788 carbine 308 load

[jakedawgwhite88]

Hello everyone. First time posting here.

I'm working up a load for deer season in my Remington 788 308 carbine. I tested some tonight with some decent results. I think i've settled on using the 155 amax. I've heard good things about varget and 4064. I've been testing with some of that new alliant power pro varmint that's supposedly similar to re12. The shells go bang and no high pressure signs but lots of muzzle flash. Any suggestions would be great. I'm from the panhandle of oklahoma and getting components is sometimes hard but I have a few things.

 

[sourdough44]

I don't know much about that bullet. I usually use the common 150 & 165 grn bullet in the 308. Most 'medium' to slightly faster powder should work just fine in the 308. As is always the case, shot placement trumps most of the other factors.

 

[Salar600]

The 2 powders you named are very good for the 308. You could also try I-3031, I had very good result with it and 165gr bullets in a Rem788.

I am not confident anymore with the A-max in .30 caliber for hunting. Last week I tried the 208Amax on small deer (+/- 90 lbs) and I think they are not strong enought. No pass true and we didn't recover any bullet fragment. Your decision though!

Good luck

 

[jakedawgwhite88]

Well I originally wanted to hunt with a sierra pro hunter 125 but I could not get it to group well at 100 with the re12 similar powder. I could try 4064 with that combo but I would really rather load a 150 interbond (if I can find them haha)

 

[RT2506]

If you want those 125 gr bullets to shoot use IMR 4895. Midway has some 125 Nosler ballistic tips in stock. It is a real deer killing bullet which is a bit tougher bullet than the Sierra. Keep your impact velocity under 3000 fps and all will be fine.
I shoot 46 grs IMR 4895, WW case, CCI BR2 primer and out of my 21 1/2" Heart barrel Rem 700 I get right at 3000 fps and it will drive tacks and it kills deer in their tracks about 99% of the time out to 300 yards so far. I have killed over 50 deer with this bullet in various 30 cal firearms from pistols to rifles. Midway also has some Hornady 125 gr SST that has the interlock. It is a flat base bullet designed for the 300 Blackout and 30 AR Remington. I have not used any of them but I have read good reports from people that have used them on game like deer and hogs. I would still keep velocity under 3000fps impact with these.

IMR 4895 also works really well with 150 to 168 gr bullets. I also would shy away from the A-max bullet. It will do OK for longer ranges but if you are inside 100 yards be sure you don't hit any bone like the scapula because it will really come apart. Close range and other than perfect broadside shots can be a problem also.

 

[jakedawgwhite88]

I saw those I was thinking about it. My only problem is getting powder. Its really tough to get these days. I wouldn't be opposed to ordering a decent amount of stuff I needed to justify the hazmat maybe some benchrest primers too. Anyone have suggestions on places beside's Natchez, Midway, Cabelas, Sinclair, .... Someplace with less online traffic maybe haha.

 

[R-WEST]

Anyone have suggestions on places beside's Natchez, Midway, Cabelas, Sinclair, .... Someplace with less online traffic maybe haha.

Good luck with that.. Everyone is charging outrageous prices nowadays..

Am I glad I stocked up on components years ago - hopefully prices will come down, but the laws of commerce seem to dictate that once the prices get up there, they never come back down to where they were..

Varget, 4895, 4064 - anything in that range makes a 308 happy.

 

[Nomosendero]

The 2 powders you named are very good for the 308. You could also try I-3031, I had very good result with it and 165gr bullets in a Rem788.

I am not confident anymore with the A-max in .30 caliber for hunting. Last week I tried the 208Amax on small deer (+/- 90 lbs) and I think they are not strong enought. No pass true and we didn't recover any bullet fragment. Your decision though!

Good luck

The A-Max is soft alright, but I havn't heard of a penetration problem with the 208gr. at 308 velocity, esp. on 90# animals. And I don't get the no pass throughs, yet no fragments, seems like I am missing a detail or two, but it is late.

 

[jakedawgwhite88]

Well I just happened upon 2#'s of 4895 and 8# of 4064. I bought a couple pounds of varget at a local gun show. I think i'll be alright. I found some 165 game kings too.
Any suggestions on what to expect with the 18", 1 in 10 twist of the 788

 

[sbhooper]

I have a Rem Model 600 in .308 and it shoots well with 45-46 of Varget under a 165 Interlock.

The Amax is a target bullet and as such, can be problematic on game. I have a friend that uses them and gets along OK. I just can't see using a target bullet when there are such good bullets available.

You will get along fine with the Game Kings. It should perform real well at the low velocities of the .308 carbine. The Interlocks that I use have taken deer and elk and perform well at the .308 velocities. The recovered bullets have been intact and well-mushroomed.

I think that you should be looking at the 2500-2600 fps range in the carbine with the 165. With 46 grains of Varget, mine is around 2600 with the Interlock, so the GK should be nearly the same.

 

[RT2506]

With the 165 gr bullets I would give Varget and IMR 4065 the try first. CHECK YOUR DATA OUT IN SOME LOADING MANUALS. Some of the data given here is over max loads given in the manuals. Each rifle is a different critter so what shoots for one rifle may be waaaaay over pressure in yours. The 308 Win. is one of those calibers that does not loose a whole lot of velocity when the barrel is shortened some. You should be able to get around 2550 easy with 165 gr bullets. The Sierra game king and pro hunters are good bullets. I mainly used 150 Sierras until I discovered that the 125 Nosler ballistic tip killed deer like lighten struck them. Good luck on your quest.

 

[jakedawgwhite88]

I've always liked nosler accubonds and I've had good luck with them in a 270. I like experimenting with different loads. I like the idea of picking up speed with the 125-130 loads with the carbine. Accuracy is my concern there. I also like the thought of the 165 hammering down like Thors hammer haha. I've got a little time to experiment. I just realized I have some barnes 130 ttsx pills around somewhere.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

The a-max is a soft bullet. Not really meant for hunting. It basically gets half way through the animal and starts blowing apart. Which is devastating but no blood trail is left. Although i did shoot a 312lbs black bear with it and he only ran 17 yds. Bullet went in behind the shoulder and what was left of the bullet(which wasn't much) was in his opposite shoulder. It left his insides a mess but he didn't bleed a drop. I was using a 6.5 140 a-max for that. Don't really recommend it. Just doesn't have any penetration.

 

[Clint Idaho]

I used to load IMR 3031 and 4064 exclusively for the 150 - 168 gr range. Notice the I used to part. After purchasing a chronograph, I started to notice a wide variance in velocity for all the IMR powders in the different calibers. Usually only after the temp dropped below 20F. The powder I now load in the 308, 7mm-08, and 243 is Varget. Very consistant across the chronograph at any temp. Groups if I do my part consistantly under the 1/2 inch mark. Most would not notice the temp problem for normal hunting. But I spend a good portion of the winter calling coyotes. The variance was opening my groups up to around 2 1/2 inches once the temp dropped. I have not had this problem with Varget. Big fan of the 788, I have several 308, and 243's. Also the 223, and 7mm-08. Still looking for the elusive 44 mag. All of the 788's have been under 1/2 inch shooters.