Powder for a 308 Win

[willyp19]

What is the best overall powder for a 308? I plan on shooting bullets from 125gr to 165gr.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ARIZONA_F_CLASS]

Varget. Period!!!

 

[MNFinn]

Varget. Period!!!

Pretty much....though I've had great luck with IMR4895

 

[appst2]

You can't go wrong with RL15, H4895, or Varget.

 

[TonyR]

Varget and H4895 have done well for me if you have them. If you don't have them and can't find them, I have had good results with Vihta Vouri N540 and N550, and both of those do seem to be available through some of the on-line vendors.

 

[BaconFat]

Varget. Period!!!

If you can find it. Others that work well,

IMR 8208 XBR
VihtaVuori N135 & N140
Reloder 15

This is just a short list. I had real good results with N135 shooting 135gr Berger and Sierra bullets.

 

[Stubb]

IMR 8208 XBR and the 155's are a match

 

[Ltdshooter]

+1 on Varget but you should also consider / try TAC

 

[XTR]

Best is relative. There are many powders that work well in a 308Win. Varget is certainly good but there are lots of others that work. Varget has a burn rate and stability that makes it very good for what is traditionally considered heavy for a 308. The 155 to 175 class bullets. It is also really scarce right now. You might have a really hard time finding it.

I'm also not sure it's the best option for 125s. I experimented with 150s for F class a couple of yrs ago and started getting into compressed loads before I got to max velocities. Get yourself a good reloading manual (e.g., Lyman 49th) and experiment a bit.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

XTR makes extremely good points. As usual.

A good place to visit on-line is the Hodgdon website and look at their extensive loads database for some ideas on the lighter bullet weights in .308. As XTR noted, compressed loads seem to be common at lighter weights.

And "BEST" is completely subjective. Define "best". If you're looking for high velocity in a 125gr that would be IMR3031 followed by IMR 4895 and then Winchester 748 and so on.

It's going to depend more on what you can get versus what people think is "best." I would find out what is readily available in larger quantities so you have the same lot and then see if any of those powders are listed for .308 and are high in the velocity range compared to others. My thinking is for F-class, we look for higher velocities and go from there.

 

[2506]

I have always had great accuracy and velocity with IMR 4895 and that is what I use simply because I have gotten hold of MANY pounds of it in surplus military pull down. I had some given to me and bought more for a song. ;D I get the same results from it as I do new canister IMR 4895.

 

[savageshooter86]

Stay away from RL15. Very temp sensitive from my experience and a couple others shooters I know

 

[XTR]

Stay away from RL15. Very temp sensitive from my experience and a couple others shooters I know

There are a whole lot of people who have shot Re15 in 308s with great success, and a whole lot more (I believe the AMU included) use it in their ARs. I have read for yrs that it is more temperature sensitive than Varget, so if you are loading near max and you work up a load in 55 degree weather in the spring it can get pretty hot in the middle of summer, that said I've had Varget get hot and blow primers after being left in the truck for 2 hours in August.

Reloader 15 is a very good powder and a lot of people have used it to great effect. it is my understanding that the current powder in the LC118LR is Re15, I would not rule it out.

 

[savageshooter86]

It is an accurate powder. I shot some of my best groups with it but worked up in 65F weather in the morning, came back in the afternoon in 80+ temps and had issues. It was a mild load. But I did like it just didn't want to chance it. N140 and Varget are what I have now.

IMR 8208 is another good powder I tried. Just never got a full load worked all the way up but it showed potential

**OP whatever powder you can find that is listed for 30cal I would use it. But that is due to the shortage of components right now

 

[Fischer319]

I've tried H4895, IMR4895 and Varget. The top choice in my eyes is Varget. You have clean burn , not real temp sensitive even at 0 degrees. Have good results with my pet load at temps up to 95 degrees. What more could you ask for ?

 

[Steve Blair]

I've tried H4895, IMR4895 and Varget. The top choice in my eyes is Varget. You have clean burn , not real temp sensitive even at 0 degrees. Have good results with my pet load at temps up to 95 degrees. What more could you ask for ?

[br]
A source for quantities at a reasonable price?

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

I've tried H4895, IMR4895 and Varget. The top choice in my eyes is Varget. You have clean burn , not real temp sensitive even at 0 degrees. Have good results with my pet load at temps up to 95 degrees. What more could you ask for ?

[br]
A source for quantities at a reasonable price?

Agreed. I'm down to my last two 8lbs kegs.

 

[Steve Ladino]

I have had good luck with R-15 behind the 168's and IMR 4064 behind the 155's in my 12 twist (don't laugh) X7VH Marlin.

 

[mao0720]

Ive recently been testing LeveRevolution in 308 win with 155 Palma SMKs. I have found a couple good accuracy nodes one with decent velocity of 2910fps.

 

[Down South]

I've been playing with Vihtavuori N-150 with the 200 hybrids. So far, I really like it.