Trail Boss in a 308

[harro]

G'day

I have been playing with Trail Boss in a 243 and now want to start using it in a 308.
My question is I don't really know how this Trail Boss works as a powder ?
Does it follow normal wisdom in that if you use the same weight of powder but reduce the projectile weight you will get a higher velocity ?
There is very little information about Trail Boss around ,and yes I have searched.Does anyone know about this ,or can you direct me to somewhere on the net where I can research this powder ?


harro

 

[brno308]

Go to "www.imrpower.com/trailboss.html" theres some info available.

 

[SteveNC]

Seems very safe and I have had fun with it. Speed varies by bullet weight in a straight line vs powder charge approximately. Drop bullet weight by 20% and speed goes up 20%.

 

[harro]

G'day


Thanks for the replies.
Trail Boss is great stuff, but very little is written about it's use with jacketed bullets and also different bullet weights.Thanks again.


harro

 

[kycamtrakker]

how did it work out for you in the 243???

 

[357Mag]

Harro -

Howdy !

I tried "Trailboss" in my Marlin M-336 XLR .35 Rem, when I waslooking for a good reduced load for use on 100yd paper targets.

I followed the website formula, to determine staring load, and worked carefully up from there.

My understanding is: one should be able to fill a case ( .35 Rem example ) and NOT blow the gun up.

My load ended up being 14.5gr Trailboss under Rem .35 calibre 150PSP, and Rem 9 1/2Mag.
* I have read where this load/charge wt is beyond max load listed for Trailboss w/ a bullet of this nominal wt.
I DK fer sher why a max load is listed ? Maybe ' cause that's what people have come to expect, when traditional smokeless
powders are used.

The 14.5gr charge was the most amount I could get in the case, under the seated bullet; and NOT compresss the charge.
**** With Trailboss... you DON'T want to compress the charge ( fracturing individual powder granuels is a no-no ).
AS my charge went up... my accuracy also got better. In my gun w/ my loads.... I basically could not get enough Trailboss into the case.

Have read that Trailboss is pretty much the only " smokeless " power, w/ pressure curve close to that of blackpowder.
So, Trailboss nigh-well "detonates" after the primer lights-off.

My Trailboss loads proved to be stupid accurate, when I dope the wind correctly. These reduced loads have little recoil and not much of a muzzle report. They are no doubt s-l-o-w...... which makes correct read of the condition absolutely critical.

Ths was my first outing w/ Trailboss, and I ended up going w/ IMR 4759 reduced loads ( unde rRem 150PSP ).
The IMR 4759 load has more " oomph" than the Trailboss load, but recoil is remarkably low ( one thing I wanted as an aid to my 100yd paper punching ) .

IMR 4759 and XR5744 are said to be "smokeless " alternatives to black powder, for use in CF rifle brass.

I just bought another can of IMR 4759, after putting 3ea .35 cal 150 PSPs into . 200 @ 100, and 4ea 150s into 1/2" @ 100.
I misread the windflag, and blew my fifth shot wide, taking the 5-shot group out to an inch. I and my son have shot 5-shot groups w/ the
rifle/load combo of 5/8" @ 100. I know the gun can produce smaller groups... if I can do MY part.


With regards,
357Mag

 

[harro]

how did it work out for you in the 243???

G'day

I have been using Trail Boss in my 243 for awhile now and I'm very happy with it.I have been using Hornady 87 grain projectiles with maximum load of powder , as 357 Mag mentioned you can fill the case right up as long as you don't compress the powder.The info I've read lists this load at approx 1600fps with a 100 grain projectile so I assume I'm getting a bit faster speeds using the 87 grain bullets.The reason I have tried it is because I spend a bit of time at my local gun club teaching new and often young shooters the basics.We start with the .22lr and when we move onto centerfire I have in the past used my .223 but I was getting sick of putting lots of rounds down the barrel of that all the time and wearing it out.I have a 243 that doesn't get used much and so decided to make some reduced loads for it.As it turns out it is a great training device because after they have mastered the reduced loads you can start to introduce more and more powerful loads.The recoil and muzzle blast from the Trail Boss loads is nothing and I haven't found anyone that has been effected in the transition from rimfire to centerfire yet.Also of interest is that no matter how many rounds you shoot the barrel never gets really hot and so I assume that barrel wear must be very little.Because of the success of the 243 I have decided to use a 308 so that at the end of the training hopefully they will be using full power loads without any recoil issues and there aren't many things a well placed 308 won't knock over.The load data says a 308 with 150 grain bullets will be doing about 1400 fps and I was wondering what sort of speed I'd get by going to a 125 grain projectile in an attempt to flatten the trajectory a little bit out to 150 yrds.Also as a matter of interest I found the closer to max I loaded in the 243 the better the accurracy and seating the bullet right out nearly touching the lands really helped.It will shoot a honest 1 1/8 inch group all day at 100 yrds which is what the best full power load in the same rifle will do.

To change the subject a little I have been shooting for awhile and some of the accurracy results you read people are getting are I believe just plain lies.If you are lucky enough to find a factory rifle that will shoot 3/4 inch groups all the time ,never sell it because it is something to be proud of.I think a lot of people only remember their best groups and forget the worst a true 3/4 or better hunting rifle is a beautiful, but rare thing.(edit , I'm talking 5 shot groups and the average of 10 groups)


harro

 

[kycamtrakker]

i was looking at the Trailboss in the 243 for a suppressed load. Thanks for the info im gonna try to buy some in the morning

 

[fredhorace77]

Ive been using trailboss in my .223 with huge success...One thing i noticed while shooting is that your group size can be changed alot with 1/2grain of powder...i personaly have started weighting each charge instead of throwing thru a powder thrower like i normaly do for my full power loads...1/2grain makes a huge difference on this stuff..

 

[huffmanite]

I've used Trail Boss for a few years now in a number of rifle cartridges. Have used it with cast and jacketed bullets. My accuracy with it was never anything to brag about, but I did have fun with TB. I have had better success with SR4759 fpr reduced loads when it comes to accuracy.

 

[Michael Courtney]

The velocity of the first shot with Trail Boss can vary from subsequent shots in the string, but Trail Boss is our preferred choice for the lower end of reduced loads, including subsonic.

We prefer SR4759 for the mid range of .308 capabilities (1500-2100 fps) and H4895 to bridge the gap to full power loads. Keep in mind that from 900 to 2700 fps is a factor of nine in muzzle energies, so you shouldn't be surprised it requires three different powders to cover the whole range.

We prefer Blue Dot for reduced loads in .223 Rem/5.56 NATO.

 

[langenc]

TB good for beginners.

Also check out Hodgdons site and the use of their 'youth loads'. They use H 4895 (ONLY-no others) and reduce to 60% of and published load.

Example-- If a load with H 4895 is published at 50 grains-may reduce to 30 grains (60% of the 50 grains) and have a safe load.

Great for beginners. ladies, youth or injured shoulders. Dont tell the doc.