.308 Win powders

[RonS]

I'm hoping someone here can help. I'm looking for a powder that I can use in my 18" barreled 10T .308 which will give me a 100% burn inside the barrel without reducing my loads. If the muzzle is shaded in day light you can see the blast of excess powder burning off outside the barrel, to me this is a waste. I am currently using H4895, IMR 4895 and 8208 XBR with 155-200gr bullets and CCI 200 primers. Thanks

 

[K22]

IMR 4895 and H4895 are outstanding powders for the 308 regardless of barrel length.

However I have no idea about how much is burned in an 18" barrel.

 

[MrMajestic]

If we had your specifics we could enter them into QL but w/o I would hazard a guess that IMR3031 is what you are looking for.

 

[Shynloco]

IMR 4895 and H4895 are outstanding powders for the 308 regardless of barrel length.

However I have no idea about how much is burned in an 18" barrel.

+1. I've found that using either IMR4895 (old reliable powder), RE15 or Varget work best in my .308 Benchrest rifle. You'll need to test in ur particular rifle to find the best amount of each, but mine all are in the neighborhood of 42 gr (+ or -) for 100 yd shooting. Bullet seating is also critical as I've found that with the HPBT's I use (Sierras) a jump is in order rather than a jam.

Alex

 

[2506]

I don't think you will find what you are looking for. The 308 case is too large to get 100% burn with full velocity and it burn in 18" of barrel with any powder. I also mainly use IMR 4895 with my 308s because I got hold of many pounds of it that was pulled down military powder a number of years ago. It shoots just like canister IMR 4895 made today.

 

[RonS]

MrMajestic, what specifics do you need?

 

[Dgd6mm]

I ran QL with a .308, 155 Amax to 195 BTHP Match using IMR 3031 an oal of 2.90 that will fit in an Apha type 2 mag. 100% burn, this was my first guess, then I read Mr.Majestic's post, which I believe he is right. We could use more info.

 

[RonS]

Ok guys, I hope this is enough info, if I left something out please let me know. Does QuickLoads work with Apple computers?

coal - 2.859"
base to ogive - 2.147" .020" off L/G
bullet - 180gr Sie Game King
bullet length - 1.287"
primer - CCI 200
case - ADI
loads - 42.3gr H4895 @ 2475fps
- 44.5gr IMR4895 @ 2550fps
- 40.0gr IMR8208XBR @ 2375fps
gun - Savage 10FP
- 18" barrel 10T

 

[MrMajestic]

You missed two important inputs, case length and case H2O capacity. I plugged in my numbers which are very close to QL defaults and the 4895's do a pretty nice job with the 180's in an 18" tube. The bullet weight helps your cause quite a bit and if you shot 155's or lighter you would realize less efficiency. 3031 will give you 100% burn and H4895 will go 99.5% if you take the pressures up closer to SAAMI max which is 62K. 8208 looks to fast for your requirements and I would stick with 3031 or H4895 and let my groups decide! Another possibility is the 208 grain A-Max which would help you achieve your goal. I got 2450 fps with it from a 20" tube and Palma cases.
Can't answer your QL/Apple compatibility question.

 

[RonS]

MrMajestic, the case length is 2.005" and the H2O capacity is 52.5gr. Thanks for your help so far, I got lucky and found one pound of 3031 today. Both 4895's are on backorder at this gun shop but they did have a large variety of other powders and a lot of large pistol primers. They also have some CCI 41 primers for 5.56 loads, I am not familiar with these primers, any opinions about them. Should I purchase a box or two?

 

[jonbearman]

The 41's have a thicker cup.

 

[MrMajestic]

They are also Small Rifle primers and won't help your .308 unless you are using Lapua Palma cases. Your H2O capacity seems about 5 grains low. Check it again as sometimes air or case surface can mess up your readings. I have also heard of people mixing a percentage of Alcohol with the water to reduce surface tension.

 

[RonS]

I was just curious about the primers, I read that they were basically the same as the CCI 450's. My .308 cases are ADI brass, thought I got all the air out before weighted them. I will try again. I weighted three different cases filled with water, I'm sure I got all the air out this time and the average was 54.4gr of H2O.