Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 308 reduced recoil

Been studying reduced loads for 308 Win with 125 grain bullets . Have seen the Seafire 30 grain load and also accurate 5744 27 grain @ 2000 fps
Of course the plethora of 4895 info. I have varget and tried the speer starting load of 45 grains @ 2825 fps
Found the hornady loads 125 grain SST. The one that interests me most is Benchmark 41.6 grains @ 2600 fps.
This powder sits between IMR 4198 and H4895 in the burn rate chart and will also be useful in my son's 223 Rem.
Would like to establish a load in the 2300 to 2500 fps range using Benchmark. IS THERE HOPE ?
Am I putting myself in danger ? Or am I just a good guinea pig ?
Relatively new to reloading and this is my first post so go easy on the old guy.

Grab an old Speer handloading manual and pull up a chair. They always have reduced loads in there. Generally using 4198 powder.

Interesting question, likely best answered by the powder manufacturer.

Older DuPont reloading manuals showed reduced loads.(1970s)

Sierra lists a number of under 2500 loads, but none with Benchmark. Surprisingly to me, RE15 is the one they recommend for their slowest loads

Seems like maybe the OP is reinventing the wheel. A pound of H4895 will make nearly 200 reduced rounds for the 308. They kick like a popgun. My daughter’s been shooting them since she was 11. If availability is the problem, I’ll bet some nearby member would help if the ammo is for a kid.

Thanks fellas
That's correct was planning on using one of the 4895's but none available anywhere.
Found an old thread from 2013 and it seems people are loading 308 125 grain loads
anywhere between 25 and 40 grains with IMR 4198 . I am just after a reduced load
in the 2300-2500 fps range . Now I feel more confident that IMR 4198 has more versatility
than I first thought . Found some on sale at Everglades Ammo.
Will work up some loads from 32.7 gr to 35 gr to reach my goals.
An added plus that I can use it for my sons 223 Rem.

Working with Boy Scouts...

25 to 30 grains of IMR 4198, with a 125, 130 or 150 grain bullet... never seen a 11 to 15 yr old kid intimidated by them.

30 grains will get you into your desired velocity...

40 grains of 4198, in a 308, you are getting well into over load range there.

Thanks Seafire ,
Read many forum threads searching for answers and confirmation.Your posts influenced me toward IMR 4198.
It seems you are held in high esteem on this forum.
I certainly appreciate the warning about 40 grains being in overload range . Would be nice to have some firm
guardrails in place. As many people as I have observed using this powder in 308 Win , I would have thought
the powder and bullet manufacturers would have more data.
Would love to have some pressures listed for the loads I will be attempting .
Won't be approaching near 40 grains for sure.
Will probably start at 30 grains and work up to perhaps 34 grains unless someone warns me of apparent
danger. Will check for pressure signs along the way.

I want to say one of my old H manuals had 308 handgun loads with 4198 topping out at something in the low 30’s for 150s. I’ll take a look and see.

25th Edition of Hodgdon manual has the following:

125-130gr bullets
36-39gr of H4198
35-37gr of IMR 4198

150gr bullets
34-36gr of H4198
No IMR data, but the rough extrapolation should be simple. I’d still not go over 32-33gr if it was me, just to be safe. And I’d work up.

Thanks JPro,
Good thought looking up handgun loads . Further confirmation I'm on the right track.
Looks like we have nearly the same line of thought on this subject . Powder arrives in the next few days.
Then I can get started. Think these threads will also shed more light on the subject for many people searching
for reduced 308 loads for younger folks ,range use and plinking. Along the way I read IMR 4198 is not
as loud as Varget and H4895. Just another added plus.

if anyone ever needs reduced load data for any cartridge...

just consult a cast bullet load manual.... there is plenty load data you'll find proven for decades...

and its safe to use with jacketed bullets, and you are usually NO WHERE NEAR max pressure charges...in fact not even close.

These type of manuals is where I started when working with kids in Boy Scouts. I even carry reduced loads in most of my hunting applications... with 90% of most game taken under a 100 yds, and 95 % take at 200 yds and under, ya don't need a 500 yd elk load to drop a blacktail or white tail deer at 100 yds or even 200 yds..

Heaviest deer I took in Oregon since living here was a 235 pound blacktail. He never saw me, and I shot him at 50 yds. The rifle was a Model 70 Featherweight in 7 x 57, and the load was 28 grains of SR 4759, and the bullet was a 115 grain Speer HP... Less recoil than a 223...Heart shot, dropped him on the spot, but his body rolled 40 yds or so down the hillside, after he collapsed .

Tested my loads today. Had fun crunching IMR4198 through my uniflow.Used 125 grain TNT bullets
29 ,30 and 31 grain loads were all pleasant to shoot. As a baseline I started with some 50 year old peters 180 grain 308.
It hasn't lost its oomph after 50 years - ouch. Not stellar shooting on my part but that wasn't my purpose yet.
On to accuracy testing for next range trip. Then on to 165 grain grand slam and gold dot when available.
If interest is generated I'll post more updates as things progress.

I used to load Speer 110's in my wife's 308win. It was a very light small Winchester ranger youth model and it kicked hard with factory ammo. She actually enjoyed shooting it with the light load I used with IMR4198, and it was pretty accurate. Glad you tried IMR4198, as I suggested in my previous post. Great powder for a lot of different reduced loads. Also works well in 223 rem loads.

An old post of mine:

Good post mathman.

I have a food for thought idea for reduced recoil, subsonic 200 grains go puff, hardly any recoil and quiet and dead deer to a hundred, don't know the range u are intending but deer and hogs to a hundred have flopped.

I remember that.... that guy was a real jerk....

😁