I have a new 308 Montana XAR on its way right now and the 308 is a cartridge I havent used that much. What is the best all around powder for the 308? I have a feeling reloading supplies are going to get hard to find. I found a deal on some Speer Hot cores in 150 grain so bought a bunch of those, but will switch to 180 grain bullets eventually. Anyone used the 150 hot cores on big game like moose ?
Varget
4895 H or I
RL15
take your pick
Varget, AR COMP, RL 15,4064
Many good options listed already. I've also had good results with i4166, and lately it seems that it's more a easily found than some of the others. And 2000MR is another I've had good results in both velocity and accuracy.
150g, R#15 is hard to beat, smok'en velocity. If you can afford it, get some Lapua brass as there is a node between 2900-3000 that is very, very accurate.
One thing nice about the 308, there are many "best" powders along with many "best" bullets. So you have options.
Varget
4895 H or I
RL15
take your pick
I Have Settled On Varget,,,,,
A lot of guys settle on Varget without trying others out. I personally never found the accuracy I wanted until switching to RL15 and AR Comp. YMMV. .... That has been in every 308 I've owned, both bolt guns and AR10. However, I will say that I handloaded for one of my buddies rifles and his loved Varget, so it pays to try different powders. Don't get stuck on one thinking it's the "best" when there are others out there that are better in your particular rifle...
I had super dooper results with BL C2
165 NP ( coated after market)
CCI 250 primers
Win model 70 push feed carbine.
In addition to the ones already mentioned, I have had great success with IMR8208 and was able to score a little more from Midway recently. That powder works great with 75 and 77 grain bullets for 223 as well. I could survive on 8208 alone.
I’ve been loading Varget, RL15, and IMR 4064 for years with excellent results using 150 and 165 grain bullets of various manufacture. I have a buddy who swears by 3031.
I love Varget for .308 Win but I have also loaded a bunch of IMR 4064 in .308 Win with excellent results 👍....Good luck....Hb
Sounds like Varget is a top choice. Luckily that is one powder that is usually available up here.
Not much in it (c/w AR2208/Varget) but I've always used AR2206H (H4895) since they stopped making AR2206.
You should also take a look at Varget.
Two great choices would be RL15 and Varget.
Varget is the way to fly in the 308
Varget, CFE223, IMR 4166, 8208
Two great choices would be RL15 and Varget.
This
In the coming days a 308 will be a nice one to have since it will run well on a wide variety of powders. Availability will become more of a factor.
I have not seen Varget around here for months! I did score 8lbs of Shooters World, Precision Rifle. That stuff with a 150 grain ballistic tip, shoots bugholes with my Kimber Montana!
I scored an eight pounder of Varget this evening.
I scored an eight pounder of Varget this evening.
Damn! You lucky bastid 😁..That much Varget would do me for a couple years.......Hb
I have a number of 308 mouths to feed.
I think Varget will become even harder to find than it is today.I have been using 4064 for probably 45 years and it still isn't broke. Anything that can stuffed in a .223 0r 5.56 will take some hunting to even find. Varget falls into that group
4064 is a really good 308 powder, but Varget sure is easier through my powder measures.
CFE223, H4895 my two Sako .308 rifles prefer those two to Varget. Haven't tried R15.
AR-Comp is my favorite, IMR4064 and Varget have worked well for me too.
My Savage 99 in 308 will shoot little ragged holes with 150 grain Winchester Power Points all day with Varget.
I've tried many bullets in several .308s, all in the 150 -180 grain range. If you can't get H4895, Varget is a very good second choice and so are IMR-4064 and Reloder 15.
If you can find it. In the meantime TAC works pretty well.
IMR-4064, H-4895, Varget depending on which rifle I’m loading.
Varget has always been king for accurate bolt gun loads, from 130 to 180 grains for me.
As of late, CFE-223 boots 150gr e-tips and 176gr Lehighs to very impressive velocities and accuracy from my 7.62 REPR's, they all wear 16in barrels.
New WW brass
52gr CFE-223
150gr E-Tip
Fed-210
COL 2.810
Vel 2716 fps
With one on the pipe, and 25 round p-mags stoked with 150gr e-tips at 2700 fps is a whole lot of accurate hellfire for a 16 inch house/truck/farm tractor gun that will moa 200 yard steel.
I used Varget without trying anything else for years because it worked well for me. But I had to switch to IMR 4064 when I couldn’t find Varget and that seems to work better for me
CFE223, just under max, over 150 Interlocks for me. over 2900 fps and 1/2 moa accuracy.
RL15, H4895, Varget, and CFE223 are on my shelf, although I'm about out of Varget. H4895 is my go-to pick right now with the 150gr bullets I'm shooting.
I use Varget mostly as well but was wondering if anyone's tried VhitaVuori N540 for .308 Win. I use that powder for .375 H&H and like it. It's probably a bit slower than Varget though but readily available.
I have some CFE 223. I’m gonna try some
I used Varget without trying anything else for years because it worked well for me. But I had to switch to IMR 4064 when I couldn’t find Varget and that seems to work better for me
I loaded for 2 different Savage 16 Weather Warriors. Both were better than MOA with 150 SST. One shot best with IMR 4064 and the other with Varget. 4064 is easier to find and I have a lot more of it than I do Varget. I have a .30-06 that absolutely does best with IMR 4064. Both it and Varget are good for bunches of different cartridges.
