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Thread: CBs for .308?

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy

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    CBs for .308?

    Recently bought a .308 barrel for my HandiRifle. Until now, the only centerfire rifle caliber I've ever owned is 45/70. So I know next to nothing about modern CF calibers and the efficacy of shooting CBs in them.

    Educate me on moulds, loads etc for deer/elk and varmit hunting. Thanks.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    lee gc molds work well in my savage and a friends Remington .I just tumble lube and use 2400 with std primers

  3. #3
    Boolit Master

    Kraschenbirn's Avatar
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    Try the forum's 'custom search' function. Entering ".308 cast boolits" will get you 10+ pages of threads pertaining to loading/shooting cast in the .308.

    Bill
    "I'm not often right but I've never been wrong."

    Jimmy Buffett
    "Scarlet Begonias"

  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kraschenbirn View Post
    Try the forum's 'custom search' function. Entering ".308 cast boolits" will get you 10+ pages of threads pertaining to loading/shooting cast in the .308.

    Bill
    Thanks Bill. Will do.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by dlbarr View Post
    Recently bought a .308 barrel for my HandiRifle. Until now, the only centerfire rifle caliber I've ever owned is 45/70. So I know next to nothing about modern CF calibers and the efficacy of shooting CBs in them.

    Educate me on moulds, loads etc for deer/elk and varmit hunting. Thanks.
    If you are going to try to shoot and kill big game like deer/elk you need to use your 45/70. I regularly kill deer with mine and a 500 grain cast lead bullet. I strictly use my 308's with cast projectiles for plinking and close in shooting at nothing larger than ground hogs with a Lyman 311291 over 34.0 grains of IMR-4985. Makes a good squirrel rifle also.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Lyman 311466, sized 0.311”, plus 13.0 grs. Red Dot

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    Last edited by oldblinddog; 02-20-2019 at 12:30 AM.
    USMC 6638

  7. #7
    Boolit Master 44Blam's Avatar
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    I've had some luck with NOE's 311-174-FN in .308.
    I sized to .309, gas check, powder coat and BLL. Shot under a stout load of varget I was able to get about 2450 fps with groups around 2" at 100 yards accuracy. But that was with a muzzle break and I found lead and powder coat on one side of the MB. So I took it off.
    That seems pretty good, but with j-word bullets, it is less than 1" at 100 yards with similar velocities...
    I have yet to test my CBs again...
    WWG1WGA

  8. #8
    Boolit Master



    Dieselhorses's Avatar
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    Not bad. What type rifle? Twist? Not necessary to lube with powder coat but... also what alloy and BHN?


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  9. #9
    Boolit Master waco's Avatar
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    NOE 30cxb in the .308 at 2650fps shooting sub 2 moa at 500 yards. H414 @ 47.5gr
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9VDouNYi7A&t=182s
    The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
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  10. #10
    Boolit Master waco's Avatar
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    The NOE 312290 shoots very small groups at 50 yards with 20gr of SR4759.
    The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
    Proverbs 1:7

  11. #11
    Boolit Master Doughty's Avatar
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    DonMountain,
    I guess this deer didn't get the memo that it couldn't be killed with a cast bullet from my grandson's .308 Win using cast bullets. Or the deer killed by cast bullets from my wife's .30-30. Or all the deer and antelope I've killed with a cast bullet in .30-40 Krag.
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  12. #12
    Boolit Buddy
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    I killed several deer with the 31141 out of a 30-30 in years past, never thought it was marginal. Recently I've been working with an old Sears JC Higgins 51-L in 308. The bore is a bit oversized, the throat more so, it's had a lot of wear before I got it. I've run tests on several powders and bullets so far, up to 2200 fps with some groups under 2" at 100 yards with an alloy of 1.5% Sn, 2.9% Sb. The Accurate 31-165A and the NOE clone of the Saeco #315 have done good work. Recent tests with the #315 PC'd and water dropped have shown promise at 2000-2200 fps, using either Varget or H4350. I had one group of 9 that had 5 under a half inch, but then the remainder scattered an inch away from the group in all directions. If the weather ever cooperates I'll push it up till I find the alloy strength limit and then settle into finding the speed/load length combo it likes for normal use.

  13. #13
    Boolit Master



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    lee c309-170-rf has taken every deer i shot at in the ruger american rifle (predator).

    2400 for the powder liquid alox for the lube.
    (powder coat worked fine also).

    308 is a fine cartridge for cast imho.
    WebMonkey
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  14. #14
    Boolit Master and Dean of Balls




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    Quote Originally Posted by DonMountain View Post
    I strictly use my 308's with cast projectiles for plinking and close in shooting at nothing larger than ground hogs with a Lyman 311291 over 34.0 grains of IMR-4985. Makes a good squirrel rifle also.
    A man needs to know his limits.
    Quote Originally Posted by Theodore Roosevelt
    No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man's permission when we ask him to obey it.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check