308 AR First time

[Baer45]

Is there a standard load for AR's? I shoot 175's with my bolt guns; do most people drop down in bullet weight for their ARs? Also, do the Dillon 308 dies crimp the round for an auto loader or do I need and xtra crimp die? This is my first time loading for an AR and I'm still new to reloading rifle rounds. Thanks for any help...

[ShooterSteve]

Baer, I have also recently picked up an AR10, and will start loading for it. Dillon does make a crimp for the 308. I believe you can get it individually or as part of a set. I shoot 175s out of my bolt gun, but I will probably drop down to a smaller bullet for the AR, as I will be loading more for mag length than out to reach the lands. It will be interesting and a good thing to learn what others are doing for their ARs. I do know that Scharch sells a pack of 500 processed brass, and 500 147gr fmj for around $200. I haven't done a lot of price comparison on that particular deal, but other Scharch products are very priced very competitevly. Good luck with your shooting.

[n5esrx]

For my DPMS LR308 24 in 1/10 heavy stainless barrel... I find that it likes 168 - 175 a lot better than 150s. With 150s my spread goes to @1.5 MOA at 100 yards. With the 168 AMAX and 168 SMK over 45.3 gr of Varget loaded to mag length, I have consistent sub MOA groups.

[SHinck82]

You just need to find what works best with yur rifle, my OBR loves Hornady 150gr FMJs and Berger 155.5 fullbore rounds, 175 SMK rounds shoot sub-moa barely and honestly they are't coming out fast enough. My 155.5s preform better in the wind than the heavier rounds due to the fact that they can just get to the target faster even at 800m

[ChristianHE]

Is there a standard load for AR's? I shoot 175's with my bolt guns; do most people drop down in bullet weight for their ARs? Also, do the Dillon 308 dies crimp the round for an auto loader or do I need and xtra crimp die? This is my first time loading for an AR and I'm still new to reloading rifle rounds. Thanks for any help...

I don't know of a standard AR load. Like the other people say, check as many different loads as you can, see what groups well. My 18.5" Fulton Armory 1 in 10 barrel does the best with 168 to 180 grain bullets, the Hornady, Nosler Custom Comp and Sierra HPBT's, A-Max's all group tightly.

MY standard load for it is: Hornady 168 HPBTs, 42 gr of Accurate 2520, CCI large rifle primers- for 3-gun matches any brass I have. For 600-800 yard fun I use Lapua brass (just got 100 count boxes for $62 at MidwayUSA!) These fly right about 2450-2475 fps. Sounds slow but it's very accurate.

I just tried a box of the new Hornady SUPERFORMANCE 168 A-Max last night- WOW They chrono'd at 2700 fps and above out of the same 18.5" barrel! The brass was beat up pretty good though- gouged on the base and has big deflector dents. Grouped excellently 8 shot group all touching at 100Y.

[bunsen27]

My two pet loads for my DPMS LR-308 with a 24" barrel are:

41.5gr IMR-4895 under a 168gr Nosler Competitoin in an LC case Win Lg primer (~2540 FPS)

43.5gr Varget under a 175gr Nosler Competition in an LC case Win lg primer (~2610 FPS)

Both are super accurate out of my rifle.

I determined these loads by selecting a 2-3gr powder charge range on the low end of the spectrum and then loaded 10 rounds of each 0.5gr increment. Firing two 5 round groups should give you a pretty good idea of when you reach an accuarcy node for your rifle. Once you locate a node if you want to refine your load in 0.1-.02gr increments is up to you.

One note on loading for the AR platform, unlike loading for the bolt gun it is highly reccomended that you FL size each piece of brass and not do neck size only. I personally use small base sizing dies as an extra precaution since most LC brass available commercially is machine gun fired. I prefer LC or Win brass since they are a bit tougher than Federal or Remington brass. If possible you might also consider installing an adjustable gas block. Most factory guns are WAY over gassed and have a tendency to eat brass quicker. YMMV

[Worriedman]

My Ar 10 likes Sierra 165 gr. Game King bullets, 43.5 gr. 748 and CCI LR primers.

[Greg in VA]

My knowledge of the AR-10 platform was that the lighter bullet weights caused cycling problems unless the weapon was built for a certain bullet weight range.

Greg in VA

[ken hebert]

My knowledge of the AR-10 platform was that the lighter bullet weights caused cycling problems unless the weapon was built for a certain bullet weight range.

Greg in VA

well, I'll tell you that my 20" DPMS runs the hell out of 110 vmax on 49g of 748, avg 3180fps. with no cycling problems.