308 advice - hunting / reloading

drdirk · October 8, 2005, 03:50 PM

I am new to rifle caliber reloading, only reloaded pistol so far. I have a remington 700 and am looking for advice on a good general purpose hunting bullet, powder combination. I plan on going up to ME for deer hunting and expect to have no more than 200 yard shots. Any advice is welcome. I am also about to order reloading dies, probably RCBS because this is what I am used to on my single stage RCBS press. Is this ok? Or would some of you guys suggest something different. Again, I have never reloaded anything but .45 acp/ 9mm /45 Colt so any advice on what else I should get to make reloading better would be great. Thanks to this forum I have had great advice on my early reloading questions. Not sure I would have been able to do it without you guys. Thanks for any advice.

Swamp Yankee · October 8, 2005, 05:39 PM

Lots of good stuff for the 308

Varget, Reloader 15 and WW748 are three powders that I can recommend from experience in the 308. As to bullets, 165 grain Nosler Partions or Speer Grand Slams should work well.
As to dies, the RCBS sets are just fine, but I would recommend losing the RCBS lock rings and replacing with either Lyman, Hornady or Redding lock rings.

Take Care

LHB1 · October 8, 2005, 07:19 PM

For deer hunting at 200 yds or less with .308, almost any 130-165 gr bullet would suffice. My choice would be a 150 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip on top of H4895. Varget also looks good but have never tried it personally.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

T. O'Heir · October 8, 2005, 09:01 PM

"...my single stage RCBS press..." That's exactly what I've been using for 30 years or so. I don't think I'd bother with any other press than an RCBS. Their customer service is outstanding. If you're not using a scale, you need to for rifle ammo. Loading speed comes with technique. Mind you, it's the same technique for rifle as it is for handgun ammo.
A 165 grain bullet is a good general purpose bullet for the .308. IMR4064 and regular large rifle primers works well for me. It works really well with 168 grain match bullets. Not that they're any use for deer.

Dave R · October 8, 2005, 10:54 PM

FWIW, my .308 hunting load is a 150gr. Sierra Pro Hunter on top of 46gr. of H335, lit by a CCI 250 primer. That's a near max load in Speer 13, but that's where my rifle got best accuracy. Just under MOA at 200 yards.

drdirk · October 9, 2005, 06:46 AM

Thanks everybody. Good suggestions to get me started. One more question: I usually did not sort my brass for pistol reloading and don't find a difference in performance with mixed brass. Is it the same for rifle? Or do you suggest to keep only one headstamp at a time?

LHB1 · October 9, 2005, 02:19 PM

Drdirk,
With rifles, I would INSIST on sorting cases by brand and working up loads separately for each brand!!! Actually I only use one case brand for each rifle caliber. For each rifle I will buy 3-4 boxes of new brass FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER AND LOT NUMBER (see number inside one end flap) to further minimize case variations. Rifle loads operate at much higher pressures than most pistol loads and you DON'T want extra pressure spikes from variations in case capacity between different brands.

Good shooting and be safe.
LB

Dave R · October 9, 2005, 08:10 PM

LHB1 speaks the truth. I have found that case capacity can differ significantly in rifle cases. For example, some .223 cases I have tried will hold about 3fr. of powder more than others. That's enough to show up on velocity, trajectory, peak pressure etc. IIRC, it was Winchester cases that would not hold a max load of Varget, but PMP cases would hold it easily. Or maybe it was the other way around...

KillinCritters · October 18, 2005, 05:56 PM

165gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip Spitzer Part # 30165
41.0gr Alliant Reloader 15
WLR Winchester primer
OAL 2.800

Kills darn near everything I can ask it to here in Va.

