Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Good .308 load..... Spinoff

I have been reloading shot shells for a about 25 years, but reloading rifle rounds is totally new to me. So I decided to look up and watch as much information as possible to get a good starting point for my .308 being built. I sat down 1 day and read through all 26 pages of the "good .308 load" thread to get an idea of different mixtures that folks are using. Of course reading through all the posts will make you head explode. So I decided to create a spreadsheet with all the information that is listed in the 26 pages of loads for easy access. We have done this before on another forum where members could go and input their loads for others to see. Then a "NEWBIE" could come along or possibly another member could come along and print out the spreadsheet for their reference. Here is an example of what I have so far..



Any additional information can be added or deleted. I just thought this could be a 1 stop shop for all data associated with .308 loads. The one thing that I'm not sure of is the limitations of this forum in doing so.

Just a thought, what do yall think about it? The one main item that I noticed that was omitted in the 26 pages was barrel length and twist rate. This too could be useful information that others could use.

I simply find a starting point from five or more sources and work up. All the data in the world won't predict what one gun will "like."
Sometimes a recommended load works fine, but you still have to work up to it.

2 cents

I think it's a good idea. But, as agazain stated, each rifle will be a beast of it's own. I do something similar with my personal firearms. I have an excell sheet of what's working in each one along with a description of the rifle and a round count (as accurate as I can get on some and on others, to the exact number of shots).

Picking a 308 is a good place to start. As you probably noticed from reading just that one thread, there are a lot of different ways to get an accurate load in a rifle. Somewhere in there will be one that works well in your rifle.

Easiest way I can suggest is:
1. Pick a case (Lapua, Winchester, Norma etc)
2. Pick a bullet that fits what your primary use will be
3. Pick a powder that works (there are a BUNCH of different one's for the 308, Varget, 4895, 4064 are some of the favorites)
4. Pick a primer

Get a reloading book and look up minimum and maximum charges for that bullet/brass/powder/primer combination. And start at the minimum and work your way up to the max. You may find that in YOUR rifle the maximum is less than what the 'book' says. Don't sweat it.
Somewhere in there will be a load that your rifle works.

Then, go forth and shoot a bunch and enjoy the whole process again.

I use Varget with a 150 gameking. Kills deer pigs as well as my magnum cannons.

That took a lot of work, good for you!!!

Take a look at Noslers data, available on the web, pick your bullet weight, and look for thier choice of "most accurate." At least a good place to start.
Ken Waters observations in his Pet Loads remain salient. As does any Barsness article or commentary.
The digital world has made available scads of data that don't provde much information.

If I'm loading Noslers I use the Nosler book,,so on and so forth. Varget outshoots any other in my KM and 150 NP shot better than any other bullet including Matchkings.