Testing Hunting Load for the .308

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thaHooligan

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On Saturday I drove to Duncan and went by Murf's Guns to see if they had any hunting bullets for the .308, but no luck, only match bullets. So then I went by Ausley's in Lawton, but of course no luck there either. Then I went by Academy and got lucky finding one box of 150gr Interlock Spire Points. All I usually find at Academy is match bullets. I was really wanting something in 165 or 168 grain, but I figured I would give these a shot. They actually did pretty good to my surprise. I've tried several loads with 150 gr SST's and haven't been able to get anything under about a 1.5" group. Also I'm still fairly new to reloading, so anything under 1" is good to me lol. After reading some of the other posts in this section I realize just how much I still have to learn about reloading, which is A LOT! But reading through all the ideas and knowledge some of you guys have, has helped me out quite a bit!

 

Cat City Slim

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I’ve found ssts to be accurate bullets. I prefer 150s for deer. I am using Speer deep curls this year, as I couldn’t get ballistic tips or ssts. The deep curls shoot well, I hope to be able to take a deer with one this season to see how they perform on game.
 

Louro

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One thing I will recommend make sure you only change one thing at the time. When you have the powder weight that give you a good speed and ES or SD. Then start messing with the seating depth. Sometime a different powder does wonder too.
 

thaHooligan

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You could try changing the oal of your rounds. Some rifles are very sensitive to bullet seating depth.
One thing I will recommend make sure you only change one thing at the time. When you have the powder weight that give you a good speed and ES or SD. Then start messing with the seating depth. Sometime a different powder does wonder too.
Good suggestions, I will try the SST's with a different seating depth and see if that helps. I've been looking for some of the faster speed powders, but neither of the gun stores I went to on Saturday had any. I will definitely try some different powder if I can find some. Murfs had some CFEBLK and CFEPistol, but no CFE223, which is one I've been looking for. I just don't want to pay the crazy shipping cost of ordering it online.
 

oneshot

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I use cfe223 with the 150 sst, very accurate.
What part of the state are you in if you don't mind me asking.
If you are close you could come to my place to work in your load. I'm In the Henryetta area.
 

dennishoddy

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On Saturday I drove to Duncan and went by Murf's Guns to see if they had any hunting bullets for the .308, but no luck, only match bullets. So then I went by Ausley's in Lawton, but of course no luck there either. Then I went by Academy and got lucky finding one box of 150gr Interlock Spire Points. All I usually find at Academy is match bullets. I was really wanting something in 165 or 168 grain, but I figured I would give these a shot. They actually did pretty good to my surprise. I've tried several loads with 150 gr SST's and haven't been able to get anything under about a 1.5" group. Also I'm still fairly new to reloading, so anything under 1" is good to me lol. After reading some of the other posts in this section I realize just how much I still have to learn about reloading, which is A LOT! But reading through all the ideas and knowledge some of you guys have, has helped me out quite a bit!


150 grain bullets are considered by many to be THE bullet for the .308.
Similar to .22-250 52 grain and the 165 grain for the 30-06.
Some calibers have a sweet spot for certain weight bullets.
 

swampratt

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I have shot that bullet in .308 and at that time my barrel was longer , 24"
I set mine just under your length 2.742" No crimp.
All cases were annealed each time.
My Lyman 49th shows that bullet in Remington cases with a max load of Varget at 47 grains.
The 155 gr bullet in that same book states 48 gr max with Varget.

I now use the 155 or larger A-max as those expand much more and drop the deer quicker.
That 155 Hornady 3031 bullet is what I use in 30-06 right at 3000 fps from my 22" barrel.
If you have IMR4064 you might give that a try if you are still playing with the load.

I think the load you have will work fine though.
I have found the 4064 will show more velocity than the Varget in the short barrels.
Book calls for 48 gr max with that Hornady 3031 bullet in Rem. cases using IMR 4064 powder.

When I ran the sierra Palma 155 gr with 24" barrel I used Varget at 46.5gr and got 2904-2919 fps and 47 gr it was 2978 fps.
Savage 10FP. That Palma bullet would just pencil through deer though. Good for targets but not on critters even at that high speed.

I have taken a lot of deer with that 3031 bullet.
It will go out the other side for me and my guns.

Happy hunting.
 

undeg01

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150 grain bullets are considered by many to be THE bullet for the .308.
Similar to .22-250 52 grain and the 165 grain for the 30-06.
Some calibers have a sweet spot for certain weight bullets.
I have found that 165 and 168 gr bullets work best in my 308’s. I never could find a load for 150’s that was accurate enough for me.
 

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