308 reload

[joshb]

I remember "some guys" figured it out a few years ago. I think the Alasks bush man has it right on the amounts. I'm positive it was 4064, cause I loaded a lot of it.

 

[Alaska Bush Man]

I remember "some guys" figured it out a few years ago. I think the Alasks bush man has it right on the amounts. I'm positive it was 4064, cause I loaded a lot of it.

Just a tad difference in m118LR (mk316) and Fed GMM
Being the case capacity the FC Military case vs the Fed GM should be a tad difference in pressure. Same primer used, same bullet used, IMR 4064 used in both cases......41.8 to 42.0 with 175gr MK depending on what lot of Ammo. I use the 42.8 or 43.0 load with the 168gr Berger Classic as my hunting load in LCLR 98 brass with Fed 210M primers, which closely duplicates the M852 Match load of 42.0 of IMR 4895. In my SPS 20" has a 1-12 twist so the only 175gr grain for me is the Berger 175gr OTM Tactical. Suggest for Non Reloaders the American Eagle 168 OTM load which matches the M852 load of 2550 FPS in the M1A/M14.

 

[Ggmac]

Janes infantry weapons lists the powder and bullet and its intent . Unfortunately my most handy copy is from 1976

 

[284winner]

44 grains of Varget sounds like a lot! The best answer would be to pull one and weigh the charge. I have read before, though, that most factory loads don't use the powders we can get.

Thinking the same thing. More like 42 grains IF it was Varget. I too believe federal uses powders that we as reloaders cannot aquire.

 

[Straightshooter1]

I have several hundred Federal Premium Gold Medal Match .308 cases (from when I loaned someone my 308 to shoot in a match and he gave me all the cases (not to mention a WHOLE BUNCH of Hornady Match brass once fired in LEO rifles) , so I'm thinking about loading up a bunch of Sierra 168 TMKs that I have a bunch of, with FED GM 210M primers and am trying to figure out what powder to use (to start with and, hopefully, not be reinventing the wheel). From doing some QL research and from reading this forum it sure looks like there are a LOT of different powders that will work----some of which I think I can sorta "afford" to use. But things being as they are, I would prefer to either use some kind of powder that is pretty readily available or maybe some of the powder that I have on hand in reasonable quantities (seeing as how this 308 load would be for just "screwing around" shooting). Still, I am a fairly serious hand loader and match shooter who pretty much expects to be able to develop a load for whatever from a 6mm BR to a .284 Win that shoots MAX 3.4 MOA (or less, especially with the 6mm BR) out to 300 or 400 yards and would pretty much hope to be able to do that with this 308 project. I would like to get my pretty much stock Savage with a TOMB system, Choate Machine stock on it and a Rifle Basix Trigger to shoot to that standard. So, I ask the group----DOABLE? Or am I chasing unicorns? I DO also have a Kreiger barreled, aftermarket trigger, PT & G bolt, LRI accurized REM 700 in an HS Precision stock that I'd like to shoot, too. Of ALL the powders that seem to produce velocities in the so called "velocity sweet spot", which one should I pretty much lean on and do some testing with provided that I either have it or can get some? ANY IDEAS? I'm NOT particularly trying to "duplicate" the FEDERAL PREMIUM stuff, just trying to get acceptable accuracy!

OK..brain trust...point me in the right direction here, please!

Thanks in Advance!

I shoot and reload my .308 a lot and I've got 4 powders I have and like that do well for me (though there are other powders that are also known to do well). My favorite powder for my .308 in order of how I like them are: AR-Comp, IMR-4064, H-4895 and Varget. These all work really well for me with my Sierra 168's with a velocity at around 2670 fps out of my Krieger barrels. I often use my Federal brass (currently having 10 firings on them) and find my Lapua brass delivers a little more consistency. Even with the Federal brass, I get sub .5 MOA's and I use Federal 210M primers also. In fact, am loading some up just now with IMR-4064.

 

[joshb]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

 

[Ned Ludd]

