I just got off the phone with the Tech Rep. at IMR powders.

[greg vess]

I politely ask him what the deal was with the 8208 XBR powder. He informed me that there were shortages on some of the ingredients for that powder and they haven't been able to put any out in a year. His recommendation was Benchmark which is a burn speed faster than the 8208 and said that that would be acceptable for the 6.8 SPC cartridge. He said that they might have some in the fall but he's not completely sure on that. So it's a worldwide ingredient shortage that's the problem there and not over purchasing or hoarding powder as originally presumed.
So with all that being said I guess I will start loading some Benchmark and doing some testing and seeing if it will be an acceptable replacement for the 8208 XBR. I sure do hope it works out because I'm just flinging lead and copper down range for nothing with anything else.

 

[greg vess]

So the tech. at IMR said Benchmark was a step ahead of 8202. However the two that are closed are ARcomp and Accurate 2460. Has anybody tried these for 6.8spc.? I figured I would ask before shucking out 100 bucks for testing.

 

[41mag]

No experience with that one . Interested to find out. Please post findings ….. ?? Thanks !

 

[greg vess]

No experience with that one . Interested to find out. Please post findings ….. ?? Thanks !

Will do boss! I posted the question on the 6.8spc forum. I will get to the bottom of the this elusive dilemma. So one recommendation A2200. Boy was that a disaster. It would be fine if you are hunting barns. Or something where the whole animal is a vital.

 

[Horsehat]

I like Accurate 2460 a lot for .308 but I’ve not loaded 6.8 SPC

 

[41mag]

I load all my handgun ammo , except the rimfire of course. Not too many rifle rounds, I just don’t shoot as much rifle. I was lucky my father taught me a lot and passed a good bit of info and equipment off to me !
He also taught me to cast and gave me a bunch of molds for pistol caliber bullets.

 

[greg vess]

Maybe I was using to heavy pills for the AA2200. It says it good for .223 for 40 to 55 grain projectiles. So it might be a bit to fast for heavier jobs.

 

[greg vess]

I load all my handgun ammo , except the rimfire of course. Not too many rifle rounds, I just don’t shoot as much rifle. I was lucky my father taught me a lot and passed a good bit of info and equipment off to me !

I wish I had that resource from my dad. I had to start from scratch about maybe 8 years or so ago. Hell I don't know it's been a while. I got extremely lucky and hit pay dirt with the XBR8208 like in my second powder choice. It resulted in well under 1 MOA with 110 gr. pills anywhere from 28.5 - 29.5 gr. of propellent. So I just stuck with it. Since the 6.8 doesn't vary as much with barrel length like most other cartridges there was no need to change for my 14.5 inch and 18 inch barrel. Just like my luck the one powder I use comes to a screeching halt in production. If I didn't have bad luck I would have not a darn bit of it.

 

[Horsehat]

I have been stuffing shells for almost as long as I’ve been married, which will be 50 years in December. The selection of components, when they are available, is far better today than when I started. The internet makes acquiring information and input easier for load development. I sure miss the days though when you could take a $50 into the gun store, leave with a brick of primers, a pound of powder, box of premium bullets, set of dies and change.

 

[41mag]

I wish I had that resource from my dad. I had to start from scratch about maybe 8 years or so ago. Hell I don't know it's been a while. I got extremely lucky and hit pay dirt with the XBR8208 like in my second powder choice. It resulted in well under 1 MOA with 110 gr. pills anywhere from 28.5 - 29.5 gr. of propellent. So I just stuck with it. Since the 6.8 doesn't vary as much with barrel length like most other cartridges there was no need to change for my 14.5 inch and 18 inch barrel. Just like my luck the one powder I use comes to a screeching halt in production. If I didn't have bad luck I would have not a darn bit of it.

We shot almost all our own reloads for as long as I remember. Now stuff we didn’t load, of course, we bought. Like .22lr….some rifle rounds, stuff we didn’t shoot much of too we just bought or traded for. But yeah, it was what we were taught and the most cost effective way. When we were younger we were going through 1000 rounds a week easily !