for hunting. Nothing fancy, it just plain works. Winchester brass also produces good results without the cost of the Lapua. I've seen the same, and similar loads, shoot well from 20" Remington LTR rifles at 600+ yards.
I generally substitute Nosler's 168 grain comp bullet for target practice, and it shoots very well at 600 yards.
Welcome to Nosler Reloading! Regards, Guy
rick smith
Handloader
- Apr 6, 2005
- 1,249
- 0
If Varget doesn't work for you, try RL-15, IMR or H-4895, N-540.Rick.
willowbend
Beginner
- Jul 6, 2007
- 10
- 0
Now have you took that max load of 46 grains of Varget and set it in the fridge until the case reaches 35 degrees for 8 hours then went out and shoot it thru the chrono immediatley or repeated this process over the course of a few days by letting it get back to room temp and putting it back in overnight to reach hunting style temps to see if you loose or gain speed?What about pressures seeing it is a max load?Does it vary with extreme pressures with these temp swings?I keep my 168 and 165 with Varget or RE15 down to 42.5 grain max for both hunting and target and dont have a bit of problem with temp swings ,wild pressure spikes or loss of velocity but i was wondering when you are pushing the max.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,749
- 5,829
Willow - I don't bother with the fridge.
Where I live, in central Washington, I've shot the same loads at literally zero degrees in January, and also at 100+ degrees in July & August. Varget, near max. Works for me just fine. I've paid my dues - shot out a few barrels over the last few years. Remington, Krieger, another Krieger... Thousands of rounds downrange in competition and practice for hunting. Never a problem with the Varget loads. I shoot year 'round - target and hunting.
Nosler actually publishes even higher Varget loads than I'm using in my match rifle.
I went to Varget nearly ten years ago, to get good velocity, good accuracy, and good consistency, year round. Did have some problems with some other non-Varget max loads because of heat. Pressure rose enough that I ended up throwing out all the nice, expensive Lapua brass I used during that match because the primer pockets all opened up excessively. That was not a well-informed choice of load that I'd made in that case. Afterwards, it was back to Varget for me. I buy an 8 lb jug of it pretty much every year.
IMR 4064 and RE-15 are widely respected powders for the .308 Win.
Regards, Guy
Where I live, in central Washington, I've shot the same loads at literally zero degrees in January, and also at 100+ degrees in July & August. Varget, near max. Works for me just fine. I've paid my dues - shot out a few barrels over the last few years. Remington, Krieger, another Krieger... Thousands of rounds downrange in competition and practice for hunting. Never a problem with the Varget loads. I shoot year 'round - target and hunting.
Nosler actually publishes even higher Varget loads than I'm using in my match rifle.
I went to Varget nearly ten years ago, to get good velocity, good accuracy, and good consistency, year round. Did have some problems with some other non-Varget max loads because of heat. Pressure rose enough that I ended up throwing out all the nice, expensive Lapua brass I used during that match because the primer pockets all opened up excessively. That was not a well-informed choice of load that I'd made in that case. Afterwards, it was back to Varget for me. I buy an 8 lb jug of it pretty much every year.
IMR 4064 and RE-15 are widely respected powders for the .308 Win.
Regards, Guy
