308 load ideas?

[clymbhard]

currently i am shooting a 178 amax with 46.5 blc2 behind it. using cci benchrest primers. i have an ed brown reciever and a 28 in lilja barrel. i am wanting to find a load that is a little more friendly on my brass... i have been shooting this load for years with good results. but i feel there is something out there that is better.

any ideas

 

[7stw]

currently i am shooting a 178 amax with 46.5 blc2 behind it. using cci benchrest primers. i have an ed brown reciever and a 28 in lilja barrel. i am wanting to find a load that is a little more friendly on my brass... i have been shooting this load for years with good results. but i feel there is something out there that is better.

any ideas

I am hard pressed to believe that there's not much bested then a either a 168, or 175 grain SMK. Additionally, I have fell in love with IMR 8208, and a CCI BR2. OAL at 2.810+-. I also have had great luck with 168 Berger VLD's as well. Awesome accuracy from either one mentioned. Are you wanting to shoot something liter, or heavier?
Have fun, 308's are fun to tinker with!

 

[stoky]

IMO, I think you'll do better if you get away from ball powder. Try Viht N540 or RE15.

 

[boomtube]

but i feel there is something out there that is better. any ideas

Just one; experiment a little.

 

[Viking]

That is a pretty stout load. I don't have a Hornady manual, but my Sierra manual is showing a max charge of BL-C(2) for a 175-180 grain bullet at 44.8 grains. Hodgdon shows a max load of 46 grains for a 175 grain bullet with a pressure of 50,300 CUP.

I would think that a slight reduction in bullet weight would be a step in the right direction, but there are too many variables. I believe that brass life has more to do more with the amount of resizing you do, neck tension and annealing your brass. In your case, it may be just too much pressure.

Powder in my .308 Win is between Varget and RE15.

I prefer Varget, but it is a pain to meter and has been hard to find so I have been using RE15 more lately.

Bullets, for paper, are 168 Sierra SMKs.

Bullets, for hunting, are 165 Nosler Accubonds.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I don't like to give out load data, but this load came straight out of the Nosler 7 reloading manual, and my 700 5R .308 loves it!

168gr Nosler Custom Comp
44.0gr Varget
Federal 210 primers
Seated to max recommended SAAMI spec, which I believe is 2.810"

 

[nonnieselman]

What twist is your barrel?

i finally settled on a load for my R700 20" 10 twist of 44.5 Gr varget, CCI BR2, Lapua Brass and 175gr SMK @ 2.850.

Ive used it for 600yd Flass to white tail hunting..

i dunno the FPS but it takes 17moa to bring it up from 100 to 600 which is around 2500ish

it works so i dont go around chasing that perfect group and wasting components..
i did that with a 223 last year, not fun.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I forgot to mention that I use Lapua brass.

 

[clymbhard]

thanks for the replies and ideas guys, i am going to try looking into Re-15.
7STW i am just looking for something better on my brass and on the barrel life.
nossle man. the twist rate is 11.25in per twist.

thank you everybody.

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I use 185 bergers in front of IMR 4064. Works well

 

[etisll40]

Anyone use Lake City match brass with your loads? results versus Lapua brass?