load ideas for 308 AR platform

[XTR]

I've got a new to me 308AR with a 16" 1:10 tube with an adjustable gas block.

Looking for thoughts on loads for 165/168 ish bullets.

I'm thinking about the Berger 168 Hybrids because I load them now to mag length for my steel targets bolt gun, though I'm not adverse to getting some Sierra 165s SGKs to shoot either.

 

[Ned Ludd]

168 Hybrids over H4895 is an excellent combination in one of my F-TR bolt rifles. I can't imagine why it wouldn't work just as well in an AR platform. One difference I would envision is the COAL; that particular rifle was chambered with .085" freebore and at the optimal seating depth of .012" to .015" off the lands, the COAL is 2.916", which is probably much too long to feed from a magazine. Nonetheless, H4895 is a great powder with that bullet; plenty of juice to get the 168s moving, even with a shorter barrel and loaded to mag length.

At 2.916" COAL and a 30" barrel, 43.7 gr H4895 nets me approximately 2900 fps with the 168 Hybrids. I'd imagine if you started somewhere between 40.0 to 41.0 gr and worked up, you'd likely find a load that would suit your needs. Velocity won't be eye-opening; I have a 16" .308" barrel on a DTA SRS Covert bolt rifle that generates ~2560 fps with Black Hills 168 SMK commercial ammunition, and ~2590 fps with FGMM/168s.

 

[joshb]

I wouldn’t “waste” the Bergers on a gas gun. I’d shoot Sierras. Just me?
+2 for the 4895.

 

[Michael C]

What distance are you shooting at and just goofing around or competing? I shoot a 308AR at 1000 20” barrel with 185 Juggernaut and a 4.5x service rifle scope/sling. It does pretty well.

 

[XTR]

This is my first foray into large format ARs. This one is really for commando target practice and maybe banging steel out to 600 or so.

@joshb good point. I buy Berger 168s in bulk (though not even close to the volume of 20x bullets) to load for my tacticool 308 so they were my first thought. I may have to pick up some 165SGKs for this one.

 

[RegionRat]

All of the target style 168 MK clones will work well if they are designed for magazine length. So you have good options from 165 to 175 to chase, and right now they are all a little difficult to find, but not impossible.

You may even find some factory ammo in that class to try out and see if your rig likes them, then you can clone them. All the Federal Gold Medal Match 308 ammo is good, as well as the Black Hills. If you can find any, it may make decent reference ammo to have a baseline. Your reloads can be even better with some work.

Down this page, you will see some service rifle pet loads known to work well in the M-14 styles, just to give you some good M1A reference materials, even though they are old news.

http://radomski.us/njhp/cart_tech.htm

And another old article that is still good background.

http://www.zediker.com/downloads/m14.html

The 168 MK is fine up to 600, but if you want to go any farther, try looking at the 175s for a better distance performance.

 

[joshb]

This is my first foray into large format ARs. This one is really for commando target practice and maybe banging steel out to 600 or so.

@joshb good point. I buy Berger 168s in bulk (though not even close to the volume of 20x bullets) to load for my tacticool 308 so they were my first thought. I may have to pick up some 165SGKs for this one.
View attachment 1199296

I bought a GAP Armalite, years ago, and then a DPMS Sass. Both were accurate for what they were but nothing close to a good bolt gun. Bitten by the accuracy bug here, I traded the GAP for a Bat 6 br and gave the SASS to my adopted son. He’s ex Army and likes the platform. They’re fun guns for a while but I tired of them. I kept my M1As and AR15s for “blasting” and Armageddon. My focus remains on accurate bolt guns.
You should have fun with that one! Enjoy! You should get some 155s or 168s and load them with H4895. You should also get 1000 Lake City or Federal brass for it. They eat brass.

 

[RegionRat]

The MIL and SR crowd spent a lot of effort on the 308 gas gun platforms. The basic performance level to expect from any match guns in 308 are easy to grasp if you are familiar with service rifle competition.

The aiming black is roughly 6 MOA at 200, 300, and 600 yards, however the score rings move around a little. The X and 10 rings at 600 are often shown on this forum when folks screenshot the SilverMountain or ShotMarker targets.

A HighMaster means scores of 97%. The 10 ring is basically 2 MOA, and the X is one. That means that when SR folks were High Master, at MidRange matches, they kept 97% within 2 MOA and the other 3% within 3 MOA, in rough speaking terms.

So that is just a rough way of pointing out what a good quality M1A or AR10 platform is expected to produce in the hands of a good marksman using a sling. The match gun crowd, F-TR, and Palma crowd is another story, but you get the picture by now. From a rest, a competitive AR10 or Match Prepped M1A is expected to hold a 1 MOA 20 round string at 600 yards.

Good Luck and hold hard!

 

[Medic505]

I purchased a AR10 to shoot up the pile of brass I'll never shoot in competition again. Loaded up some 175 gr name brand bullets and discovered this.... it kicks like a mule. Promptly loaded some 155's and the little rifle shoots lights out and it's a pleasure to choot. Just food for thought.

 

[dolek]

^ I thought you said recoil does not bother you ?

 

[Bill Norris]

I've got a new to me 308AR with a 16" 1:10 tube with an adjustable gas block.

Looking for thoughts on loads for 165/168 ish bullets.

I'm thinking about the Berger 168 Hybrids because I load them now to mag length for my steel targets bolt gun, though I'm not adverse to getting some Sierra 165s SGKs to shoot either.

Might want to keep in mind seating depth may be a varible if you will be mag feeding the AR-10. App. 2.800 is close to max. length in most mags.

 

[Medic505]

Recoil doesn't bother me nearly as much as libtards do.

 

[mac86951]

16" steel and practice; I'd say look for some bulk 245-155s; but 168s do just fine too. Like others have mentioned, might as well enjoy the semi-auto nature and reduce the let round costs.

Same goes for powder, lots of good powders to use in 308; I'm happy with cfe-223, tac, w748, or (shhhh - WC846). Ball choices for easy metering on a powder measure.

4064, 4895, n140, n150 for those more carefully crafted handloads. I like that bulk 147s will do MOA or better with a little load work-up.

Mil-surp brass is cheap, but almost not worth the extra processing if you have other sources of brass. A piece of the fuzzy stick-on velcro over the brass deflector will reduce case dents and keep reloading easier too.

Otherwise, a progressive press, fast case trimmer like giraurd, and Hornady one-shot spray lube may be in your future.
-Mac

 

[lb-ft]

Don’t overlook 125 TNT if they work in AR10. They are a hoot in a bolt gun and super accurate & thrifty.

 

[mac86951]

Don’t overlook 125 TNT if they work in AR10. They are a hoot in a bolt gun and super accurate & thrifty.

Just received 200 of those today to load up and try. I'm eager to see how they work out.

-Mac

 

[Zero333]

My 308 semi-auto (M1A) loads...

41.5 or 42.5 gr IMR or H 4895 with 165-168 gr bullets.

42.5 gr W-748 with 165-168 bullets.

FC brass

Whatever primer with 4895 and magnum primer with the w-748

 

[XTR]

good point up there about enjoying it with less recoil. I think 155s may be a plan.

^ I thought you said recoil does not bother you ?

everyone has a threshold...

Don't believe it, I want to see someone sling up and do rapids with a McCann M1 Garand in 458 Winmag... heheheh

Do that and you are officially authorized to carry Jules wallet (Pulp Fiction reference)

 

[10XSHOOTER]

42.0 of IMR-4064 with a 168 or 175.