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Old February 19, 2013, 06:34 PM   #1
Big Yac
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Reloading for an AR type firearm

I have an AR type firearm in 308. I want to reload ammo for it but have a few questions. I have a set of the standard 308 dies but for a firearm of this type would the small base dies help with feeding? Also, what would be a good powder/bullet combo? I have a lot of IMR 4895 as I like it for my 243, 308, and 30-06 bolt guns. Thanks.
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Old February 19, 2013, 07:49 PM   #2
saitek
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.308

i use large base dies with my rockriver , 4064 powder an sierra 168 hpbt match or 150 hpbt .i havent tryed 4895 ,i was thinking about trying aliant's ar comp but it is all bought up .
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Old February 20, 2013, 02:43 PM   #3
number 9
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I use RCBS standard 308 f/l dies for my lr308.

Have used imr 4064,bl-c (2),as well as varget with good results.

Getting ready to start loading for a 308 bolt gun and will use the same set up.


Have never used small base dies so really don't know about that one.

Hope this helps
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Old February 21, 2013, 02:09 AM   #4
mohr308
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Not sure about .308 but for my AR 5.56 I use small base dies and a case gage to set the die. My case gage is a Wilson case gage, never any feeding problems. I have heard many times people not using a small base sizing die have feeding problems.
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Old February 21, 2013, 08:15 AM   #5
toolguy2006
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Big Yac:

You probably cant go wrong with IMR 4895. The "Bible Load" for an M1A uses 40.5 to 41.5 gr IMR 4895 under a 168 Gr match bullet.

My Sig Sauer in .308 absolutely will not cycle without the use of small base dies, but yours may be different. As far as bullets, I have always had good luck with Hornady A-Max's, but lots of people swear by the Sierra Match Kings as well. I've known some semi autos that wouldn't feed certain hunting bullets reliably.

Also, you may want to take a look at this if you haven't already. It gives some great advice on " do's and dont's" of reloading for semi-auto service type rifles.

http://www.zediker.com/downloads/14_loading.pdf
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Old February 21, 2013, 09:18 AM   #6
HJ857
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I think we all need to know if you're hunting or target shooting, and at what distances are you planning on shooting?
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Old February 21, 2013, 10:16 AM   #7
Bart B.
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Big Yak, what's the rifling twist in that barrel and how long is it?

That'll make a small difference in what bullet might shoot the most accurate.

And IMR4064's been the "standard" for best accuracy in .308 chambered semiautos for bullets weighing 165 to 190 grains since the early 1960's. But you'll probably have to weigh charges; it doesn't meter very uniformly. IMR4895's been a close second and doesn't need to be weighed for good accuracy up through 600 yards.
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Old February 21, 2013, 11:48 AM   #8
Big Yac
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Thank you all for the advice. I see in my post I said an AR style firearm but the gun is actually an H&K 91. I cannot remember at the moment the barrel length or twist rate. I'll post that later tonight. I have the IMR 4895 that I love in my 243, 308, and 30-06 bolt guns so theres plenty of it. I also found I have some IMR 4064. The type of shooting I"ll be doing is mostly target shooting out to 300 (mostly), 400, 500(maximum) yards. I know thats a wide range of distances and was thinking the heavier bullets might work best, 168 or even 180 grain bullets again since I use the 180s in my 06 I have a good number of them. Thanks again.
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Old February 21, 2013, 11:56 AM   #9
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500 yards is doable with pretty much any bullet and IMR4895 will definitely do the trick. If your twist turns out to be 1:10 then I think anything in the 168 to 180 grain range is good, though finding anything in stock now is tricky. The 178 Amax and their BTHP Match bullets have been reasonably easy to find and at a good price too.
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Old February 22, 2013, 11:44 AM   #10
Big Yac
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twist rate is 1:10. I've been looking and anything from 150 to 180gr is really hard to find. Would 200 gr bullets be too much big for this? At some point I'd begin to worry about the OAL and being able to fit into a clip.
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