October 8, 2005, 03:50 PM	#1
drdirk Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2004 Location: houston, tx Posts: 179	308 advice - hunting / reloading I am new to rifle caliber reloading, only reloaded pistol so far. I have a remington 700 and am looking for advice on a good general purpose hunting bullet, powder combination. I plan on going up to ME for deer hunting and expect to have no more than 200 yard shots. Any advice is welcome. I am also about to order reloading dies, probably RCBS because this is what I am used to on my single stage RCBS press. Is this ok? Or would some of you guys suggest something different. Again, I have never reloaded anything but .45 acp/ 9mm /45 Colt so any advice on what else I should get to make reloading better would be great. Thanks to this forum I have had great advice on my early reloading questions. Not sure I would have been able to do it without you guys. Thanks for any advice.

October 8, 2005, 10:54 PM	#5
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2000 Location: Idaho Posts: 6,073	FWIW, my .308 hunting load is a 150gr. Sierra Pro Hunter on top of 46gr. of H335, lit by a CCI 250 primer. That's a near max load in Speer 13, but that's where my rifle got best accuracy. Just under MOA at 200 yards. __________________ I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).

October 9, 2005, 06:46 AM	#6
drdirk Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2004 Location: houston, tx Posts: 179	thanks! One more question.... Thanks everybody. Good suggestions to get me started. One more question: I usually did not sort my brass for pistol reloading and don't find a difference in performance with mixed brass. Is it the same for rifle? Or do you suggest to keep only one headstamp at a time?

October 9, 2005, 08:10 PM	#8
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2000 Location: Idaho Posts: 6,073	LHB1 speaks the truth. I have found that case capacity can differ significantly in rifle cases. For example, some .223 cases I have tried will hold about 3fr. of powder more than others. That's enough to show up on velocity, trajectory, peak pressure etc. IIRC, it was Winchester cases that would not hold a max load of Varget, but PMP cases would hold it easily. Or maybe it was the other way around... __________________ I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).

October 8, 2005, 05:39 PM	#2
Swamp Yankee Senior Member Join Date: November 26, 2000 Location: Northeastern Ct. Posts: 1,019	Lots of good stuff for the 308 Varget, Reloader 15 and WW748 are three powders that I can recommend from experience in the 308. As to bullets, 165 grain Nosler Partions or Speer Grand Slams should work well. As to dies, the RCBS sets are just fine, but I would recommend losing the RCBS lock rings and replacing with either Lyman, Hornady or Redding lock rings. Take Care

October 8, 2005, 07:19 PM	#3
LHB1 Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,545	For deer hunting at 200 yds or less with .308, almost any 130-165 gr bullet would suffice. My choice would be a 150 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip on top of H4895. Varget also looks good but have never tried it personally. Good shooting and be safe. LB

October 8, 2005, 09:01 PM	#4
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...my single stage RCBS press..." That's exactly what I've been using for 30 years or so. I don't think I'd bother with any other press than an RCBS. Their customer service is outstanding. If you're not using a scale, you need to for rifle ammo. Loading speed comes with technique. Mind you, it's the same technique for rifle as it is for handgun ammo. A 165 grain bullet is a good general purpose bullet for the .308. IMR4064 and regular large rifle primers works well for me. It works really well with 168 grain match bullets. Not that they're any use for deer.

October 9, 2005, 02:19 PM	#7
LHB1 Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,545	Drdirk, With rifles, I would INSIST on sorting cases by brand and working up loads separately for each brand!!! Actually I only use one case brand for each rifle caliber. For each rifle I will buy 3-4 boxes of new brass FROM THE SAME MANUFACTURER AND LOT NUMBER (see number inside one end flap) to further minimize case variations. Rifle loads operate at much higher pressures than most pistol loads and you DON'T want extra pressure spikes from variations in case capacity between different brands. Good shooting and be safe. LB

October 18, 2005, 05:56 PM	#9
KillinCritters Junior Member Join Date: October 18, 2005 Location: Chesterfield, Va. Posts: 5	165gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip Spitzer Part # 30165 41.0gr Alliant Reloader 15 WLR Winchester primer OAL 2.800 Kills darn near everything I can ask it to here in Va.