Looking for .308 load data

[seth1981]

I have searched through the pages and cant find anything. Im shooting Nosler Ballistic Tip boat tail 180 Gr remington brass Hogdon BL-C(2) with my Remington .308. Im fairly new to relaoding and dont know if data for one 180 Gr bullet is the same as all other 180 Gr bullets as long as I stick with the bullet I am shooting. I.E. BT or FMJ data.

I was looking on Hogdon.com and see max load for my powder is 46.0 Gr and Handloads.com I see load data for 47.0 Gr.

Do I need to be searching for data for EXACTLY what components I am shooting with or just general bullet weight and cal.? I am not hunting just recreational shooting so I am not looking perfect dime groups at 300 yds.

Thank you for any help you guys have. I appreciate it.

 

[longwinters]

One of the best helps I've found is John Barsness article "handloads that work". If you search on the web you should be able to find it.

Long

 

[DrMike]

seth1981,

Welcome to the forum. We're glad you found us. Generally, it is wise (especially when beginning hand loading) to follow the recipe closely. If the Hodgdon site calls for a particular charge for a specific bullet, it is a good thing to follow that recipe. Remember that Handloads.com is posting loads that others have tried. These are not necessarily pressure tested, and you must be responsible for working up to ensure that they are safe in your rifle (as is true even for pressure tested loads). It is generally accurate to state that loads posted by bullet and/or powder manufacturers have been pressure tested, and given the recipes provided are safe. Just remember to work up from a safe minimum, watching for pressure signs.

Having said all that, there will be discrepancies between recipes from time-to-time. This is due to differences in barrels employed, different lot numbers, use of different primers and the differing bearing surface of various bullets. There is the answer to your question! Never assume that a bullet will respond identically to a charge just because it is the same weight. Bullets differ in composition of the jacket and differ in the bearing surface (the region of the bullet in contact with the lands). When you feel comfortable reading pressure signs, you can adapt a charge by dropping back to a safe minimum and working up to a safe maximum charge.

You'll find the fellows on this forum to be among the most helpful on the web. Don't hesitate to post your questions. There will be someone shortly with an answer for you.

 

[Guy Miner]

Welcome to the Nosler forum! Quite a few members here have much experience with the .308 Winchester and are very willing to share their knowledge & experience. A friend and I used BL-C(2) in our .308's about 15 years ago for competition, with 168 gr bullets. It was a very accurate combination, but we had some trouble getting the velocity we wanted for longer ranges, without pressure signs.

Here's a link to an excellent article on loading for the .308 Win, that I hope you'll find useful: http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html

After BL-C(2), I switched to Varget for most of my .308 loads, and recently have been using mostly RL-15, which has proven to be very good. I still use BL-C(2) for some .308 loads, particularly with very light bullets for varmint shooting.

If you're going to use Nosler bullets primarily, it's worth buying Nosler's excellent loading manual. You'll find that comparing several different sources for handloading data is a good practice, then carefully working up your own load, for your particular rifle. Rifles and loading manuals will each have some differences.

Regards, Guy