For those interested, I have a Savage Model 10FP in .308 Win that I have been working up loads for. As far as I can tell, this gun is a shooter and a bargain at that!

Here is a picture of my rifle...





The gun has a 20" barrel which is short as far as most bench gun nuts are concerned, but it is a delight to carry compared to my Savage Model 12lp. I got the POI close in with a box of Winchester 168gr Ballistic Silvertips, and cleaned the rifle a week before the test.

After prepping 400+ cases of .308, I was ready to go shoot the thing! Here are a few of them!



Bought up the supplies to get some loads going. After getting suggestions on a few other boards...It had been pretty much noticed everywhere that VARGET and IMR4064 were the two best powders for the caliber.



Loaded up my first batch of rounds, data as follows...

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10 rounds fired of 43gr Varget, Nosler 165gr Ballistic Tip
10 rounds fired of 44gr Varget, Nosler 165gr Ballistic Tip
10 rounds fired of 45gr Varget, Nosler 165gr Ballistic Tip

Max from Noslers newest manual was 46gr, at 45gr the rifle showed no signs of excessive pressure.

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Turns out, the 44gr Varget load was most accurate, putting 6 shots touching and had 4 flyers due to barrel heat and 10-20mph gusting winds, or user error



I plan on fine tuning this load this week, on a nice day

Also have a batch of 168gr SMK's to try out and I am going to check them at 44gr as well. Once I run out of umph to search for the most accurate load with Varget, I have a pound of IMR4064 to try out as well. People on a few different forums said that 41.5gr of IMR4064 with a 168gr SMK will match the Federal Gold Match stuff. We shall see!

Check on updates!

Justin



Federal Cases
CCI LR primers
2.800" OAL

That is the same setup I have, the 10FP in .308 is a shooter. Varget is going to be hard to beat. My current pet load is 44.9 gr Varget behind a 175 SMK with Winchester brass. I tried the IMR4064 but couldn't get as good results as I did with Varget. Good luck and keep us updated with your findings.

Ryan

Nice That is going to be my next rifle. I have been looking for one and then I went and bought a 223 but in awhile I am gonna get one

Thanks for the comments guys!

Atomic - I am debating whether to start really trying to fine tune this load or load a bunch up of this load and just having fun with it! Surely it is accurate enough for hunting

Looks to be plenty of accurate for hunting to me

Why not do both? Load you up some to have on hand for hunting and then see what more you can do with it. I don't hunt anymore, just paper punch, but have had really good luck with SMK's, Varget, Winchester brass, and CCI primers. I developed my load to play with 1000 yard and to date my best round was 186 5X using the load I posted. I didn't think it was too bad for the rifle and I was tickled with it seeing as how I have only shot 1000 yard 5 or 6 times in my whole life.

Thanks Atomic,

Is your load near max? Went and shot yesterday with 44gr varget, 168 smk , my gun didn't like that as much as the 165 ballistic tips. Also I was beginning to see signs of flat primers

You are confirming what I've been saying for YEARS & YEARS !. The fastest FPS don't equal accuracy !. Some people just can't fathom the thought of owning a particular weapon and not Proof loading it EVERY SINGLE OUTING !. Then wonder why their targets look like swiss cheese or shotgun patterns !.

Thanks for the post ; I've been working on my .308 as of late with IMR 4895 , 168 SI. don't recall off the top as to the exact powder charge but I've got 3 out of 5 touching with the other 2 about .75" out . Isn't to bad for a Weather Warrior , EH !. I'll be working on 4350 Varget and BLC-2 as soon as this Dam Rain lets up or moves on !.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Yes, it is right at max. Hogdon says 45.0g is max for Varget with a 175 SMK, I developed this load strictly for 1000 yd shooting. Any time you change a component whether it be brand or weight of bullet, brand of brass or primer, or even bullet style redevelop your load. My load for a Nosler 168 HPBT is different than my load for a 168 SMK and the accuracy of the SMK and Nosler 168 using the same charge of Varget is quite different. The load will also differ from rifle to rifle even if they are identical. And always pay attention to your spent casings and stop testing that load if you see pressure signs. I got pressure signs well below max on my 168 gr loads but I have none on the 175gr loads right at max. I'm not knowledgable enough to say why this is so maybe someone else can offer some insight.

What type of pressure signs did it show on the 168 load ?. How many firings per those cases ?, did you change any components other than bullet weight ?.

Hi guys!

Dr. K - This was from once fired F C cases. All I had changed was the bullet

I decided I had to fine tune this load. here is my next batch. Hopefully Saturday is nice and not real windy.

Here is another target showing that the 44gr Varget load really works

It looks like you found a pretty darned good load to me!

The only powder that will beat Varget is Vit 140.Here is a 200yd three shot group I shot a last month.The load was 40.5gr of Varget and a 155gr Sierra.[URL= ]a[/URL]I used an 8X scope.

Nice one

40.5gr with a 155gr Sierra is hardly pushing that bullet! Just proves that velocity doesn't equal accuracy

has anyone tried r 15 with 165 grain bullets.
I had better groups with this than varget

quote:

Originally posted by Dr.K:
I'll be working on 4350 Varget and BLC-2 as soon as this Dam Rain lets up or moves on !.

Rains moved on, Doc.Got any targets or data? roger