I am working on a load for 308/180gr Nosler Partition. I have tried several loads with BLC2 and Varget giving speeds of 2740 fps and above.
Unfortunately the groups are 3 or 4" in size, so I have just loaded a few more sedate loads in the hope of some smaller groups.
What kind of groups or velocities should I be looking for with a 180 Partition, and is over 2700 too fast? I was trying to replicate Federals High Energy load ballistics, but I have read that they are"nt very accurate loads either.
good shooting

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I have tried several loads with BLC2 and Varget giving speeds of 2740 fps and above.

Varget, Varget, Varget. Not necessarily in that order.

your loading too hot,back off and get into the 2500 + fps range. federal eather uses special blended powders or two different powders in the same case,your already way past your loads SWEET-SPOT. both good powders 4 sure, yes 2700 fps is way 2 fast un-less your shooting threw a long custom barrel,sure hope your measureing your case head expansion. regards jjmp

First thing to find out is what brand bbl. and how long is it. 2750 with a 180 is easy if it's long enough. Probably needs to be at least 27-28" to get that speed.

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Probably needs to be at least 27-28" to get that speed.

Even that won't do it!....we're pushing pressures of 75,000 PSI and more in all likelyhood!

I am getting 2550 out of a 20" model 7 with 748 and 180 Gr. Failsafes.Took two shoulders out on a Cow Elk with it!!!!!

308/180 2740fps?

earlier, brass thief posted this: "OK, it"s like this. I"m going on a moose hunt in October of this year, and I don"t want to buy a bigger calibre that I might never need again. I have tried 180 grain partitions with BLC2 and Varget, up to a couple of grains over the max. They are showing a drop of -7" with zero 1" hi at 100 mtrs, making a total of -8" between 100 and 200 mtrs. As I went over the max, the groups just got bigger, no flatter. I am at or very near case capacity."
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For starters, there is no sense in red-lining the .308 WCF. You aren't doing yourself (or anyone around you) any favors. Also, even if you'd only be getting 2500 fps, your drop tables seem way off. Sighting or shooter error could be the problem and is what you should actually be concentrating on.

I have never hunted moose, but I know you DON'T need to endanger yourself with unsafe loads to kill one, either. A friend of the family takes moose every season (or so it seems) using his little .300 Savage with 150 grain Partitions loping along at a sedate 2600 fps. He's killed them as far away as 240 yards -- and I have no reason to doubt his claim.

If you can't kill a moose with a .308 WCF and a 180 grain bullet at 25-2600 fps, you certainly aren't going to kill it with the same bullet at a higher speed, either.

I shoot 175SMK/178AMAX in my .308 at 2700fps, I got no pressure signs at, IMHO you need to find out what the accuracy node of a 180 is, and stick to, a round nose going that fast can't be good.

Brian427Cobra wrote:

quote:

shoot 175SMK/178AMAX in my .308 at 2700fps, I got no pressure signs at, IMHO you need to find out what the accuracy node of a 180 is, and stick to, a round nose going that fast can't be good.

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Seems you left out a few words or thoughts or something...

Bobby, you"re right on a couple of points there.
I have very little experience with "heavier" bullets, as I live in the UK, and shoot everything(Red,Sika and Fallow) with my 243.
As a result, when I first started loading 180"s in my 308, I did"nt raise my point of zero at 100 mtrs. This made my downrange trajectory look worse that it was. I had no access to a Chrono at that time, so I thought my loads were slow when it was actually a zero problem. with a zero 2" high as 100 mtrs, I am now only a couple of inches low at 200(average in a 4-6" group!)
Using the Lee manual and Federal"s HE figures,
I thought that around or just over 2700fps would be my target. I can get that speed and more(I won"t admit how much more!), but accuracy is dismall. I loaded 2 different(much lighter) loads today, and I hope to let them loose tommorrow morning. Hopefully they will group better.
good shooting

I've owned and loaded for six different 308's... the only 180 load that ever hit right at 2,700 was Federl HE factory loads!

2,650 is the about the absolute top end that should be expected from a 22" bbl'd 308.

I shot 9 rounds today with 44 grains of varget, I did"nt have a chrony, but it was a lot slower than before. They were much better, with the last 2 shots going into 2 1/4" at 250 mtrs. I will load up some more and put them over the chrony.
good shooting