.308 INFO

[Bill Norris]

Wanted to ask if anybody had tried CFE-223 or IMR 8208 in .308 with 168 -169 gr. bullets and what the accuracy is/was ?

 

[lb-ft]

IMR 8208 XBR Performs Well in .308 Win Testing with 155s « Daily Bulletin

We have a Palma/Tactical project gun in the works built with an Eliseo chassis, Borden action, and one of Krieger's very first 5R barrels. Initial load testing with Hodgdon Varget showed excellent accuracy potential, but we weren't achieving the velocity we hoped to get from the 30 medium-Palma-c...

bulletin.accurateshooter.com

Not precisely what you’re looking for but a very informative article.

8208 is superb. Even if it’s not tops in velocity with 168s, I don’t think you’ll give up much to RL15, 4064 or others. The precision should be there

If you’ve got it, try it.

 

[Straightshooter1]

Wanted to ask if anybody had tried CFE-223 or IMR 8208 in .308 with 168 -169 gr. bullets and what the accuracy is/was ?

It's been quite a while since I tried CFE-223, like ~6 yrs, in my 20" factory .308 RPR. Not only a factory barrel, I was also before I made improvements in my reloading process as I was using a Lee balance beam scale and not doing things like annealing to get consistent shoulder bumps. With all that, I eventually did find a load that worked well. Being in Arizona, I just didn't like its temperature sensitivity. After using up the pound of it that I had, I never looked back to it as there were so many other powders that did as well or better with much less sensitivity.

Here's my QL data that I saved for it:

 

[JB10]

Yes i tried it about 6 years ago with 168gr hornadys and sierras. It was ok but i never messed with it enough to find a great load. I changed to imr 4064 and brother in law changed to varget.

 

[Pyscodog]

I shot 168 SMK's and CFE223 in my new to me 308 today, the results were bad enough that I won't be using it again. Probably try 4064 or Varget the next time out. It could be gun related but doubtful as the rifle doesn't look like its been shot enough to wear out the barrel. I was on the top end of the load. That could have been part of the problem pushing the 168 SMK's a little harder than they like, but next time out I'm going back to a powder that has always worked before in other 308 rifles.

 

[Kurz]

A shooting buddy and I used to participate in team side matches before or after some PRS matches. Rifles were all .308 Win., 30" barrels limited to 175 gr. or under bullet weights. 1,000 yards fixed distance for small group. Bipods were used by everyone.

We did a lot of testing with both bullets and powders along with primers occasionally. I've always been a fan of IMR-3031 for this cartridge until we tested some IMR-8208 XBR. Combined with Berger 175gr. LR VLD bullets, our consistency improved to the point we usually won those team matches.

Enjoy!

 

[ebb]

Man i bet your buddy is pissed that you let the cat out of the bag and ruined his cherry picken!!!

 

[NZ_Fclass]

A helpful fellow on this forum recommended 8208 to me. With 155g it shot really well. Unfortunately, I cant get enough for a season's shooting, so back to Varget - but the load (44.1?) was a gnat's quicker that my Varget load at 600, with good SD's. I never got my head round CFE223, except in the Grendel, where it was a bit slow.

 

[Left Hand Stan]

The 308 Win. I shoot is a Tikka CTR with a 20" tube.

It absolutely loves CFE223 with a 168 Gold Dot (a bonded bullet). <0.5" all day long at 100 meters. Better if I do my part. My best groups come between 47 and 48 grains of powder (Lee 2nd edition has a range of 46.6-49.0).

 

[rijndael]

I use CFE in my 308 with 175s. The accuracy is great at 100Y, actually, it's amazing. But my chrono numbers are terrible. I use it for < 500Y shooting on steel, so I don't worry about the chrono numbers.

 

[Kurz]

Man i bet your buddy is pissed that you let the cat out of the bag and ruined his cherry picken!!!

Nah! Usually after the 1st match everyone knew who was shooting what. No matter the loads or bullets, it's still the Indian which makes the difference.

 

[ScottMcc]

Cfe223 delivers 100-150 fps over other good 308 powders like varget and 8208, but I saw a lot of variation in extreme spread and standard deviation. One group of 5 would have single digit sd, and the next would be in the 30's. I started the thread below specifically on cfe223 a few months ago, asking out loud if anyone thought maybe a hotter primer would light it more consistently and improve the stats. Basically I could not get what I thought was needed - an es under 20 and sd under 10. Interestingly, a lot of people said not to worry about es, and reported excellent groups with es as high as 100 fps. That doesn't make sense to me. The sierra ballistics table shows a 168 smk at 2,700 will drop 42 inches more at 1,000 y than the same bullet at 2,800. Good F/tr groups are often around 12 inches at 1k, right? I'm guessing that requires an es well under 100 fps.

R700/308/168/CFE223 inconsistent results

I have a 308 r700 with 24" 5R barrel and the HS Precision fiberglass stock, all original except for timney 2 stage trigger. Roughly 1360 rounds total. I'm loading large primer lapua brass with 168 Berger hybrids and Vld's with 46.5-47.5 grains of cfe223. By the books that is barely a starting...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[SecondsCount]

I picked up an FN Patrol in 308 a few years back. Since I had just finished loading 223, I had some 8208 in the powder measure and threw 41 grains in behind a 155 Berger.

At the range I used the load to zero and shot a 0.6 MOA group. A few weeks later I took that load out to 1000 yards for the fun of it. I didn't have my chrono but the load was consistent at that distance.

 

[JBT47]

Some say IMR 8208 XBR shoots great in .308 and seems to be somewhat temp insensitive. CFE is know to be temp sensitive.

 

[Ray123]

I tried CFE 223 some years back ...with 155 TMK, and 168 gr TMK. Used the older Hodgdons Anual Manual max that day to see whst was possible, because it's supposed to be speedy. The 155 were, 3050 fps in 27" Schlein match left in the sun a hot summer day they were well over 3100 fps...they kept grouping 3 in one and 2 above. Switching to the 168s they were a little over 2900 fps, but seemed a little worse, if no better, with the same grouping pattern.. Quit the test and never loaded it in 308 again...that's my experience with it...and I try everything even RL26 under the heavys, to Trail Boss for accurate subs with 175 gr 12 twist...at 50 yards...quiet in a 30" 8 twist and accurate there too.

 

[Gargoyle]

I've loaded the following bullets:

155gr Amax
168gr Amax
150gr Horn BTSP
150gr Horn BTHP
Sierra 150gr Pro Hunter
Sierra 168gr SMK
Sierra 175gr SMK

In the following brass:

Lapua
Prvi Partizan
Federal
Winchester
Lake City

With the following powders:

Varget
H4895
IMR4895 (After H4895 went MIA)
IMR3031 (When 8208XBR was MIA)
RL-15
RL-17
LeverEvolution
IMR4166
AA2520

With CCI 34 & WLR primers I found IMR3031 to be a no drama, low SD, high velocity powder for 150-168gr bullets. Surprisingly temperature stable. H4895 as well, but IMR 4895 gets a bit more velocity with 1gr more powder over the stopping point of H4895. Varget has always been good, ,but not terrific in my 308s. AA2520 is temperature sensitive, like 80-100fps difference in the hotter temps, but that powder is F'N accurate! I just don't sing it full praise because of the temp sensitivity.

Me & 308 WIN: IMR4895, IMR3031, and AA2520 for accuracy with higher velocity.