Armory Sponsor
Posted: 6/16/2014 9:36:40 AM EDT
| So I have a friend with an AR10 and Ruger scout rifle wanting me to help with some loads never loaded 308 before was looking for some powder recommendations for these guns just curious what your using gonna work up loads for both guns with Hornady 168 a-max and bthp bullets. I'm not new to reloading been doing it for years with handgun and 223 and 6.8 just looking for some input thanks. |
| The 168gr A-Max did good in my R700 using 41.5gr of either IMR-4895 or IMR-4064, BHA Match brass (Winchester), Bullet seated to 2.80 COAL. Both powders were running just about the same velocity at that charge weight...right around 2435fps out of a 20" barrel. The longer bearing surface of the A-Max seems to give an increase in FPS over bullets like the Nosler168gr CC. Not sure, but I think the Hornady HPBT also have the same profile as the A-Maxs. |
|
With 168 grain SMK's and Lake City brass I have used;
N-140 - 41.5 grains N-150 - 42.0 grains Varget - 42.0 grains RE-15 - 41.5 grains IMR-4064 - 41.5 grains IMR-4895 - 40.5 grains H-4895 - 40.0 grains All loads listed are close to maximum when using Lake City brass I have a friend that has used IMR-3031 for over 30 years with 168 SMK's. I only use extruded powders, you can double this list if you add ball powders. Lake City or other military brass needs a full 2.0 grain reduction in powder charges. Military brass averages close to 180 grains empty and unprimed. Commercial .308 runs closer to 160 grains empty depending on brand and lot number. Weigh your empty cases to discover where you stand in this window of variables. |
|
Quoted:
So I have a friend with an AR10 and Ruger scout rifle wanting me to help with some loads never loaded 308 before was looking for some powder recommendations for these guns just curious what your using gonna work up loads for both guns with Hornady 168 a-max and bthp bullets. I'm not new to reloading been doing it for years with handgun and 223 and 6.8 just looking for some input thanks. What are the barrel lengths? Awww never mind, either XBR8208 or IMR 4895 |
|
Quoted:
With 168 grain SMK's and Lake City brass I have used; N-140 - 41.5 grains N-150 - 42.0 grains Varget - 42.0 grains RE-15 - 41.5 grains IMR-4064 - 41.5 grains IMR-4895 - 40.5 grains H-4895 - 40.0 grains All loads listed are close to maximum when using Lake City brass I have a friend that has used IMR-3031 for over 30 years with 168 SMK's. I only use extruded powders, you can double this list if you add ball powders. Lake City or other military brass needs a full 2.0 grain reduction in powder charges. Military brass averages close to 180 grains empty and unprimed. Commercial .308 runs closer to 160 grains empty depending on brand and lot number. Weigh your empty cases to discover where you stand in this window of variables. Note the range of optimal loads listed here by borderpatrol. That about says it all for .308 and "conventional" accuracy loads in the 168. Of course each rifle is different barrel lengths, gas systems etc but I'll go out on a limb and say this is the range most shooters find, with some variation expected of course. Also, "back in the day", IMR 3031 was a go to powder for much of the match shooting applications. It still will work well. Have fun and enjoy. |
|
If I were loading for an AR10 it would not be a Hornady Amax...ouch. You can pick up some quality 150 grain bullets
for .20 a piece if you buy 1000. Now that's not to say you can't work up a different load in 168 but unless you have one of those trees that produce dollar bills, you should buy some bulk bullets. Check out Wideners. |
|
Quoted:
If I were loading for an AR10 it would not be a Hornady Amax...ouch. You can pick up some quality 150 grain bullets for .20 a piece if you buy 1000. Now that's not to say you can't work up a different load in 168 but unless you have one of those trees that produce dollar bills, you should buy some bulk bullets. Check out Wideners. This is good advice if you are interested in economy not accuracy. Nosler 155 and 168 grain Custom Competition match bullets are widely available for $231.00 plus shipping per 1000. Hornady 168's are around $260.00 per 1000 (10 x 100) plus shipping. Both will produce under 1" groups at 100 yards from quality rifles off a bench. Even Sierra's excellent .30 match bullets at $310.00 per 1000 plus shipping is a better investment than .20 cent full metal jackets. Life is too short to shoot inaccurate ammo. If I'm going to spend my limited time on this earth making ammo, I want it to be the best I can make. |
|
Quoted:
This is good advice if you are interested in economy not accuracy. Nosler 155 and 168 grain Custom Competition match bullets are widely available for $231.00 plus shipping per 1000. Hornady 168's are around $260.00 per 1000 (10 x 100) plus shipping. Both will produce under 1" groups at 100 yards from quality rifles off a bench. Even Sierra's excellent .30 match bullets at $310.00 per 1000 plus shipping is a better investment than .20 cent full metal jackets. Life is too short to shoot inaccurate ammo. If I'm going to spend my limited time on this earth making ammo, I want it to be the best I can make. Quoted:
Quoted:
If I were loading for an AR10 it would not be a Hornady Amax...ouch. You can pick up some quality 150 grain bullets for .20 a piece if you buy 1000. Now that's not to say you can't work up a different load in 168 but unless you have one of those trees that produce dollar bills, you should buy some bulk bullets. Check out Wideners. This is good advice if you are interested in economy not accuracy. Nosler 155 and 168 grain Custom Competition match bullets are widely available for $231.00 plus shipping per 1000. Hornady 168's are around $260.00 per 1000 (10 x 100) plus shipping. Both will produce under 1" groups at 100 yards from quality rifles off a bench. Even Sierra's excellent .30 match bullets at $310.00 per 1000 plus shipping is a better investment than .20 cent full metal jackets. Life is too short to shoot inaccurate ammo. If I'm going to spend my limited time on this earth making ammo, I want it to be the best I can make. We are talking about an AR10 here. Of the most important factors in creating an accurate round, those are unattainable in a semi-auto. No neck sizing and magazine restrictions on OAL. Trying to keep things in perspective here. That said, I can't find any Amax bullets for .26 but they are cheaper than I thought they were. |
|
Quoted:
We are talking about an AR10 here. Of the most important factors in creating an accurate round, those are unattainable in a semi-auto. No neck sizing and magazine restrictions on OAL. Trying to keep things in perspective here. That said, I can't find any Amax bullets for .26 but they are cheaper than I thought they were. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
If I were loading for an AR10 it would not be a Hornady Amax...ouch. You can pick up some quality 150 grain bullets for .20 a piece if you buy 1000. Now that's not to say you can't work up a different load in 168 but unless you have one of those trees that produce dollar bills, you should buy some bulk bullets. Check out Wideners. This is good advice if you are interested in economy not accuracy. Nosler 155 and 168 grain Custom Competition match bullets are widely available for $231.00 plus shipping per 1000. Hornady 168's are around $260.00 per 1000 (10 x 100) plus shipping. Both will produce under 1" groups at 100 yards from quality rifles off a bench. Even Sierra's excellent .30 match bullets at $310.00 per 1000 plus shipping is a better investment than .20 cent full metal jackets. Life is too short to shoot inaccurate ammo. If I'm going to spend my limited time on this earth making ammo, I want it to be the best I can make. We are talking about an AR10 here. Of the most important factors in creating an accurate round, those are unattainable in a semi-auto. No neck sizing and magazine restrictions on OAL. Trying to keep things in perspective here. That said, I can't find any Amax bullets for .26 but they are cheaper than I thought they were. Powder Valley and ManVentureOutpost had Hornady and Nosler 1000 bullet box 168's in stock within the last week, PV has Sierra .308 Match Kings (155,168, 175 & 180's) in 500 and 100 bullet boxes. $26.50 was the price + shipping for Hornady's 168. AR-10's are hammers with good ammo. Don't underestimate their accuracy potential. I own two that will group under an inch (five rounds) @ 100 yards when fired from front and rear sand bags. Excellent accuracy can be found in any sound rifle using full length resizing and standard overall lengths. The only cases I neck size only are 6mmBR and 6.5x47 mm bench guns. |
|
Quoted:
That's not really helpful. I'll bet 90% of people that reload also reload for friends and family. Now shooting reloads from an unknown source is another story. Quoted:
Quoted:
PSA - Never let anyone shoot your reloads. Never shoot anyone else's reloads. That is all. That's not really helpful. I'll bet 90% of people that reload also reload for friends and family. Now shooting reloads from an unknown source is another story. I think it fits this scenario perfectly. He has been asked to develop loads for someone else's firearms. They are not even his guns. I wonder what the legal liabilities will be if either the cartridge or firearm were to disassemble itself. We see reports on here all the time of this, even with factory ammo. Your estimate 90% of reloads being used this way does not mitigate the risks so much as exemplify the issue. Presumably, he will be loading a bunch then turning them over to his "friend" to shoot. There's probably a legal issue about giving/selling reloads, too. Besides that, 90% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Still, it was meant as a PSA. You are free to do with the information as you please. Ever the curmudgeon, Trollslayer |
|
I agree that IMR 4895 and Varget are great powders for 308. IMR 4064 is decent and more available than the other two but I haven't found a load as good in my rifles.
Also, when getting load data for 308 make sure you know what brass is being used. Weight is all over the place with Winchester brass being the lightest and FC being the heaviest. The same powder charge will behave different with each headstamp. If you are using FC or Nato marked cases, start lower than you would with commercial. |
Armory Sponsor