Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 300 Savage / 8208 xbr, power pro 2000 mr

I haven’t seen any load data for 8208 xbr or power pro 2000 MR in the 300 savage and was wondering if anyone had tried those powders. It looks like those powders are in the burn rate ballpark of other powders commonly used in the 300 savage so I would think that they would work. Asking because I’ve got several lbs of each powder and a newly acquired rifle in 300 Savage.

Both powders produced some great performance in my 35 Whelens, under 250 gr bullets, both pretty high performance at pressures above 300 Savage turf.
Never used them in my 300 Savage, preferring 150 gr bullets and Varget or TAC.

obie458,
I use BM 8208 in my .308 Win and it is an excellent powder for both accuracy, velocity and tolerance to temperature fluctuations. 45g behind a 150g bullet in w/w brass and 210m primer gives me 2816 f/s and sub MOA from a 22.4" Bbl. It's a perfect fit in this size case . . . no need for drop-tubes or scrunching!
Not a 300 Savage, but not that different.
Maybe someone like mathman will have more exact info.
Cheers, Jack

I would think these powders would work well in the 300 savage but I've never seen load data for them.
I've used both powders in the 7mm-08 and 338 federal with good results. 8208 is usually my first choice. I've had great luck with that powder.

For 150 grain Ballistic Tips in the 308 Winchester the Hodgdon website shows 8208 tracking closely with 3031. You have to make your own decision, but I wouldn't be afraid to cautiously work with 300 Savage 3031 data for 150's to give 8208 a try.

I use PowerPro 2000-MR & 150gn bullets in my Rem700 .308. Velocity is very similar to what can be achieved using W748.

Both are good powders & I use them in other rounds; the both meter through a powder measure extremely well & deliver consistent charges.

But there's a fairly wide difference in burn rate between them; 8208 would likely be good with lighter bullets & 2000-MR would probably have the edge with heavier bullets.

MM

Time to get brave. In looking at cartridges like the 308 win, 30-30, 308 marlin express and others, The powder charge of 8208 XBR is usually listed as being somewhere between H4895 and 3031 with 150 gr bullets. Looking at 300 Savage data charge weights and velocities vary depending on the source but I've got some thoughts. I'm thinking of starting at 36 gr and working up no higher than 40 gr or stop if I hit 2,650 FPS in a 24" barrel. I'm going to be using Hornady Brass, WLR Primer and the 150 gr Hornady SST 300 Savage bullet set to a COL of 2.6". The rifle is a Savage 99. Any thoughts?

IMR 3031 was the powder used in 300 Savage factory loads in the past. If you want to try 8208 XBR in your 300 Savage, I would use IMR 3031 load data, starting low. My personal favorites in the 300 Savage are WW-748, IMR 4064, and IMR 4895. If forced to pick one powder, it would be WW-748. 42 grains with a 150 grain bullet is an accurate load, and 748 works fine with 180 grain bullets. 40 grains of either 4064 or 4895 are also good choices with 150s. If you are bound and determined to get high velocities, try Leverevolution (LVR). If memory serves, Hornady factory Superformance ammo is loaded with 44.5 grains of LVR and is listed at 2,640 fps. I get 2,600 fps in a 22" barrel with that ammo. I have hand loaded 150 grain bullets with LVR to similar velocities in my Savage 99 rifles. I think 8208 would give you pressure problems with a lever action rifle before you could reach 2,650 fps.

I think the Superformance factory ammo is advertised as 2,740 fps? Most other 300 Savage ammo is advertised at around 2,630 fps with 150 bullets,.
I did some shooting today. Lyman listed max loads of 3031- 39gr @ 2,615 and 4896 - 41.5 @ 2,652 Hornady listed max of 3031 - 40.2 @ 2,700 and 4895 - 40.9 @ 2,600.
My loads were all Hornady Brass, WLR primer, Hornady 300 savage SST @ col of 2.6". Gun - Savage 99 24" barrel.
Powder is IMR 8208 XBR
37.5 gr - 2,532
38.0 gr - 2,539
38.5 gr - 2,566
39.0 gr - 2,626
39.5 gr - 2,666
40.0 gr - Did not shoot.
Not a hint of pressure with any of the loads but I didn't think it was wise to soot the 40.0 gr load.

I don't know the fine details of QuickLoad but I'm wondering if it could be used to estimate what max should be?

Unfortunately I can't comment on accuracy because the wind was strong and the target was dancing all over today. I'll load up again concentrating between 38.8 - 39.4 and see is I can find an accurate load.

Yes, the Hornady Superformance ammo with 150 grain SST bullet is listed at 2,740 fps. I should have consulted my notes and the ammo box before posting.

