Loads for AR-10 with 150 pills,

[40X Guy]

I have a friend of mine who talked me into loading 300 pieces of .308 once fired Federal brass for his AR-10. What powder and charge should I use with 150 pills? I have not loaded for a gas .308 and just want a good all around load that is not going to punish the rifle. I also have on hand CCI BR-2's plus Federal 210 primers.

Frank

 

[Bradley Walker]

44 grains of R15 is a good load.

 

[spclark]

I'd suggest 44 grains RL15 or 8208XBR, 45 of Varget or N150. H4895 & the new ARComp are good too but I don't have suggested loads for those.

In any case I'd load a small number of rounds for trial before bothering with tens or hundreds, just to be safe.

 

[jonbearman]

I would also suggest very conservative loads . If you start at 44.0 of r-15 then you will never know if a lesser charge will get the job done right.This is the reason that armalite voids the warranty if you blow it up with hot reloads.Stay conservative and start at 41.5 grains and load 3 of each up to 44.0 grains.I try to keep lighter loads for mine and have had no parts break or malfunctions.If you look in the service rifle section of the newer hornady manuals for m1A loads which are more like what you seek.The gun is to damned expensive to take a chance for speed versus accuracy.

 

[spclark]

jonbearman makes a good point: better to be safe than sorry.

My suggested loads are based upon my experience loading for my Palma rifles and a SOCOM 16. They're "safe in MY rifles" but there's always the chance yours may need something less.

It's accuracy in the end that counts, not the fastest bullet to reach the target.

 

[40X Guy]

Thanks for the replies so far everyone! Anyone use IMR4895 in their AR-10's? I have a quantity of that I can use.

 

[Dans40X]

Seeking loads compatible w/ a piston/op rod gun to shoot thru your impingement rifle will ensure safe & reliable functioning for years to come.

41.5-43.5gr IMR 4895 w/147-175gr has worked in M1A's for 50+yrs.

 

[spclark]

Hodgdon's reloading data page suggests 42.6 grains IMR4895 with Nosler's 150 Ballistic Tip bullet (42.7 with their 150 E-Tip) as a starting load.

When I'm looking for initial load test suggested numbers - even with contributions from shooters here & elsewhere - I'll use their 'calculator' as a reference source.

http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp

 

[40X Guy]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I am going to start with the 42.6 as suggested by SPClark and Hodgdon, and load 5 at that charge, then 5 @ 42.9, then 5 @ 43.2 and finally 5 @ 43.5 which was suggested to me by a PM. I would think that one of the 4 will stand out with the IMR-4895.

Frank