125 grain Speer TNT varmint load for a 308 win

[450AK]

Hey Ron, my FN has a one in 12 twist.

 

[spencerhenry]

My load for 168gr bullets also uses imr 4895. that load shoots one ragged hole 5 shot groups in both rifles. i do not remember the twist on the 700, but the ar10 is 10.5.

 

[RonS]

Them and they say a 12T will stabilize the 125's...I have a 7.62x40WT bolt gun with a 12T that does very well [under 1MOA @ 100yds] with the 125's but with this cartridge my velocity is under 2400 fps out of a 20" barrel.

 

[A_Gamehog]

Do a Ladder test with IMR 8208 XBR it works great with light bullets in the 308.
Middle of the road load was my best accuracy no powder comes close to it for the 125-130's
Mine is a 10 twist and has never been hard to find a load from 110-150 grains. It's a fast powder for the caliber . Above 150 grain bullets I use a slower powder, R-15 and Varget. Don't count CFE223 out for heavy bullets.

 

[AckleymanII]

I tried some 125 grain TNTs Sunday with 50 grains of 748 and they didn't shoot well at all. They averaged around a inch and a half or slightly under. I need to play with them some more. The rifle shot very very well with 175 grain SMKs and 43 grains of Varget and 2.800" OAL. It shot many five shot groups that hovered around 5/8" center to center.

You tried one load of 50g and your gun did not like it, now you are making a judgment based on one powder charge, you got to be kidding me!

I have had a number of custom's with 10 Twists and Rem 700's, never seen one that would not shoot bug holes with a 125g with 748. Seat the bullets to touch the lands, use a mild primer such as a Fed 210. Start off at 48g and go up to 52g, stop if/when you see pressure, shoot 3 shot groups. Now, I was usually shooting 125g Sierra or a 125g Nosler, but shot 3 cans of the speers on jack rabbits out of a 700 sporter. The 125g Nosler accubond is my deer hunting bullet.

 

[450AK]

First off AckleymanII, I didn't place judgement on anything. I was getting the rifle broken in and just loaded up some rounds to do so. I wasn't worried about load development. I as I said in my post "I need to play with them some more". I believe I can get them to shoot well with the 748 it's just going to take a little work. The rifle shows great potential just from what I've seen do far with the with the 175's. Getting there is half the fun. She killed her first hog last week.

 

[AckleymanII]

I will add that the 125g Sierra is a very, very accurate bullet and deadly on large bucks. My last custom was a old ruger 77 tang safety with a 10T Douglas barrel on it, it shoot very tiny groups with the 125's. 748 is unbelievable in this case with 125-150g bullets. You simply work up an accurate load in 70-85g weather, then deer hunt in cooler weather.

We substitute load for a 130g ttsx, jump this one .050 at a minumum, and it also is very accurate.

All our rifles are 10T factory guns in this caliber including three custom barrels.

Accuracy is stellar when a standard 308 reamer is used with about .070 freebore, bug holes abound.

Some of the factory Remingtons have a country mile of freebore, I think Mil Spec barrels? These barrels can be more difficult to get the very tiny groups out of with the 125-130g bullets, and 110's have always been more difficult to tune for me.

 

[AckleymanII]

AK450, I have seen some guns like 48g some like 49, and some as high as 52g of 748, all using federal 210's.

Best of luck!

 

[spencerhenry]

46 grs IMR 4895 CCI BR2 in a WW case with either the 125 Nosler BT or the 125 Speer TNT is very accurate and will run 3000 fps out of my 21 1/2" Heart barrel Rem 700. I use the BT for deer and it is bang flop out to a little over 300 yards so far and have killed around 50 deer with it. I use the TNT on ground hogs and it makes a mess out of them.

I second IMR 4895. Two of my 308's shoot a very similar load into sub 1/2 moa.

 

[Brians356]

450AK, what's your barrel length? It's easy in a 24" or longer barrel to push a 125 pill past the 125 TNT's max recommended velocity of 3100 fps. 50 grs of 748 should be ok ... and 3100 is undoubtedly conservative, but there it is.
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[GSPV]

I shoot the TNT in a 30 Major AR. 2600 FPS. It is a violent bullet. I love it.

 

[Lone Hunter]

First off AckleymanII, I didn't place judgement on anything. I was getting the rifle broken in and just loaded up some rounds to do so. I wasn't worried about load development. I as I said in my post "I need to play with them some more". I believe I can get them to shoot well with the 748 it's just going to take a little work. The rifle shows great potential just from what I've seen do far with the with the 175's. Getting there is half the fun. She killed her first hog last week.View attachment 981414

450AK, Now you know as well as everybody that Match Bullets don't kill good. They just pencil through.. See your pic above.. Pretty good size pencil too..My buddy has an FN like yours. Never shot it but like the way it feels. Those 125 TNT's work good out of a 300 blk too. That's my bullet for the deer in that cartridge. I like H4895 in the .308. Going to try IMR 8208 in it for the lighter bullets. I use the 8208 in the Grendel with very good results.. Try some 185 Berger Juggernauts out of it too. Good Luck and nice pencil holes.

 

[450AK]

Thanks for your replies guys!! I will definitely try everything you guys have mentioned. The 308 has been sitting in the safe because I've been on a 6.5 kick but I'm sure I'll revisit it shortly.

 

[Brians356]

FWIW the TNT is not a match bullet, it is a varmint bullet. But nearly everyone knows that.
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[Lone Hunter]

FWIW the TNT is not a match bullet, it is a varmint bullet. But nearly everyone knows that.
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Read his post what he shot the groundhog with. I don't believe it was a TNT but a 175 SMK. SMK's don't expand. Everybody knows that. Pretty good pencil holes from the SMK's that don't expand.LOL..

 

[Brians356]

Read his post what he shot the groundhog with. I don't believe it was a TNT but a 175 SMK. SMK's don't expand. Everybody knows that. Pretty good pencil holes from the SMK's that don't expand.LOL..

I wasn't referring to the groundhog, but thanks. As I said FWIW.
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[Lone Hunter]

My bad.. I thought you missed it with the 175's. That what I get for being the post Nazi.. I do like the TNT out of a 300 BLK too.

 

[Brians356]

My bad.. I thought you missed it with the 175's. That what I get for being the post Nazi.. I do like the TNT out of a 300 BLK too.

All good. Actually, TNTs are surprisingly accurate, rivaling some mass-produced "match" bullets. And, need I point out how inexpensive they are?
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[Nature Boy]

47g of H4895 with Speer 125g TNT was my prairie dog load that I shot through my Springfield M1A. Light recoil and very accurate out to 400 yards

 

[chevytruck_83]

What are the guys with the fn spr running for seating depth to tip or using one of the hornady tools. I realize reaching the lands with a factory chamber doesn’t typically happen. Especially when using a light for class bullet. Looking for a starting point to use to test the charges from 49-52 in .2 increments.