loading for a freinds .308 and he bought a box of 165 hornaday btsp's. any general favorites for a powder? the 2 fastest powders I have is h380 and h414. do ineed to buy a different powder to start with?

I would suggest one of the following Varget, IMR 4064 or IMR 4895.

i would add RL-15 to what jay said.
...tj3006

My favorite is the IMR 4064 for shear accuracy, but the others aren't going to let you down either.

I've been shooting the Hornady 165 grain Hornady BTSP and IMR 4064 since 1982 in my 308 and I'll shoot that combination until the gun dies.

I'd try BLC-2 or Varget.

Here's another vote for IMR 4064.

Other powders I've found that work fairly well are Winchester 748 and, with heavy bullets, Winchester 760.

It would be a toss up between IMR4064, RL15 & VV150. If I was pressed for one in my rifle, probably RL15 by a small margin.

H-380 From 41.3 grains to 51.0 grains
Remington 9-1/2 Primer

H-414 From 42.0 grains to 52.0 grains
Remington 9-1/2 Primer

But I preferred:
N-550 From 40.7 grains to 48.9 grains
Remington 9-1/2 Primer

had real good results with H414 and 168 MK 165grand slams 165hpbt hornady.

Our best accuracy was a tie between Re15 and IMR4064. Velocity was better, though slight, with Reloder powder.

I still use both but more of the IMR.

Try IMR-4064. I like varget but too much difference in burn rate lot to lot. I have about quit using Varget.

IMR-4064, BL-C2, and H322 give me great results.

quote:

Originally posted by ricciardelli:
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But I preferred:
N-550 From 40.7 grains to 48.9 grains
Remington 9-1/2 Primer

I agree with Ricardelli, the N550 seems to be one of the most versatile powders for the .30 calibre group. With no other powder I got neither the same performance nor the same velocity. The only shortcoming (if at all..) is a bigger muzzle flash if you use it in short barrels

Gerry

h-380 works fine in the .308

I use RL-15 in:

303 British
308
300 Savage
7.62x54R

I use the 165 Hornadys in 308 and 300 Savage. Results are great.

ZM

165 Hornady worked well with Varget in my Savage 99.

Both BL-C2 and Varget work good for me. I prefer Varget as I find it to be clearner powder, in my rifle anyway.

Danny

308 Win
IMR 4895 @ 43.6
165 gr or 168 gr
WW Cases
Fed 210 Match Primer

I have used this load for years in matches and hunting.....excellent load.

quote:

Originally posted by Alaska Bush Man:
308 Win
IMR 4895 @ 43.6
165 gr or 168 gr
WW Cases
Fed 210 Match Primer

I have used this load for years in matches and hunting.....excellent load.

Sounds interesting, and want to give the IMR a try....
Have you ever chronoed this load or do you have an idea of the velocity?

cheers,
Gerald

I am using 45gr. of H-4895, WLR primer's, 165 gr. Hornady sst, Win. brass,with 2669 fps. out of my .308 99 savage.

I use WC-846 in the .308

quote:

Originally posted by 30378:
Try IMR-4064. I like varget but too much difference in burn rate lot to lot. I have about quit using Varget.

Do you feel that there are a lot of powders out there that have the high lot to lot variability now? Is it quality control or what. Another powder with similar lot to lot variability is RL22.

Although there are a lot of powders that do well in the 308 Win. with 165 to 168 gr. bullets. There are three that have done better for me than all the others. They are as follows:

VithaVouri N550 between 46.6 and 47.2 gr. in Winchester brass with a Federal 210M primer. Velocity runs around 2750 to 2800 fps, With loads tailored to my individual rifles is .5 MOA or better.

RL 15 between 43.6 and 44.0 gr. in Winchester brass with a Federal 210M primer. Velocity runs around 2725 fps, Again with loads tailored to my individual rifles is .5 MOA or better.

IMR 4895 between 40.0 and 41.0 gr. in Winchester brass with a CCI BR-2 primer. Velocity runs around 2525 fps. The only bullet I shoot this load with is the Sierra 168 gr. MatchKing for the simple reason it shoots consistently in the .2's and .3's from the bench in two differnt rilfes.

All the other loads are with both match bullets and Sierra or Hornaday hunting bullets. As far as hunting bullets for whitetail deer and hogs, I have two favorites, both by Sierra, the 165 gr. HPBT for hogs and the 165 BTSP for deer. Both are extremely accurate and hit deer and hogs HARD when ran at 2700 to 2800 fps. These loads show no pressure in my rifles or numerous rifles my friends own. However as always start lower than the loads listed and work up. If I had to settle on one the listed powders, it would VithaVouri N550 for the simple reason it delivers higher accurate velocities with 165 gr. bullets for hunting than any other powder I have tried and I tried a lot of them through the years.

PaPa 260

XMR 4064

my advise is start with the powder you already have it may be just what you are looking for. Every rifle is differant, differant twists, barrel lenths and so on and so on. Remember this when reading these logs. On the other hand most of the guys here really know what they are talking about. If you ask the right questions there is bound to be some one that has been in the same boat your in at one time or another. Good luck.

Varget works well w/ that bullet in a 308. H 4985 gives alittle better speed in my experience.

Good Luck

Reloader

Since you already have H-380, I'd recommend starting with that one. Its burning rate is near to that of IMR 4064, and it meters well -- 4064 does not meter well. With a lot of effort or a stroke of luck, you may find a powder that gives you a bit better results, but you'd have to go through a lot of trials.

Although some loading manuals recommend magnum primers with all loads when using ball-type powders such as H380, I think those recommendations are mistaken. You are likely to get better results with a non-magnum primer in the .308.

hundreds of hunter class benchrest shooters shoot the 150gr Sierra MK and 39-43gr of H4895 and get 5-shot gropos under 3/8" at 100 and under an inch at 300.

Rich