I am trying to sleuth out what powder might be in the Winchester Supreme factory ammo, 308 Win with the 'CT' coated 150 gr ballistic tips.

I pulled apart several, and there is 45.5 gr. of a powder that looks just like Win 760........

I don't have in W-748, which I presume is more suited to a 308 than W-760, does it look just like W-760?
Would it make sense for Win to have this cartridge loaded with W-760??

Any help appreciated--these cartridges shot unreal good in my Surgeon 308, and I'd really like to duplicate them.

W-748 is the standard powder that Winchester uses in the .308. Yes, they are both ball powders and look exactly the same.

Thanks FC, as good as that stuff shot, I'll definitely be getting some.

Thanks again!

quote:

Originally posted by Fish30114:
...308 Win ...I pulled apart several, and there is 150 gr. of a powder ...

Hey Fish, Quit sniffin the powder before you post.

Factory loaded ammo has to be fairly safe to shoot in almost any firearm. 50gr of W748 with a 150gr bullet is going to be questionably safe in many rifles. I'll bet it is loaded with W760.

I would guess case capacity for the 308 to be about 55gr of water .

Are you saying that the charge you dumped from a factory cartridge had 150gr of powder in it?

Fellows, a word to the wise: You can not identify the powder in a commercial case by appearance!!!! It may or most likely may not be like any canister powder on the market. Rem/Win/Fed/Etc call up the powder factory and say "send me over a couple of tons of stuff about like 4350 (or whatever)" When it arrives, the guys in white coats take samples of it and determine how much is needed in a case to product xxx amount of pressure which they extrapolate into xxx velocity and tell the factory guys to set their powder fillers to that amount. When that batch is used up, they order another batch which is kinda the same but also different and they start over.
This is why, when I take a none reloading buddy hunting, I tell him to buy several boxes of ammo all with the same lot number. For practice and hunting. 'Cause a box of Winchester ammo in Casper, WY may not be the same as a box of Winchester ammo in Memphis, TN.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:

quote:

Originally posted by Fish30114:
...308 Win ...I pulled apart several, and there is 150 gr. of a powder ...

Hey Fish, Quit sniffin the powder before you post.

Damn that's right Hot Core, a 150 gr bullet with 45.5gr. of powder!!
Brain cramp new guy!!!

original post edited!

stillbeeman, good points and I am aware of same, but just wanted to try and work up a load to be as close as possible, and 760 looked to be awful low on the efficiency side when I ran it in quickload--thus the question.

Thanks guys--Don

Hey Don, I don't normally get into which is the Best Powder and Load threads. In this situation I'll make an exception.

Good old IMR-4064 and Hodgdon Varget are both extremely accurate in a lot of 308Wins I've had with 150gr bullets. If I ever run out of IMR-4064, I'll just go to Varget(with the shorter grains) and be very happy with the results. Excellent accuracy and no erratic Pressures.

I was a bit surprised the other day to notice some fairly accurate groups in the 3-ring Binder that were made with RL-15. Only problem is the RL Powders all seem to get a bit erratic as I approach a SAFE MAX with them.

For 165gr-168gr Bullets, H380 used at the Starting Load levels in the Hodgdon Manual have allowed me to eat a good bit of FREE BBQ for supper.

I just never know what will shoot the best until I actually try it though.

It is very difficult to go wrong with a 308Win.

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills.

This is from the Winchester handloading booklet.
1. 150 gr. SP 748 48.5 gr. 2865FPS 48,000 CUP

2. 150 gr. SP 760 50.1 gr. 2700 FPS 40,500 CUP

3. 150 gr. FS 748 43.0 gr. 2540 FPS 45,100 PSI

I dunno how much help that was, but I've tried that 50.1 gr. W-760 in one of my .308s and it's right at max in that rifle. (Ruger 77 RSI)

based the data I posted. methinks they're using a non-cannister grade ball powder.

I did look in the Hodgden #25 loading manual (Sorry, that's the latest Hodgden manual I have) and they show a max load of H-335 of 45.0 gr. I only mention that because H-335 is a ball powder and Winchester probably makes it for Hodgdgen. That load is awfully close to the 45.5 you mention.
Now I am not saying it is H-335, but it's close.
Years ago, I used to use H-335 in a Remington 660. I forget the load but it was accurate and it did reach out and touch something. It was death and destruction on a 195 pound feild dressed Mule Deer at 427 paces with a 150 gr. Sierra Sptizer flat base bullet. (They didn't call then Pro-Hunters back then.) I quit using H-335 because of the bright muzzle flash and the report was extremely loud high pitched crack that was painful to the ears. I've lost my notes in the move down here to AZ, but IIRC, it was right at the max for my rifle.
Paul B.

Hot Core, and Paul B, thanks a lot. It's nice to have a few forum friends that will share some insight.

I will USE it.

Best regards--Don