Powder & Primers for 308 win???

[Nicholas]

I have 500 pieces of new Lapua 308 win brass and 2000 175 Grain matchkings sitting hear just itching to be shot.

I ordered some Varget and Federal 210M primers but found out the Supplier was out of stock on Varget so I cancelled it not wanting to pay two HAZ fees.

Up to this point I have only shot BH factory ammo and am a reloading newbe.

What powder & Primer would you guys reccommend for the 175 pills out of lapua brass?

Interested in results with Varget, 4064, Ramshot, and VV powders. I am leaning toward Varget for it's temperature insensitivity.

[Ian M]

Some of my partners recently worked up loads for their rifles with Varget - all seemed to shoot best with 45 gr. and 168's or 175's. You can go a little more, your rifle will determine that but I would start at 43 and work up.
We use 2.830 for an over-all length, just got a Stoney Point so now load some longer but it is easy to get too long for your mag well.
4064 is used in Federal Gold Medal match ammo - it is superb. Try around 42.0 but work up again.
Not sure about the other powders, I only use Varget.
Good luck, you have the makin's for a lot of shooting!

[Brent]

I do have a couple good loads with Varget, but IMR4064 produces tighter groups overall. It is a really great powder. CCIBR2's are what I use now too.

[ 05-28-2002: Message edited by: Brent ]

[Matt Regalia]

I have been using VV N150 with 168 gr Matchking. So far my gun likes 42 grs and an OAL of 2.81 (that is as long as I can go and still fed from the magazine. I am getting 2600 fps out of this, so it is not a barn burner but very accurate. I shoot my HiPower Silhouette matches with this load.

Matt

[Darryl Cassel]

Hello

I to have a 308 Winchester that likes 4064 (42 to 44 Grs) with 168 & 175 Sierra MK (of course).


I switched to Federal 210 and 215 primers in ALL my larger (large rifle and mag) cases when I started to get "hangfires" in some of my 1000 yard Match guns while using the CCI Benchrest primers. Many years ago A top gunsmith at Williamsport advised not using the CCI because of that reason. I gave away ALL my CCIs at that point. Never had the problem once I switched to Federal. I do use some Winchester primers at times.

Later
Darryl

[speedbump]

You're on the right track, IMHO. Varget is great, but so are 4064 & 4895. I've shot 4064 in 1,000 yard matches with 155s & 175s in bolt guns & an M-14, & plinking loads with 168s & 190s. Both are VERY reliable & consistent & give super SD/ES results in most rifles. Varget gave the most consistent results with a 7-08 I was playing with last year, but stuck with 4064 since it was more of a known commodity for me.

Start low & work up as always plus don't be afraid to play with your seating depth - it may make all the difference. As far as primers, I'm like DS - Federal match as a rule.

[Nicholas]

Ian

What primers do you use with your varget loads?


A little more information; I want a load that will perform between 400-1000 yards. 100 & 200 yard range group size isn't as important as the group size at longer ranges.