Recently I bought an early Ruger 77 International. This rifle only has a 18 1/2" barrel.



Do any of you have any pet loads for a carbine length gun?



I have H4895, IMR 4064, IMR4350 & 748 to start with.



I suppose I would start with a 150 gr. bullet but 165s would also be considered.



Pete

In my Remington 7 is very accurate with 43.5 grains IMR3031 and 150 grain bullets. Caution, this is a toasty load that may be too much for your rifle. Approach with due caution by working up. For heavier bullets, I tend to favor IMR4064. I think 4895 and 748 would also be winners too. The slower powders can produce accurate loads but for me the extra muzzle flash was something I prefered to live without.

Pistoleer. I have three RSI's in .308. Guess I like 'em. One thing I have determined is they can be very fussy about what you run though them, Not that it makes a hell of a lot of difference, but the barrel length is 18.5" not 18.
Anyway, I got all three at very decent prices because the previous owners said they were inaccurate.
Results with IMR-4895, 4064 and 3031 in my rifles was pretty dismal, although you may have better luck.
One thing I noticed in all three rifles was, they hated any 180 gr. spitzer bullet I tried. However, the 180 gr. Sierra round nose was the most accurate bullet in all three guns. Go figure. The 150 gr. bullets were fair, but I settled on the 165 gr. Speer Hot-Core as being the best compromise. I haven't tried W-748 yet, so it might be a good one. The powder that did work for me was W-760. The loads that did the best are as follows. For the 150 gr. Sierra, 50.0 gr. W-760. Load not chronographed. For the 165 gr. Speer, 49.0 gr. W-760, velocity 2550 FPS. FWIW, that same load does 2610 from a 22" barreled .308 I have. For the 180 gr. Sierra round nose, 48.0 gr. of W-760. Load not chronographed.
Of all the deer I have taken with the 165 gr. load, only one bullet has been recovered. Shot was at 250 yards, laser measured. The deer was facing me, slightly uphill. The bullet entered the chest and traveled the entire length of the deer, ending up at the rear leg bone, breaking that. Retained weight was 65 percent. FWIW, most of my shots have been at much closer range.
My wife appropriated one of my RSI's so actually, now I'm down to two. At least, it's still in the family.
Accuracy runs as follows: 150 gr. Sierra, 1.5", 165 Speer, 1.25", 180 gr. Siera, .75" and 180 gr. Sierra spitzer 4-5"
These are really neat hunting rifles, but for the most part tackdrivers they ain't. Enjoy it for what it is, a cool stalking rifle.
Paul B.

Pistoleer,

I have a Remington 788 .308 with an 18 1/2" barrel I bought in 1981. Have tried many powder and bullet combinations over the years but keep coming back to the one load this gun loves:

51.0 760, Speer 165 BTSP

With a short barrel it "makes sense" to use a faster powder
but 748, 2460, 4064, 3031, etc., can't touch this load in this gun. Will shoot sub MOA if I do my part, and the Speer BT is devastating to whitetails.


Best of luck, congrats on the new Ruger!


44 Mag

Pistoleer
I have done a lot of hunting with several 308 rifles over the years. I use my favorite load in all of them, whether it is a 18" bbl Rem Mod 7, H&K91. 20" bbl Steyr or a26" bbl Steyr SSG. This load has never failed to shoot good in any rifle I have tried it in, It is not a max load but I have killed a lot of Antelope at @ 350 yards and one at 550.

Powder, IMR 3031, 39.5 grains, Bullet 165 grain Sierra 165 HPBT Gameking, CCI or Federal Primer. This load is safe in GI or factory brass.
The 165 Nosler Partition, or the 165 Nosler Ballistic Tip also shoot well if you like those bullets better.

I use the same powder charge for 180 Nosler Partitions but start at 37.5gr and work up. I would prefer the 180 for Elk sized game and up, but I doubt if any animal could tell the difference between a 165 or a 180 Partition fired from a 308, but I just prefer heavy bullets on big game.

One of my friends wanted a light kicking short range deer load for his Ruger 308 International. I loaded him some 150 Flat Point bullets [the ones for the 30-30] with 36gr of IMR 3031 and they worked like a charm. Cut the recoil way down too.

Thanks for the replies. It looks as if I'll be buying some new powder. I'll try 760 first and then perhaps 30 31. Actually I thought I had some 3031 but I didn't see it in the cabinet.

I probably won't be doing much shooting until it warms up. This zero weather isn't real good for fine shooting.