392heminut Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I've been reloading for .223 for years, and use H335 for that caliber. I like the way it meters so consistently through my Dillon machine. My wife and son got me a DPMS LR308 for Christmas and I just got everything to set my Dillon RL550 to reload for it. A friend of mine who works at White Sands got me about 1100 rnds. of LC 7.62 brass so I'm about ready to get started reloading it. I intend to load bullets in the 150 gr. range for general use and occasionally some 165-168 gr. bullets from time to time. I would like to get some feedback on some powders that meter good and work good in the .308 with these bullet weights. What are you guys that load a lot of .308 using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKT1106 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 BLC-2 & Benchmark are good for 308and meter well. Varget is a favorite but has some trouble with the Dillon powder due to its length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv Z Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I use IMR-4895. It's pretty much the standard for M-14's and most autoloaders. I use it in LR 308 and my M1A. No problems metering on a 550 with the larger case neck. 223 doesn't work as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandro Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 For me, Varget was the most accurate using 155gr, 168, and 175gr bullets. All match bullets. Great Powder for 223 if you are loading match bullets as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I prefer RL15. I tried Varget in my Remington 700 and couldn't get a group better than 0.75", but RL15 did the trick. However, Varget worked perfectly in my PGWDTI Coyote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
392heminut Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 I'm kind of staying away from the stick powders, I had some real consistency problems with IMR 4895 in my Dillon powder measure. The H335 meters like water so I've stuck with it for .223. The R15 is a ball powder so it should meter pretty consistent, and I have never had any experience with Varget or BLC-2 so I don't know what type of powders they are or how well they would run through the Dillon powder measure. Has anybody here had any experience with the pulldown powders Wideners sells? Specifically the 846 powder? It's out of stock right now, but they have it periodically and at a pretty decent price. Also, H335 can be used in .308 and if anyone has experience with it in .308 I would like to hear about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv Z Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Again, I have no problems metering IMR-4895 in a 550 for .308. I used it for .223 and had bridging problems as well with Varget. You can load them for .223, but you have to take your time. I switched to TAC for .223 and can't tell the difference in shooting between it and Varget. Great powder, meters great. I will be trying it for .308 also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powder Finger Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I'm kind of staying away from the stick powders, I had some real consistency problems with IMR 4895 in my Dillon powder measure. The H335 meters like water so I've stuck with it for .223. The R15 is a ball powder so it should meter pretty consistent, and I have never had any experience with Varget or BLC-2 so I don't know what type of powders they are or how well they would run through the Dillon powder measure. Has anybody here had any experience with the pulldown powders Wideners sells? Specifically the 846 powder? It's out of stock right now, but they have it periodically and at a pretty decent price. Also, H335 can be used in .308 and if anyone has experience with it in .308 I would like to hear about it. Reloader15 is a stick powder, blc2 is ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
392heminut Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Reloader15 is a stick powder, blc2 is ball. I wonder where I got the idea that R15 was a ball powder! Thanks for the correction on that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron M Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I shoot mainly varget with the bullet weight range that you are talking about and have had no problems. I am shooting .3"-.4" 5 shot groups at 100M with both 155gr Palma SMK's and 175gr SMK's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwx40x40 Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Speaking of ball powders , anyone ever use AA2230 in 308 with 155 / 168 MK's? I use this a lot in 223 and wondered if how it would do in 308. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
392heminut Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 I picked up a pound of Varget from the local gun shop today. I'll give that a try and also see how the H335 works too since I have it on hand. Thanks for all the input people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coleman Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 http://www.hi-techammo.com/ Has the pull down powders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiggerJJ Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 The 335 is kinda fast unless you are using lightweights- 125-135gn. Varget is really hard to beat for the mid-heavies... JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constable79 Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 I prefer RL15. I tried Varget in my Remington 700 and couldn't get a group better than 0.75", but RL15 did the trick. However, Varget worked perfectly in my PGWDTI Coyote. If you like RL-15 (I use it in my 7mm-08) give MR-2000 a try. Meters much better with the added benefit of a slight velocity increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RePete Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 I prefer RL15. I tried Varget in my Remington 700 and couldn't get a group better than 0.75", but RL15 did the trick. However, Varget worked perfectly in my PGWDTI Coyote. If you like RL-15 (I use it in my 7mm-08) give MR-2000 a try. Meters much better with the added benefit of a slight velocity increase. Thanks, but I don't worry about metering, I weigh every load using a Chargemaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
392heminut Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 Well, picked up some Varget from the local gun shop and loaded about 150 rnds. In spite of it being a stick powder it seems to meter okay in my Dillon. I shot one mag full at the range the other day to check for function and signs of high pressure. Everything looks good, now I just need some time to go out and put the loads over the chrony and on a target to see how the grouping is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) I use IMR-4895. It's pretty much the standard for M-14's and most autoloaders. I use the newer Hodgdon variant of the same powder - H4895. It's more temperature stable. You need to distinguish between reloading .308 for a precision bolt action and for a semi-auto. Powders like Varget and RL-15 are very good but most loads stated are for a bolt action. Varget does not meter well in most progressive presses and neither of these powders will produce as much velocity as powders like 4895 or even the new CFE223. I load 155gr SMK Palma's over 45.5gr of H4895 for my 20" tactical bolt action rifle and have as good or a better ballistic curve than 175gr Match ammo in a 26" barrel. And despite the lighter bullet, the windage is no worse. Bottom line, don't pick a powder and a load without being sure that it's appropriate to the kind of gun you have and the kind of shooting you are doing. A whole lot of loads for .308 are target loads designed for long barrel bolt action rifles. They will NOT perform the same in a semi-auto. Edited July 10, 2012 by Graham Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landshark45 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) I use IMR-4895. It's pretty much the standard for M-14's and most autoloaders. I use the newer Hodgdon variant of the same powder - H4895. It's more temperature stable. You need to distinguish between reloading .308 for a precision bolt action and for a semi-auto. Powders like Varget and RL-15 are very good but most loads stated are for a bolt action. Varget does not meter well in most progressive presses and neither of these powders will produce as much velocity as powders like 4895 or even the new CFE223. I load 155gr SMK Palma's over 45.5gr of H4895 for my 20" tactical bolt action rifle and have as good or a better ballistic curve than 175gr Match ammo in a 26" barrel. And despite the lighter bullet, the windage is no worse. Bottom line, don't pick a powder and a load without being sure that it's appropriate to the kind of gun you have and the kind of shooting you are doing. A whole lot of loads for .308 are target loads designed for long barrel bolt action rifles. They will NOT perform the same in a semi-auto. Graham what powder would you suggest using for a 26" .308 pushing 175gr sierras? Or would the Palma 155s be a better choice. Looking for minimal wind drift. Thanks Edit for this. & graham would you have different choices based on a proggressive vs single stage -( individualy checked powder loads)? Edited July 12, 2012 by landshark45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 You might want to try the new Hornady 178gr HPBT over RL15. The bullet has a wicked high BC and is reported to work extremely well with Reloader. If you work up your loads using the single stage and take the time to find a sweet spot in the load, then using a progressive press with a dispenser will usually work pretty well because minor variations in powder weight won't have much effect. Don't forget, you can still load one at a time on a progressive in much the same way as you would on a turret. The advantage to the 155gr Palma is that you can get a lot more velocity out of it which makes up for a slightly lower BC. But while the 155's may be able to match the 175's they won't match the 178's - particularly out of the longer barrel. Your mileage may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landshark45 Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Thanks going to pick up some RL15 right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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