308 load for 180 LEE?

[Uncle Ji]

I have a LEE C309-180-R mould, and several hundred bullets cast up. I also have a 1916 (93) Spanish Mauser with .308 barrel. Does anyone here a mild pressure load that's equivalent to the original 7mm chambering they'd like to share? I have the following IMR powders to work with: 3031, 4064, 4198. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Ji

[26Charlie]

I have had good luck in that weight range of 180 gr. with 22 to 24 gr. of 4198, giving in the area of 1650 fps. This in .308 Win M88 carbine, and also in various .300 Savage caliber rifles - the .300 Savage is as near as dammit to the .308, except for a shorter neck and sharper shoulder.

[Paul B]

Ji. C.E. "Ed" Harris has recommended 16.0 gr. of Alliant #2400 with 180 to 220 gr. cast bullet for use in most military rounds like the .308,30-06 and .303 Brit. Velocity runs around 1600 FPS and the load is accurate. he says no filler is necessary, but I found one grain of dacron gave me better results. In my Winchester Model 80 in .308, I got 1.5 MOA at 200 yards witht hat laod, trhe dacron filler, G.I. brass and a Winchester WLR primer. The same load in a savage 110S silhouette rifle did 2.5 MOA at 300 yards. This, of course was off the bench with sandbags.
The same charge in a 30-06 will consistantly knock down the pig silhouettes at 300 meters if you hit them in the top one-third from my Remington 700 in 30-06. The bullet is the RCBS 30-180-FN. Weight is 190 gr. in my alloy.
Another good load is 17.0 gr. of IMR- or H-4227, same bullet. Another good load is 25.0 gr. of either IMR or H-4895. Recoil is quite mild. Bullet metal is about 14 BHN, 10# WW, 1# linotype, a 3 foot piece of 95/5 lead free solder, and a one-third cup of magnum bird shot. The allow will heat treat to 30 BHN if you want a harder bullet.
Paul B.

[Denver]

Using the Lee C309-200R over 22grs Reloader7 and a tuft of dacron and WLP primer, I shot a 5 shot group of just over an inch at 110 yds with my .308. I seated the boolit to touch the rifling. Didn't have the chrono at the time, so don't know the velocity.