PP 2000MR works great. I get top speeds and it meters well even from the progressive. Great powder if you have a hungry ar10 to feed and a progressive press. I use it with 175 or 178 bthp's a lot. I also use varget and a 155 scenar in a lot of my bolt guns.
Bb
Varget, RL 15, CFE 223. I've only used the last one a short time, but it shows promise,. muzzle velocity wise and accuracy wise. I will be working with it some more in the near future. Varget, IMO, is the bomb for 308.
Depends on bullet weight and barrel length.
Varget has been one of the best in all my .308's, from 16.1" to 22" barrels.
BL-C(2) is a good choice because it meters so well and gives good results on target.
CFE223 is the winner for light (130g) bullets in my 16.1" Ruger Scout.
Benchmark provided some great targets ( 0.1" to 0.5" groups with 168g bullets) with a Rem M700 BDL I later sold. Did not try it in the others.
I had the best accuracy with two 308s with Varget.
About a decade ago, AK_lanche (Luke) and I tested Alliant 2000 Mr in a bison legal 308 win 200 grain load. We found that the accubond was too long, chewing up capacity. I switched to 200 grain partitions and he switched to 200 grain woodleigh. The flat base spitzers gave 2500+ fps from his 22 inch barrel kimber. 2450 fps in my 20 inch barrel savage 99.
Since then, I've used Alliant 2000 mr for countless caribou and moose in the winter and fall. Always a 300 grain swift A-frame from the 9.3x62.
A 200 grain bullet at 2450-2550 fps is outstanding, bison legal kill power right there.
N140 with 155 scenars is very accurate my two 308s, meters well also
I've gotten great accuracy in several 308 rifles using Varget BUT always with loads 2-2.5 grains less than max load. H4895 gives almost as good accuracy and higher velocity with near max or max loads. Never tried RL15
I had 8 lbs of it so that is what I used. With the right bullets it's been accurate on paper.
kwg
Back in the day when I was reloading .308 I used IMR 3031, IMR 4895 and WW 748.
The real question is what is a bad powder for a 308. It is rather easy to find a powder to give decent accuracy. Today, the bigger issue is availability.
I have used 3031, 4895, and Varget.
Started with 4064 then went with Varget. I use them on 243, 260, 308, and 358 Winchesters. Others have worked but I can usually get Varget. Be Well, RZ.
As you can see...lots of good choices for the unfinicky .308 Win.
Interestingly...I never had a .308 that loved Varget. For me R-15 is the go to. Another not mentioned here that I can see that works well and one I shoot...is AA-2230.
A lot of guys settle on Varget without trying others out. I personally never found the accuracy I wanted until switching to RL15 and AR Comp. YMMV. .... That has been in every 308 I've owned, both bolt guns and AR10. However, I will say that I handloaded for one of my buddies rifles and his loved Varget, so it pays to try different powders. Don't get stuck on one thinking it's the "best" when there are others out there that are better in your particular rifle...
Fully agree, even when I've used powders for years in a rifle I don't stop looking for other options that may be even better.
You guys check supplies lately.?
I'm going to use 7828 in everything i reload for this winter, if I can get around to reloading anything. I'll start with the 260 and 243, I guess..
It's what I have, and there ain't anything at all out there on the shelves!
During my travels with the .308 Winchester I have used H4895 and Varget. When my supply of Varget is gone I'm planning to use TAC. Based on future component availability, going to give IMR 4166 some serious consideration.
I have a new 308 Montana XAR on its way right now and the 308 is a cartridge I havent used that much. What is the best all around powder for the 308? I have a feeling reloading supplies are going to get hard to find. I found a deal on some Speer Hot cores in 150 grain so bought a bunch of those, but will switch to 180 grain bullets eventually. Anyone used the 150 hot cores on big game like moose ?
My last 2 have done their best work with RL 15 and 165 grain accubonds. Other powders weren't bad but RL 15 stood out as a clear best. It also works very well in my current rifle with the protected point version of the 180 grain partition.
Tom
IMR -4064. usually works, H-4895, Varget. in that order... any of those withe a Sierra 150 BT. or FB . If that combo does not shoot... something is wrong in the gun...But what the hell do i know.. only been reloading for 42 years. most likley for over 25-30 .308 rifles...don’t recall not finding accuracy with some combo in there.
3031, 4895, 4320 and 4064.
H4895, Varget
RL 15, RL 17
748
AA2520
Have used all in 308 with 125-175gr. bullets.
They all shot well and the rifles are generally more hung up on the bullet than the powders used.
The real question is what is a bad powder for a 308. It is rather easy to find a powder to give decent accuracy. Today, the bigger issue is availability.
I have used 3031, 4895, and Varget.
I have used Ball C2, W-748, I-4064 and REL-15. Of those I had consistently poor performance with W-748. In thinking of it, I am not sure why I quit using Ball C-2. I used it exclusively in .300 Savage and .308 Winchester for around 8 years.
If I ever run low on REL-15 I suppose I better try some Varget.
Interesting that W748 didn't work for you but BL-C2 did. Do you have any ideas about why?
Well it probably ain't H4895 but that's what I have so that will be combined with 150 NBT's to make food for the model 70 Featherweight
I use it under the 150 grain Ballistic Tip for a great deer load.