I have an old Hornady book (circa 2000) and looked at the 150g bullet data in .308 and I am wondering what powder works best for this combo? I found 2 boxes of the 150g and want to get this set up for my son to shoot with. Looking for powder and lo/hi range of powder to try out.

I came across a link on the web called www.stevespage.com I think that is the link. Is this reliable data?

Lots of powder to fit the bill...but these come to mind:

4198s (IMR and Hodgdon)
4895s (IMR and Hodgdon)
RL15
IMR4320
Varget
IMR4064
Big Game
TAC

Many others but I'd target something in the burn rates of the above.

I'd try Varget first. IMR 4166 also worked well in my 308.

46.5grs of Varget is what I load in my 308 with 150's.

The 308 Win. and a 150 grain bullet is one of the most tractable combinations a person can handload. A myriad of mid speed powders will work well.

What powders do you have on hand?

Brass selection may alter the powder charge weights as well.

mathman,

I have these powders on hand

H4985
IMR4064
Varget
H414
H4198 (I think I have this)

I am using RP brass and have for primers Win, CCI and Fed

Of those I'd use H4895, Varget or 4064 for full power loads. H4198 would be great for reduced loads.

Hodgdon's top loads with H4895 and Varget work quite well for me with CCI 200 or Fed 210 primers. They used WW brass which has more capacity than RP, but they also used Ballistic Tips have a longer bearing surface and leave less powder capacity than the Interlock you have. So appropriate powder charges have been a wash in my rifles.

Work up toward a top charge of either Varget or H4895 and you'll hit paydirt pretty quick.

IMR4064 is excellent as well, but results in bothersome powder compression with top charges thrown from straight from a measure as I prefer to do.

If you want to weigh and trickle through a drop tube you'll probably have good results with 46 grains of 4064 under a flat base Interlock in RP brass. I loaded those for my father for years.

Yep, as already mentioned by a few members here, Varget and IMR4064 are excellent choices.

My Montana loves Re15 and Varget with 150 grain Hornady GMX and flat base interlocks. Both shoot to same POI and within 25 fps velocity.

I've never loaded for a 308 but have had good luck with IMR 4320 in both the 7mm-08 and 358 Win. One of my manuals says that 4320 has been used in 308 factory loads in the past.

Another option if what you have on hand doesn't pan out.

Dale

44.0 - 44.5gr IMR 4064 works wonders for every 150 - 155gr .308 bullet I've tried so far.

Varget is my second favorite powder for those bullets.

Steve's Pages has proven to be reliable for me, if that counts for anything.

Ed

I like varget, seems to be very stable with temperature.

My .308s liked Re 15, Varget etc., etc. The only load that I shoot now, though, is 1/2 grain under max of CFE223 under the 150 Interlock. It shoots 1/2 moa in my RA and also a Savage 110CL. It is a deer smucker, too, at 2900 + fps mv.

The 150 GMX is long and the load will be too compressed if over 46 grains. I got excellent accuracy with 46-VV N140 and the GMX 150. The SST is shorter than the GMX, I haven't checked this powder with it yet.

Start with 4064 and Varget. Work up to 47.o gr. I like CCI or Fed primers.

It's hard not to recommend Varget in a 308 using 150 grain.

Ran across this pic the other day...reminds me of how easy the 308 is to work with when spinning those 150 Hornadys.

This is the only load I've worked up so far. I'll probably switch to IMR-3031 since I'm out of Winchester 748...

Gun: Tikka T3 Lite (22 inch barrel/1 in 11 twist/4-groove)

Bullet: Hornady 150 gr. SP Interlock
Powder: Winchester 748 48.0 grs.
Primer: CCI-250
Case: Winchester (New)
LOAL: 2.800 (2.216 with Stoney Point)
Average Velocity: 2845.94 fps
Extreme Spread: 39.35
Standard Deviation: 14.96

Just curious, how did you know?

Mine loves a max load of H4895. Been playing with 165 Sierra's over RL15 and my, my does that dog hunt too!

43gr Varget & 4064 shoot very well with Hor. 150gr SP & Sierra 150gr PH, under 1"@100yd 4/shot groups. Maybe a little slow compared to other loads but my Rem. & Ruger likes them. Case OAL 2.750 as recommended by Hor. & Sierra.

Varget and IMR4064 work well with 150gn bullets in a 308, although in my experience W748 and Alliant PowerPro 2000-MR give greater velocity.

My 700 ADL varmint 308 loves Varget with 150 SSTs.

H4895 most accurate

A bit of update on the 150g bullet with Varget. My son shot a 50 yard target yesterday and the three were touching in an almost linear line. Group was .75MOA and this is what is going to have to do since we hunt in the woods and cannot see more than 40/50 yards out. So I said lets stick with this. The load was Rem brass, Fed 210, Varget 40.4 Anyway it seems to shoot Varget well but I told my son that if you not shooting at 100 yards the 24HR will call you a liar lol.

For the 308 and 150 grain bullets I would try some of these....

Varget
IMR-4064
RL-15

Varget
I or A 4064
RL-15
TAC (This is what NATO uses.)

That's an extremely mild load. Did you chronograph it?

H4895
Varget

Varget is your go to powder in my experience. Followed by IMR 4064.

I use 46.3 grains of Varget behind a Sierra 155 grain #2156 Palma bullet when shooting Palma matches. Deadly accurate out of a 31 inch Kreiger barrel.

Two powders showing promise for me with the 150 SST are IMR4895 and AA2015BR.

I use 44.5 grains of Varget with Interlock boat tails in my BLR. Just over 2,600 fps and very accurate. Works very well on deer.

The 300 Savage has done the job on deer for a long time.

mathman,

Sorry for the late come back. Been hunting with son. Anyway as for the mild load of 44.0 with Varget I have it now at 44.2g of Varget and will probably increase it a little more until I see pressure. I have a chrono but at the LGS range it is hard to set up so I have not used it yet. This rifle seems to shoot better .050 from the lands (ogive) but at time it seem to live it off lands by .020 and it seem to be a little inconsistent. Will keep working with it primarily bec components for .308 are rather easy to find. I should mnention I am often getting 2 shots touching and then one shot is like 1" or so away. Thanks for chiming in. BTW I have not tried the H4895 powder and may try that although the consensus is Varget is the preferred powder for this combo.