Proven 308 Winchester 180-200 grain cast load

[bluejay75]

Cast Boolit Shooters,

308 will be my next reloading challenge. So I will be starting from scratch. Seeking help to keep me from buying molds or dies that might not work the best.

That said, would someone care to share a proven 308 recipe using a 180-200 grain boolit. I would prefer to shoot a plain base boolit. I would prefer to shoot a ball powder. WIN 748 over Varget or HS6 over Unique. I would prefer a powder coated boolit over traditional lubed. I would prefer a 2.5 inch or less load at 100 yards. I would prefer 1500-2000 FPS.

Please include the following info if you have it...if not I will accept anything you have:

Boolit mold used with weight and whether gas checked or not-
Dies used-
Powder charge-
Primer-
Traditional or coated for lube-
COAL-
Crimp-
FPS-

Thanks for the help.....Bluejay

[waco]

Bluejay. While I have lots of .308 loads that shoot well I'll share this one as it meets most of your wants.
Rem 788 in .308
NOE 30 Hunter plain base mold @ 190gr
RCBS dies
10.5gr of Redot
CCI large rifle primer
Lar's 2500+ lube with one coat of Ben's liquid lube
COAL=2.750"
Lee factory crimp die(just enough to iron out the case bell)
Average for 5 shots 1324fps
5 shots at 100 yards .670"
The load with shoot 5 into under 1.00" every time.

[waco]

[waco]

Most any boolit in the 180-200gr range will work well with lots of different powders.
10gr Unique
16-18gr 2400
18-20gr SR4759
9-11gr Redot
You will just have to play around and experiment with different loads and find what your rifle likes.
2 1/2" or less at 100 is pretty easy to do with lots of different combos.
You should have no problems find one that works for you.
For an inexpensive mold, the Lee 180 RN has worked well for me too.
I have not shot them yet but I just loaded up some NOE 312299 with 31gr of Varget.
I'll report back when I get a chance to test them.
Waco

[bluejay75]

Thanks WACO,

Can you attach the link to the NOE mold that you're referencing.

JB

[waco]

http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/index.php?cPath=30_322

[robg]

Savage 308 116, Lee 180 gr rnGC boolits, 18 gr 2400 seated so gas check in neck, std large rifle primer lee fcd ,shoots 1-1.5 inch at 100 yards drops about 18 inches at 200 yards.very little recoil .

[izzyjoe]

I use the Lee 312-185 over 16 gr of 2400, never shoot it at a 100yds, but 50yds is most times under an 1"

[quilbilly]

I have not yet shot 180+ boolits in my Rem. 308 but I have been shooting 160's from various brand molds a lot for the last couple years. With either the Lee 160 RNGC or the Lyman 160 Loverin style 160 RNGC, the rifle has routinely shot MOA or under using 19.4 gr of 2400 or 26.2 gr of RE-7. The 2400 load is slightly better but 2400 is made from "unobtanium" around here. The MV for both is around 1950. My groups with the Lee 150 RFGC have been similar although I have not really shot those seriously for groups.

[tomme boy]

WACO! That is awesome! I knew that mold design I drew up was a good one. I made it to fit the 308w throat.

[bluejay75]

Thanks guys! Any suggestions on dies?

[tomme boy]

Whatever you can afford. But get a set of neck expanding dies also. I like the RCBS die. Then you buy all the different size expanders you need.

[waco]

Whatever you can afford. But get a set of neck expanding dies also. I like the RCBS die. Then you buy all the different size expanders you need.

I agree with Tomme Boy. I like the RCBS neck expanding dies. I use a .310" die for my .308

[waco]

WACO! That is awesome! I knew that mold design I drew up was a good one. I made it to fit the 308w throat.

It sure works well for my 788!

[bluejay75]

Greetings,

Took some time to finish this load and proof it but here goes.

Dies used- Lee 308 set (I used a 45 Colt die with a flat stem to seat the boolits)
Powder charge- 18.5 AA9
Primer- CCI Large Rifle
Traditional or coated for lube- Powdercoated Clear
COAL- Midway onto the front driving band of the following boolit.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...oducts_id=1755
Crimp- Lee Factory Crimp Die (Half Turn or medium crimp)
FPS- 1790 FPS, ES 28, SD 11
Group- Even with the flyer this was still under 2 inches. The 4 shots in the cluster are under a half inch. This loads shoots best from my Custom Remington but will not feed through the box magazine. They feed perfectly from the Savage 10P-SR 18".

[vzerone]

I agree with Tomme Boy. I like the RCBS neck expanding dies. I use a .310" die for my .308

Ditto on the RCBS die.

[waco]

Greetings,

Took some time to finish this load and proof it but here goes.

Dies used- Lee 308 set (I used a 45 Colt die with a flat stem to seat the boolits)
Powder charge- 18.5 AA9
Primer- CCI Large Rifle
Traditional or coated for lube- Powdercoated Clear
COAL- Midway onto the front driving band of the following boolit.
http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product...oducts_id=1755
Crimp- Lee Factory Crimp Die (Half Turn or medium crimp)
FPS- 1790 FPS, ES 28, SD 11
Group- Even with the flyer this was still under 2 inches. The 4 shots in the cluster are under a half inch. This loads shoots best from my Custom Remington but will not feed through the box magazine. They feed perfectly from the Savage 10P-SR 18".

Very nice job! Great shooting. Looks to be a promising load.

[bluejay75]

@Waco

This load shoots better than I'm capable of. The mold you suggested wasnt available in plain base so I went with what I saw as the next best thing. I was almost hurt when the full length load did not chamber, but bringing the bullet deeper into the case made it shoot better in both guns I shot it in. AA9 isn't position sensitive and none of the test loads from 17-20 grains grouped more than 2.5 inches.

Another good thing about this load...I didnt have to sort brass for consistent results. The only sort that I do is sorting commercial from military. At this point I can say, R-P, Winchester, Hornady, Hornady Match, CBC, and PMC brass all group together.

[popper]

bluejay - I'm using a slightly different version of the RD style mould, does good in an AR10, 30/30 & BO. You can use a reamed fender washer to nose size and get it into the bore slightly - no interference fit, for better accuracy. This was primarily testing function but not bad.
Attachment 209503

[Cary Gunn]

Popper,

Are you using the reamed fender washer to size just the "bore-riding nose" of the bullet?

Happy trails,

-- Cary Gunn --