308 Win powder

Which powder are y'all having the best accuracy and velocity in the 308 Win with 165 grain Partitions and Accubonds?

I have used varget and IMR4064. both have worked well

You'll see Varget lots.The AB's will probably beat Partitions accuracy wise but not performance wise.

My only concern with Varget is the 103% load capacity with Nosler's listed max load. Most folks I see using Varget use that max load. I guess it's not a big deal, but being new to reloading it makes me nervous.

I see RL15 mentioned, as well. It's not a compressed load. Anybody have any experience with it?

Never could get the same consistency with RL15 as Varget.

I ise RL-15 in my 7-08 and 300WSM. First pic is 7-08 with 120 barnes. Seceondis 300WSM with 140 barnes. Sorry, don't own a 308 so no direct comparison

Varget is very good 45-46grs for 165gr, H380 also another good one.

Loaded some 150 gr barnes for my cousins bull barreled steyr at 44.5 gr of varget ( .5") and 46 gr of varget for a 26" rem 700 (.75") you're crunching powder to seat bullets but once loaded u can hear it still shaking in the case

With a .308 just dump your powder out on the table then take something and rake it into your brass til you fill em up. You'll be about right.

I know you're shooting Barnes bullets, but do you have a recommendation for my bullet choice?

I've tried both RL15 and Varget in my Rem 700 5R 308 Win. Both are accurate but I get slightly better groups with RL 15 than Varget. I use 44.2 gr. RL 15 under a 168 gr. Hornasy AMAX. Velocity is 2670 fps and accuracy is <1/2 MOA with five shot groups, not just three shots.

Nothing wrong with Varget, my gun is just slightly better with the RL 15. Also, compressed loads are common and not dangerous. I do think the Nosler data for 308 is optimistic. None of my other loading guides shows any where near the same velocity as the Nosler does with Varget in the the 308. Around 44 gr. of Varget will get you about 2700 FPS with a 165/168 gr bullet and the deer will not complain.

Crunching powder doesn't hurt anything, your just compressing it to take up the air gaps. CFE 223 or H380 is an excellent choice for filling the cases.

I shoot 44.6gr of Varget under Speer 165gr PSPBT in Lapua brass. Velocity of 10 shots at 70 degrees averaged 2698fps and groups real good for deer hunting.

It's usually hard for me to come up with something better than Nosler recommends

Ditto, I'll try to find my load data for ya

Be careful with using powder charges listed for one brand of bullet and substituting another brand of bullet. Different bullets develop different pressure levels due to bearing surface, jacket material and internal construction. What may be listed as a safe maximum load for Brand A 165 gr bullet may be too hot for Brand B 165 gr, bullet with the same amount of powder.

AND ogive location on THAT particular bullet in relation to where it will engage the rifling. This is where you can knowingly or unknowingly cause pressures to skyrocket. If you don't understand ogive you dang sure need to do more reading.

I'm only using Accubonds and Partitions. Have you noticed any pressure spikes switching between these two?

The old advice of reducing 10% is wise when changing bullets.

I use imr4064 and i shoot 168 gr match monsters (from midsouth) and hornady bthp match for target with great success. i can shoot a shotgun shell off a post at 100 yards and ring steel out to 750 accurately. I also use the 4064 with 160 gr amax and btsp and i stack them at 100 and 200 yards. I want to try varget, but i know i can get the 4064 at academy and i can reload 308 and 270 with it. Varget is a little harder to find locally here

Varget, 4064 as stated above with 168 sierra match bullets. I also have a hunting load using 150 gr Ballistic Tips using the old BL-C2. It proves just as accurate as the match bullet groups, and the point of impact is almost identical to the match bullets. I got lucky there, it's pretty handy having one zero for all my applications for that rifle.

There will probably be a slight difference in pressure. Partitions have a longer bearing surface than the equivalent weight Accubond as well as the difference in internal construction. Reduce by a couple of grains and work your way up and you should be OK.

The types of bullets which can really change the pressure are the Nosler E-tips as they are monolithic construction. Never used them because I'm not a fan of mono's. Also, some manufacturers used 100% copper jackets and some use gilding metal, which is typically 95% copper/5% tin. Nosler uses gilding metal for their bullets, which typically does not produce as much pressure as pure copper.

I loaded up some Varget and RL15 in Laupa cases under 165 grain NBTs today. I hope to be able to get out and test them soon.

Hope you find a load that works. My 308 doesn't like the NBT's as well as Hornady SST's or AMAX's. RL15 gives me sub 1/2" accuracy. I was only able to get about 5/8" accuracy with Varget.

YMMV

Dang, that's hard to believe. How did it like Accubonds?

Haven't tried them. Didn't do a lot of testing with the BT's when I got the gun. Tried a couple of powders and best accuracy was about 1". The Hornady's initially showed more promise so I just chose to work up loads with those bullets. The AMAX's shoot great and make a nice exit hole on a deer. I can buy a box of 100 for about the same price as 50 AB's. Don't see the need for a premium bonded bullet at 308 velocities. 44.2 grains of RL15 in Lapua brass with Federal 210M primers gives me 2670 fps.

I use IMR-4064 and have great success.