I have several hundred Federal Premium Gold Medal Match .308 cases (from when I loaned someone my 308 to shoot in a match and he gave me all the cases (not to mention a WHOLE BUNCH of Hornady Match brass once fired in LEO rifles) , so I'm thinking about loading up a bunch of Sierra 168 TMKs that I have a bunch of, with FED GM 210M primers and am trying to figure out what powder to use (to start with and, hopefully, not be reinventing the wheel). From doing some QL research and from reading this forum it sure looks like there are a LOT of different powders that will work----some of which I think I can sorta "afford" to use. But things being as they are, I would prefer to either use some kind of powder that is pretty readily available or maybe some of the powder that I have on hand in reasonable quantities (seeing as how this 308 load would be for just "screwing around" shooting). Still, I am a fairly serious hand loader and match shooter who pretty much expects to be able to develop a load for whatever from a 6mm BR to a .284 Win that shoots MAX 3.4 MOA (or less, especially with the 6mm BR) out to 300 or 400 yards and would pretty much hope to be able to do that with this 308 project. I would like to get my pretty much stock Savage with a TOMB system, Choate Machine stock on it and a Rifle Basix Trigger to shoot to that standard. So, I ask the group----DOABLE? Or am I chasing unicorns? I DO also have a Kreiger barreled, aftermarket trigger, PT & G bolt, LRI accurized REM 700 in an HS Precision stock that I'd like to shoot, too. Of ALL the powders that seem to produce velocities in the so called "velocity sweet spot", which one should I pretty much lean on and do some testing with provided that I either have it or can get some? ANY IDEAS? I'm NOT particularly trying to "duplicate" the FEDERAL PREMIUM stuff, just trying to get acceptable accuracy!

OK..brain trust...point me in the right direction here, please!

Thanks in Advance!

I did not see the specific discipline in which you shoot; maybe I missed it. For what you are trying to do, Varget, H4895, or N140 would probably be my choice. Part of that is due to them being in a good burn rate range for your purpose, the other part is that they are all minimally temperature-sensitive. Of these, you will likely have a much better chance of finding Varget or N140 than H4895, which has essentially been "unobtanium" for some time now.

There are a number of reasons shooters reload, as opposed to using commercial ammunition, regardless of how well it may shoot in a given rifle. First and foremost, one can choose and therefore know the pedigree of the components used, and tune the load to the rifle, not simply test a bunch of different types of commercial ammunition until one is found that shoots reasonably well. Equally important is that one can generally choose a bullet with a much higher BC than is typically available in commercial ammunition, as long as the rifle is throated appropriately. Finally, variance in the different aspects of load development and the load itself can be minimized to much better tolerances than is normally found in commercial ammunition. As an example of this, I've had a couple .308s that shot FGMM175s really, really well. Nonetheless, I've taken quite a few measurements with different Lot #s of FGMM175s, and the tolerances are nowhere near what I can produce for myself. On top of that, the 175 SMK, although a very good bullet design, does not have nearly the BC that is available in other newer bullet designs. So I would much rather choose the specific components I'm going to reload for competition and then tune them specifically to my rifle, as opposed to simply try and re-create a homemade version of commercial FGMM175 ammunition.

There is no good reason with your bullet/primer/brass choices and one of the above powders that you shouldn't be able to develop a load that shoots 0.5 MOA (or better). You mentioned a MAX precision value for your previous loads in other rifles of 3.4 MOA out to 400 yd in the above post. I'm guessing this is a typo because 3.4 MOA at 400 is not particularly good. I suspect with the setup you described, achieving a half minute load at 400 should be doable. There can always be the odd rifle out that may not like to tune in very easily with a certain powder or bullet, but I think the odds are quite good that you can develop a load that will fully satisfy your precision requirements using Varget or N140. Just keep your eyes open for them to become available at the major online vendors, as well as in the "Reloading Component" thread here at AS. With a little vigilance, you should be able to find one or the other in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[6bra1k]

i find it amazing that a powder that did not exsit was used in the fgmm 168.
what you buy over the counter is not always the same as what the mfg uses...
so while it was 4064 it likely was not the same as what was sold over the counter.

 

[Alaska Bush Man]

does anyone know the powder used in 308 matchking federal ammo with the 168gr bullet bthp
thanks

IMR 4064 same as M118LR
Data on shipping label is IMR 4064

 

[Deleted member fkimble@charter.net]

Over the years Federal Gold Medal Match has had at least 3 different powders loaded in it, 4064, R-15 and 4895. Back when we shot M1A's across the course, the army and marines used Federal Match, but the marines ammo was not what the army and commercial ammo used. powder wise. Don't remember who was using what at the time but the Marines contract called for one of the other powders.

Frank

 

[Alaska Bush Man]

Reloader 15 was dropped because of Temp variations in due to altitude changes in Afghanistan in M118LR. The original RL15 was a hot load and proved to hot for the M14 gas guns the load was reduced but eventually Alliant lost the contract to Federal. The only thing Federal did was changed the brass to mil spec from their GM line. This load provided excellent accuracy in gas and bolt guns and used IMR 4064 exclusively. It is a low node load
Alliant has tried to fix their powder issue with RL 15 with the new RL 15.5 powder. Attached is shipping data sheet of M118LR from 2009 that provides the load data of 41.745 of IMR 4064 with 175 MK.