Powders, What would your choice be for a 308/7.62 gas gun M1A/FNFAL

[Mark611]

What are your thoughts for the 147/150gn FMJ"s which powders are best? I have TAC, H335 and others, my DSA FAL will be here soon, I want to try some hand loads!

 

[joshb]

Best? That’s a little subjective. Look at your manual. I usually shoot 168 grain bullets but I’m starting to shoot 125s more as most of my range shooting is at 100 yards. I use Varget, IMR 4064, H4895 and IMR4895.

 

[nettle]

AA2520 and IMR 4064 in my M1A. In that order. 168 gr SMK

 

[precision1]

IMR 4064
Rl15
H4895
Varget
AA2015

 

[Mark611]

josh, I know the ? of best is subjective, it's about finding the right combo of powder and bullet, these DSA barrels are a 1&10 twist, just figured somebody would have a powder that would work well all around, my NM M1A has a 1&11 twist, the most accurate load I have for it is 42.5gns of A2495 under a 155gn SPMK, it's MOA at 100yds, I know the FAL is not going to shoot that tight, but I want it as good as I can make it, I generally do not shoot FMJ bullets, mainly match bullets, I'm also trying to keep from using bullets heavier than a 155gn, I also know the 1&10 twists generally like heavier bullets, that said, I have 3 different bullets at hand, 147gn X-Treem 150gn FMJ Hornady and the 150gn Sierra FMJ Game Kings to start off with

 

[fkimble@charter.net]

FMJ and accurate don't usually belong in the same sentence. A 1 n10 should handle 150s up to 190s easily. Powder? anything in the 4895 burn range should be very suitable, just need to find the sweet spot. Never had a FAL so it may have some quirks like the M1A op rod requiring a certain burn range.

Frank

 

[SeabeeKen]

A-2520 and TAC. 2520 shoots great in my M1A

 

[D-4297]

Might take a look at Berger 155's and VV-150 . It shouldn't be difficult to find a sweet spot with those .

 

[benchracer]

I would run Staball Match with the 150 FMJ's, especially for the FAL. It's a pretty close equivalent to VARGET, it's cheaper and more available, and it will run smoothly through a powder measure on a progressive or turret press. Older tech options like BLC2, CFE223, and Ramshot TAC will also work, but they are more temp sensitive.

If you have a match grade M1A, it might be worthwhile to load Sierra 155 Palma (2156) and either VV N140 or N150.

It's too bad that Alliant powders have become unavailable/expensive. AR-COMP was, by far, my favorite gas gun powder for AR's, FAL's, and M1A's.

 

[jpjulian]

I've mostly used IMR4895 in my M1A but have also used Varget, AA2520 and this past summer began to work up a load with N135. 41.5 of IMR4895 was my go-to load for years with Sierra 168's.

 

[ELR LVR]

4895
or
W-760
W-760 produced best grouping and consistency out to 1200 yds with heavies
4895 for anything under 168's or short 20 inch and under barrels
-------------------------------------
Tested in several AR-10 platforms and 1 Sig 716
-------------------------------------
I worked up some long range loads for several of my friends and arrived at those 2 powders
If one load didnt shoot best in one gun, the other load did

 

[Mark611]

Thanks for your feedback, guys, benchracer, that is the bullet that shoots best from my NM M1a, the 2156c. as for the FAL I'm going to start off with 42.5gn TAC and see what it does, Frank, I have several powders in the 4895 burn range, now the testing begins.

 

[Davers]

I use either Varget or WW-748 in reloading my .308 rifles.

 

[Fuj]

IMR-4064 stick powder, Win-748 ball powder. Stay away from Varget, mainly
because of how dirty it runs.

 

[mic2377]

Anyone of these medium burn rate powders will work fine. Unlike a M1A you can adjust the gas and the burn rate limitations to save the op rod don't apply.

I wouldn't worry too much about case prep or getting the exact load dialed in for shooting a FAL. They just aren't a very accurate rifle. Most seem to shoot best with 150 gr class bullets, at least the 2 DSA's that I had did. Anything that clones M80 NATO ball will be great.

Also don't use good cases for these, they beat and stretch the hell out of brass. I have fired LC brass out of a Criterion barreled AR-10 up to 10 firings without issue. This was not the case with the FAL, where I found the brass required much more sizing effort and had to be trimmed ALOT every single firing. I was only able to get 3-4 firings before I was concerned about case head separation.

I love FAL's, they are reliable and soft shooting rifles... But match rifles they are not!

 

[mic2377]

Also more expensive match bullets may or may not give you better accuracy. If you are willing to spend the $$$, the Sierra 2156 is a very good bullet for semi autos if all flavors. A surprisingly good cheap bullet for loads like this is the Hornady 150 gr FMJ-BT. I would try these over the really cheap bulk 147 gr projos (IE Armscor) as the quality/consistency of those are frequently ABYSMAL.

 

[Mark611]

Thanks, mic2377, I have a few thousand of the 2156c 155gn SPMK's my NM M1A loves them, I'll try them in the FAL, I'll watch my brass out of the FAL, I have new Starline cases to start off with!

 

[hpshooter]

N135 worked well with 168 SMK's in my M1-A when I was actively shooting Highpower.

 

[ISS]

the RVO-844, equivalent to 748 is what I shoot in both of my AR-10's. 308 and 358.
I bought a couple 8lb jugs of the RVO when they were $64 each shipped to my front door. They even had some load data on the label.

 

[Mike Samer]

N135 worked well with 168 SMK's in my M1-A when I was actively shooting Highpower.

Hpshooter, what velocity were you getting with your best N135 load? I've started testing my M1A with N135 and the Sierra 169s and am liking both the accuracy and speed.