After checking my shooting notes, I noted that the Hornady Superformance ammo chronographed 2,600 fps in my Savage 99E's 20" barrel and 2,700 fps in my 99F's 22" barrel (I think, can't find notes on that). I haven't tried the Superformance ammo in the 24" barrel of my 99EG yet. I would expect the full 2,740 fps there.

In the 99F, 44.0 grains of LVR powder gave me 2,604 fps using a 150 grain Hornady Spire point. Using the 150 grain SST designed for the Superformance ammo, 44.5 grains of LVR gave me 2,671 fps in the 99F. That was supposed to be a duplication of the factory ammo which uses 44.5 grains of a ball powder looking like LVR and the 150 grain SST with cannelure meant for the 99's short magazine. I use Lee factory crimp dies on all my handloads.

In the 20" barrel of the 99E 43.2 grains of LVR gave me 2,477 fps with a 180 grain Hornady round nose bullet. That's about 100 fps faster than my favorite 180 grain load, which is 41 grains of WW-748.

Accuracy with most of the LVR loads was poor except for the factory ammo in my 99E. LVR does give greater velocity with lower pressure, but I haven't found consistent accuracy yet with either handloads or the factory stuff.

Your deltas are not very consistent. How many shots did you fire at each charge level to estimate the velocities?

Because of the wind conditions I didn't fire many shots and that's likely the cause of the inconsistent data. I was really just looking for a rough estimate of velocities and to looking for any indication of high pressure. I'll shoot more when I have free time the the weather is better. No point in shooting any more if I can't test for accuracy.
37.5 - 3 shots
38.0 - 1 shot
38.5 - 2 shots
39.0 - 3 shots
39.5 - 2 shots

Interesting to follow your testing, and delighted in you comment the accuracy trumps velocity. Keep up the good work.
It's unfortunate that the powder manufacturers do not give the great old 300 Savage more attention.

I looked up the loads for the 300 Savage in Ken Waters' Pet Loads. He said 38.5 grains of IMR 3031 was max with a 150 grain Sierra bullet at 2,595 fps. In his 2001 article he said 38 grains of 3031 was a good load at 2,536 fps. Obie's data, above, shows 38 grains of 8208 XBR giving 2,539 fps, so the two powders are pretty close in burn rate. In this article, Waters said 3031 would be his first pick for an all-around powder for the 300 Savage. 8208 XBR should be a good substitute.

Waters' most accurate load in 1976 with 150 grain bullets was 40.0 grains of IMR 4895 at 2,537 fps. In the 2001 article, it was still the most accurate 150 grain load at 2,560 fps with a Hornady spire point.

Again in 2001, 40.0 grains of IMR 4064 was also accurate at 2,530 fps, and my favorite load, 42.0 grains of WW-748 was very accurate at 2,527 fps. With 180 grain Speer spitzers, Waters liked 38 grains of IMR 4895 at 2,357 fps (very accurate), 38 grains of IMR 4064 at 2,378 fps, 40 grains of WW-748 at 2,395 fps (Very accurate), and 43.5 grains of WW-760 (extremely accurate).

In his 2001 follow-up to the 1976 article, Waters used a pair of 1950 vintage 24" Model 99 EGs. For the first article, he used a brand-new 99 with a 22" barrel.

I just got the book " The complete reloading manual for the .300 Savage". In the book there's data for 8208 XBR powder. The data is from Berger Bullets. They show a max load of 39.0 Gr @ 2651 FPS with a 150 gr match FB Target bullet. Pretty close to the results that I got. Good to finally see published data for 8208 XBR

Finally got back to the range. Loaded 38.0 - 39.4 in .2 gr increments. I forgot to bring the chronograph so I couldn't check the speed this time. I definitely saw a range where my loads shot very well. All loads are 8208 XBR powder, WLR primer, Hornady brass and Hornady 150 SST 300 Savage bullet set at 2.6" col. All groups were 3 shots.

38.0gr - 2.41"
38.2gr - 2.62"
38.4gr - 0.58"
38.6gr - 0.66"
38.8gr - 0.92"
39.0gr - 3.05"
39.2gr - 1.91"
39.4gr - 2.01"

The results were great from 38.4gr - 38.8gr. According to my previous chronograph data that should put me pretty close to the numbers that Jerseyboy quoted.
I'll load up 5 @ 38.6gr and if they shoot well I'll be pretty happy,

Would be a GREAT load/rifle combination for a backup on your Newfoundland hunt. The Newfies sure have taken a whole lot of Moose with the 300 Sav. My Dad got a 300Sav as a Christmas gift from Mom in 1927. He kept the family supplied with Venison with it. It took plenty of whitetail, a moose, elk, black bear, and who knows how many other species. My son has Dad's old 300 in Alaska now. A 300 Sav shooting the 150 @ 2600 + is a great game getter!