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Powders for short barrel .308?

flyingfrog509

flyingfrog509

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Anyone have suggestions on loading for a 16.5" .308 barrel?

I've been reloaded for a 20" barrel and just used book loads with good success. (not to much muzzle flash during normal day light shooting) However with the shorter barrel from what I understand a faster powder will keep from getting to much muzzle flash, but to fast and pressures start to spike?

I'm hoping someone has an idea of where to start or have rolled some for such a short barrel.
 
I have and still do load for a couple short barreled .308's. I load for several youth rifles too.

With such a short tube, slower powders are very inefficient. I try to use a chronograph to find the point saturation with any combo. As you well know, even with 24" tubes you can hit a wall.

I'll try to get to some more specific recommendation later. What bullet weights are you interested in trying? I'm an old schooler, and tend to gravitate toward the 150g-165g for my hunting rounds. I have however had some excellent, and I do mean excellent result with lighter bullets like the 125g Nosler Ballistic Tips at lower speeds. They tend to be ultra accurate, and devastating on deer at low 30-30 type velocities.

The heavier bullets tend to be more efficient, as they don't start with as much powder to burn in the smaller boiler rooms. I load for a plethora of different calibers, so I tend to keep all sorts of powders around. The fastest powder that I've used in the .308 has been in the youth loads. I use mostly IMR 4759 in them. It yields excellent accuracy, very good load density, and drt results on whitetail! H322 is likely the fastest I've used for more standard velocity loads. Benchmark seemed to work well as has H335.

I sometimes substitute magnum primers with lower load densities. Just a bit of insurance in case the powder's not where it needs to be located in the brass. Don't sub the magnum primer if you're working near the top charge!

I'll try to get to my notes later, but you get the gist of what I usually try. If you do have access to a chronograph, it can be an invaluable aid in finding what really works efficiently from your particular application.

I found out a long time ago, that throwing more powder into a cartridge many times only increases the noise and flash. No positives at all.

I still use some slower powders in short barrels though. Sometimes the accuracy advantage completely out weighs the efficiency! With 150 grain bullets, I usually find very good results with around 45 grains of Varget.
 
Well I'm still fairly new to reloading so my current powder choices to start with are...
From slowest to fastest on my cheatsheet
-----------------------------------------
Hodgdon H4831
Accurate 2495
Hodgdon H4895
Hodgdon H322

Then we are into pistol powder w/Accurate #9, Unique, & Bullseye.

Bullets that I have...
Sierra 110
Hornady Interlock 130, 150, & 180

My crono seems to be not working any more, so I'll have to put that on my birthday list. So I'm playing blind...maybe since this
is so outside of what is in the books I should wait till I get a new one?

Being this rifle is so short and so light I was hoping to go with 130 or 150g bullets. All though I know the 110's killed a few deer
this year with good results at about 150 yards. (I knew someone willing to test them) This gun is going to be set up for stalking
and woods mostly. I'd say the furthest shot it will be asked to take is 200 yards but probably less.

The 110 load I put together for my son's SPS (read: 20" barrel) was 42.5g of 2495
I did some 130 youth loads with 37g of Hodgdon H4895 yeilded accurate results out of the SPS 20" barrel.

Niether were fast loads. Is it reasonable to start with a load that I've already done and work it from there?
 
flyingfrog509 said:
Well I'm still fairly new to reloading so my current powder choices to start with are...
From slowest to fastest on my cheatsheet
-----------------------------------------
Hodgdon H4831
Accurate 2495
Hodgdon H4895
Hodgdon H322

Then we are into pistol powder w/Accurate #9, Unique, & Bullseye.

Bullets that I have...
Sierra 110
Hornady Interlock 130, 150, & 180

My crono seems to be not working any more, so I'll have to put that on my birthday list. So I'm playing blind...maybe since this
is so outside of what is in the books I should wait till I get a new one?

Being this rifle is so short and so light I was hoping to go with 130 or 150g bullets. All though I know the 110's killed a few deer
this year with good results at about 150 yards. (I knew someone willing to test them) This gun is going to be set up for stalking
and woods mostly. I'd say the furthest shot it will be asked to take is 200 yards but probably less.

The 110 load I put together for my son's SPS (read: 20" barrel) was 42.5g of 2495
I did some 130 youth loads with 37g of Hodgdon H4895 yeilded accurate results out of the SPS 20" barrel.

Niether were fast loads. Is it reasonable to start with a load that I've already done and work it from there?
Click to expand...

Yep, I'd say it would be. Try a few with H322. It's about perfect for short barrel experimentation.
 
I'm working on a short 16 1/2" barreled rig myself with a shortened stock also. Trying to put together something functional and easy to weild.A member on another forum also mentioned Varget. He said his 15" striker pistol was putting 3 touching using this powder. Since I already have some on hand and have had good results with it in rifles I think I'll give it a go. If you have any data that works well in your short barrel rig post it up.
 
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