Best powder for .308 win

J

JCL

New member
My son asked me to load some .308 for him. I plan to use either 165 or 180 Gr bullets. I have quite a bit of H380 on hand and loaded few rounds to try out some different bullets but want try and work up good load for him. It will used to hunt but I would like moa type of load.
 
I like 165 grn for the 308. I have never used H-380, maybe it's fine. Most of the medium to slightly faster powders are common with the 308, Varget, TAC, 4895 to name a few.
 
Agreed Varget is very good in the 308. R-15 is also.

If you don't have those, 4064 or 4895.

I love TAC, but only use it in my 223s right now....
 
The new AR Comp powder is very good for .308 but all the above mentioned plus a few more such as 4895 will work well too.
 
A powder I've used which has been forgotten about and left on the shelf during these times of powder being difficult to get is IMR 4320. It works well in 243 Win., .308, and 30.06. And it about the same as Varget with much better availability.
 
Originally Posted By: crow sniperVarget or reloader 15

+1 - I use them in reverse order as RE 15 works a tad better in my .308 for 168's gr HPBT's.
 
+1 on varget as a go to but if you can find it try Vit 150 more consistent fps than varget. In my experiencc H380 will not get you were you want with heavy bullets in .308 cartridge. Just my experience.
 
Originally Posted By: svt tacticalVarget will be more consitant from season to season with no worries of tempature.

I am in no way saying you are wrong, but I think the whole temp. sensitivity has been blown way out of proportion, on several levels.

Dial your gun in under the same conditions for which it will be used, and the "problem" goes away.

That said, some powders that claim to be insensitive are often more so than what they tell you. While others making no such claim, often work consistently under all but the most extreme conditions.

Every year here we have temp swings from 90-95° down to -20°. Sometimes more. If you dial your rifle in at one extreme or the other, chances are it isn't going hit the exact same POI, regardless of what the powder label reads. When it's cold out, the POI gonna is be lower. That is a given. Unless you dial it in under said cold conditions.

I also often see many who live in states worrying about temp. sensitivity where it never gets cold enough to matter that much, on a hunting rifle. In many cases it is a non-issue, but somebody always decides to make it one.

I'm not saying the "problem" doesn't exist. But it can be cured. And it is not as big of a deal as most make it out to be, IMO.

There are old timers who read this kinda $hit and laugh at it, because they have never used the new "super powders", and have stacked up piles of critters in their time.

JMO......
 
To a point I agree on the seasonal temperature thing. I haven't experienced it shooting from 0* - 100* with most powders.

Where I do think it comes into play is how hot you shoot the gun. When popping colony varmints on a hot day, I have seen some popped primers when the temps were searing. I didn't see that with a powder like Varget for instance.

Now, without knowing/remembering what the internal pressure was for each load, I have no way of referencing which was a high pressure load, etc. so there could have been various variables. I'm just saying I saw it was the likes of a BL-C(2) and not a Varget, which for all intensive purposes in the .223, should have somewhat similar pressure numbers. (Per Hodgdon's site, I have no way of actually testing it.)

As for the topic I have seen H4895, RL15 and Varget all work well in the .308
 
R-15 is a tad faster. Accuracy is a draw, IMO. For L /R target work, these are the only 2 powders my heavy weight 308 ever burns.

My hunting rig digests 4895 and shoots tiny groups. So tiny I never bothered trying anything else, IIRC.......
 
I shot nothing but H4895 in mine and I was running 168 bthp. Never looked back. We have big temp swings here to and never noticed it with varget or h4895
 
Big believer in RL15. I have burned at least 30 pounds of Varget in various 308s, but it doesn't perform as well for me as does RL15.

I use TAC for blaster loads, because I bought a whole lotta that powder when it was really cheap about 8 years ago or so. I'm down to my last 8# jug, and since it is now the same price as RL15, I won't be buying it anymore.
 
For my .308, been loading it for 20+ years, I use 165 gr bullet and BL-c2. Great to load and easy to work with...and great accuracy in my rifle, my son's rifle and my nephew's.
 
Varget is very good, but in mine RL 15 was just a tad better. Each gun likes what it likes. I still use Varget because it is sooooo versatile. From my .223 to the 30-06 it is my go to powder.

Tom
 
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