Now that Varget is $60....

[magothy72]

What's your next go-to for .308 Win ? Anyone tried CFE 223 ? A friend who's known to exaggerate a bit says it's the best thing since sliced bread. How about H335 ? I'm trying the CFE under 150 Barnes TTSX, looks promising but I haven't found The Load yet. The 150 AB with Varget was very good with the second test load. This is with a Sako 85 in the varmint set up, laminated stock, 24" fluted heavy barrel.

 

[RL338]

150s and Varget is like the magic button for the 308. Yes others will work but this combo is hard to beat.

 

[rjm158]

Shooters World Precision Rifle is very close to the same burn rate as Varget. It has worked well for me in 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor. The Shooters World powders are usually cheaper than other brands, too.

Ron

 

[grifmXC]

CFE223 is the main powder I use in the 308. It is supposedly very sensitive to temperature. I can’t say that I’ve noticed an issue but admittedly I really only use my 308 for hunting and I only did load development work when temps were about the average temp that I hunt in (50deg +\-).

I’m shooting a M70 featherweight SS
I’ve settled on 130TTSX at 3200fps for whitetail hunting. Honestly I can’t see why it wouldn’t work just fine on elk as long as you limited shots to under 400yds and were mindful of wind.

If I remember correctly, I was able to get the 150s right at/below 2900 and the 168s were 2750ish. I will also note, my rifle has a longer throat and I had the spacer taken out of the magazine box so the magazine can handle rounds just show of 3”. the 150s and 168s were loaded longer than 2.8.

Good luck!

Matt

 

[FOTIS]

TAC

 

[hunter24605]

TAC and RL-15 will treat you well. Given cost and availability, I'd start with TAC.

 

[JD338]

IMR4064 is another good powder for the 308.

JD338

 

[jimbires]

I see some value in trying a different powder , if the 308 is a high volume shooter . if the 308 is a low volume shooter you will probably spend more money in components trying to work around the high price of varget . I hate to say it , but if your regular components are available you're probably better off to just pay the price and move forward with what's a proven component . remember you are burning up $100 primers , $50 bullets , while trying to save a few bucks on a pound of powder .

 

[Wolfshead]

46 grains of Varget, and a 150 grain Nosler AccuBond are such a great combo for my Tikka .308.
I’ve been getting Varget for $50ish. I haven’t seen it listed at $60 yet, yet….
I’ve also been working up a load for the Barnes ttsx 130s and I’m around 47 grains there. I want to play around with +/- 2% of the 47 grains to see if I can tighten up the groups any.
The reason I’m going to Barnes is that the glorious communist state of NY may (probably is) going to require non-lead bullets on public ground, and I do a lot of public ground hunting.

 

[desertcj]

Luckily for me, Varget has not been a standout in any of my rifles. I am using Leverevolution in the applications where I have tried Varget. CFE, darn near the same thing. I wouldn’t hesitate to try Staball match or A2520 but there is truth to what has been said. You spend a hundred or two messing around trying to save $20…

 

[Nannyhammer]

I'm still burning W748 with Nosler 125 grain AB seconds. Should be good to go since I have an 8 lb jug.

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

Varget is excellent. But I have also had exceptional results with IMR 4064, 4895 and W748.

 

[ReloadKy]

My 308 likes CFE 223 (as does my 7-08) TAC and BL C2. I have gotten a killer load with BLC2 and 130 gr TTSX, sub MOA and 3180 fps.

 

[desertcj]

My 308 likes CFE 223 (as does my 7-08) TAC and BL C2. I have gotten a killer load with BLC2 and 130 gr TTSX, sub MOA and 3180 fps.

Yeah, Leverevolution in my 7mm-08. Seeing nice velocities in load data for cfe 223 is what led me to Lever when CFE wasn’t available. If you look on a burn rate chart, they’re pretty close.

 

[RL338]

My 308 likes CFE 223 (as does my 7-08) TAC and BL C2. I have gotten a killer load with BLC2 and 130 gr TTSX, sub MOA and 3180 fps.

BL-C2 and W748 work well with the 130gr TTSX in 308’s for me.
200+gr is where RL-17 shines.

 

[Polaris]

What's your next go-to for .308 Win ? Anyone tried CFE 223 ? A friend who's known to exaggerate a bit says it's the best thing since sliced bread. How about H335 ? I'm trying the CFE under 150 Barnes TTSX, looks promising but I haven't found The Load yet. The 150 AB with Varget was very good with the second test load. This is with a Sako 85 in the varmint set up, laminated stock, 24" fluted heavy barrel.

I probably shouldn't tell you this, as it will get short next. AA2495. You'll like it better than Varget or R15. AA4064 should be good also, but you'll be on your own with data. These have both been available and priced not much higher than the St Marks sphericals of late.

I ran a lot of BL-C2 back in the day with 150 FMJs. It worked really well when it worked. It got a little spooky with hot weather or chambers, and liked full-on max loads. Seemed to be a lot of practical vs marketing temp sensitivity issues going on. If you're only going to be shooting it at pretty "standard" temperatures it should be a good bet. I shot it a lot in semi autos back then, so chambering a round in a hot M1A chamber on a 90 degree day was pretty common, and turned out to be a bad thing to do with a stout load. Didn't hurt the rifle, but my brass suffered the damage.

 

[TackDriver284]

RL15 works well with the 150's. Close to the 3,000 fps mark.

 

[TXbaldhunter]

Here is what works for me.For the price,TAC is hard to beat.

 

[Wolfshead]

I’ve heard very good things about TAC and the .308, and those are great results.
The price is little over half that of Varget as well.
I think the reason I went with Varget was that it was more temp stable than TAC, however I really don’t know how much that would come into play To be honest. Whats done is done, and I have about five pounds of Varget, and I’ve come up with some pretty accurate loads with it so……

 

[magothy72]

That's a bunch of good information, thanks. Good point on penny wise dollar foolish as far as testing. So far, the CFE and 150 Barnes TTSX hasn't done as well as the 150 AB and Varget. That load shoots better than I thought I could.