Best powder for short barreled 308

[aramarine6]

I usually use varget for my 26 inch barrel or 4064 if I cant find any Varget. But what powder would you guys recommend for best velocity in a short barrel. This is going to be my Wisconsin deer woods gun where 100 yards is a long shot. So I'm going for velocity over accuracy at this point. Firearm is a Remington 700 with a 16.5 barrel. I was thinking about H4895 as it is a faster burning powder and I still have 3/4 of a pound laying around.

 

[SidecarFlip]

335 or 322 depending on bullet weight.

 

[aramarine6]

165 grain bullets is what I'll be using

 

[boomtube]

The powder that gives the highest velocity in a long barrel will do the same in a short barrel.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Varget is all I use for my .308. It has shoot excellently with every load I've tested with all brands and weights of bullets. Seems to not be very temp sensative, too.

 

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

R15 308 not that sensitive, you have the ruger scout?

 

[aramarine6]

I have a Remington 700 with 16.5 inch barrel. Threaded for a brake. And no I didn't have it cut that short. It came that way from the factory. I disagree with the statement about a powder will produce top velocity in a long barrel as it will a short barrel. If that were the case there'd be no point to having different burn rates for powders.

 

[boomtube]

"I disagree with the statement about a powder will produce top velocity in a long barrel as it will a short barrel. If that were the case there'd be no point to having different burn rates for powders."

"Disagree" as you like, it's still a fact. Chamber pressure peaks when a bullet gets about 3 inches from the chamber and it falls quite fast after that because the combustion space is rapidly expanding. The most efficient bore timeressure curve is the same no matter when the bullet exits; use a faster powder and pressure both rises and falls faster and the average pressure is also less. Speed is higher with a longer barrel only because the bullets continue to accelerate full bore length so the highest average pressure makes bullets fly faster in any barrel length.

Powders have different burn rates because of different capacity and different shaped cases driving different bullet weights down different diameter bores, not to accommidate different barrel lengths. And, it's not uncommon for the highest velocity/pressure curve to not produce the best/most accurate barrel harmonics but that's a different issue.

 

[aramarine6]

I'm not saying you are wrong. I just disagree. Ill consult my ballistics books and actually test it for myself with various different powders. And like I said accuracy isn't my main concern as 100 yards would be a very long shot in a laurentian forest cover of northern Wisconsin. My 45 grains of varget with a 168 will be my control group. I'll test different powders and projectiles to see what will give me what I'm looking for. I was just curious if anyone has any actual data. So far no one has given me real world tested velocities out of a 16.5 barrel.

 

[7stw]

I'm not saying you are wrong. I just disagree. Ill consult my ballistics books and actually test it for myself with various different powders. And like I said accuracy isn't my main concern as 100 yards would be a very long shot in a laurentian forest cover of northern Wisconsin. My 45 grains of varget with a 168 will be my control group. I'll test different powders and projectiles to see what will give me what I'm looking for. I was just curious if anyone has any actual data. So far no one has given me real world tested velocities out of a 16.5 barrel.

Boom tube is correct about the pressure curve. The high presses curve that occurs, which in turn propels your bullet downrange, occurs during the first 4-6 inches of the barrel. The remaining " bleed off" pressure is what continues the push, aided my more barrel length.
With a shorter barrel, however, faster burning powders do pick up some of the velocity loss, if a slower powder is otherwise used.
My recommendation, would be, XBR8208, H322, or H335, or 3031.
I agree with Boomtube . You would need to see a peak pressure curve chart from a pressure Gage equipped rifle. It's amazing what goes on in that milli second in time, and PSI spike. Interesting Stuff!
PS, another variable on the burn rate of choice, is your twist rate.

 

[Gary Kaney]

My FN TSR 20" likes H 380 with the Hornady 168 A MAX FWIW

 

[Edd]

Ill consult my ballistics books and actually test it for myself with various different powders.

There is no reason to do that, it's already been done.

 

[RT2506]

If you are only going to be shooting 100 yards or less it does not matter what powder you are going to use. A deer is not going to know the difference if it got struck with a 165 gr bullet going 3000 fps or 2000 fps if you put that bullet where it is supposed to go because it will be dead shortly.
From years of shooting a 308 I have found that with it's case size you really don't loose all that much velocity when you shorten the barrel a lot compared to larger cases. I use IMR 4895 for all my 308 loading for the simple reason that I came into a boat load of it from pulled down military ammo YEARS ago FREE.
By the way if you want a real deer dropper load try this.
46 grs IMR 4895 with a 125 Nosler ballistic tip. BANG FLOP.

 

[aramarine6]

[
By the way if you want a real deer dropper load try this.
46 grs IMR 4895 with a 125 Nosler ballistic tip. BANG FLOP. [/QUOTE]

I'll have to give this a try.