[1winnen]

First, I’d like to say that unlike 99% of you reloading I can not afford all the more expensive reloading equipment so I’ve had to settle for the Lee .308 Loading plus all the little extras like the 308 Case Length Gauge & Shell Holder, Lee Cutter & Lock Stud, Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner, Lee Chamfer tool. If I need to get Lees Powder Dippers or a powder scale to get a higher powder charge, since the Lee Loader only comes with the 3.1 dipper I will. I’ve also settled on Lake City Long Range .308 brass and Hornadys 308 165gr bullets. Second, I would only be reloading and shooting these in my Remington 700 Tactical 308 with a 20” bull barrel. Having said all that I’m looking for the BEST recommendation for BEST powder, powder weight and primers. I would assume a fast burning powder would be best considering the 20” barrel but I’ll leave that up to you experts. Please send me a PM. Thanks

 

[dh1633pm]

You have the equipment. Now for the hard part. I use Lake City Brass in both my .308's. My loads are more tailored for semi's so not necessarily good for yours. Too many variations to give you the answers your looking for. You need a good manual. Usually for powders mine likes AA2520, and the 4895 Powders (AA2495, H4895, IMR4895). Note that loading data for each is different. I used Winchester or CCI for my primers. I have tried Wolf and they work great. I normally use the Sierra Match Kings at 168.

There are other groups that specialize in reloading you may want to check them out. You will need something to remove the military crimps if you don't already.

 

[Fuzzball]

My friend if there were a "best" that's all any loading manual would bother with, there's no market for publishing second or third bests.

Same thing applies anything else; reloading tools, guns, tires or trucks, best is what works best for you and your best is unlikely to be my best.

 

[dh1633pm]

Best load is kind of like asking someone which truck they like best or the best fishing spot. If you use the right tools and the right guides (manuals) you can do very well.

 

[Strake]

...the 308 Case Length Gauge & Shell Holder, Lee Cutter & Lock Stud, ...Lee Chamfer tool...

The Lee Chamfer tool didn't work well for me. It was slow when new, and wore out quickly. I switched to this style of tool after the Lee tool stopped working:

If you have a drill press, consider chucking the pilot / cutter assembly into it when you need to trim a lot of cases. Much faster than swapping cases in and out of the shell holder.

 

[crockett007]

First, I'd like to say that unlike 99% of you reloading I can not afford all the more expensive reloading equipment so I've had to settle for the Lee .308 Loading plus all the little extras like the 308 Case Length Gauge & Shell Holder, Lee Cutter & Lock Stud, Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner, Lee Chamfer tool. If I need to get Lees Powder Dippers or a powder scale to get a higher powder charge, since the Lee Loader only comes with the 3.1 dipper I will. I've also settled on Lake City Long Range .308 brass and Hornadys 308 165gr bullets. Second, I would only be reloading and shooting these in my Remington 700 Tactical 308 with a 20" bull barrel. Having said all that I'm looking for the BEST recommendation for BEST powder, powder weight and primers. I would assume a fast burning powder would be best considering the 20" barrel but I'll leave that up to you experts. Please send me a PM. Thanks

Varget - 44.1 gr

168 SMK

Federal match brass

Federal 200 BR primers

 

[dh1633pm]

That's some fine shooting crockett007. My .308 didn't like Varget as much as yours. Most of the other variables are the same. My .223 loves the stuff. Mine prefers AA250 and IMR4895.

It's not really about the quality of your equipment but more in the care used to load your rounds and the attention to detail.

 

[Indyarms]

My rifle put 5 .308 168 Gn moly coated hornady HPBT into a jagged hole .37" in diameter center to center, at 100 yards, off the bench.

mind you... I am shooting a 30" heavy barreled Savage F/TR target rifle. Something tells me that *MY* load data that shoots amazingly well out of MY RIFLE... will not necessarily be the best data for YOUR rifle...

 

[old grump]

Best for what? There is no such thing as a best one size fits all bullet and load combination. What is your intended use and most likely target? My gun likes 180 gr Core Lokt bullets and 4350 powder which is dead on accurate out to 300 meters and is my go to deer load which usually requires shots from 60 yards to 125 yards. There are faster loads and more accurate loads but this works for me. I like to shoot long range but not with this bullet or powder. What are your needs?

 

[magnomark]

:blink:My 2 cents;try this with your hornady bullets-load to a "middle of the road" velocity by your loading guide using any of the powders listed above and the factory recomended combined overall length(COAL).Test for group size-don't cheat use an honest 100 yards.Groups to me are 5 shots-others like 3 shots-just personal preference unless you are shooting for record.Now the real work begins,and the head scratching! Take your next 3, or 5 bullets and seat them .001"deeper,another 5 .002" deeper,another 5-.003" deeper,and group them separately to see if your groups on paper get larger or smaller.If the results are negative to what you want then try seating some more farther out by .001",.002",.003",and again group and check results.Also when seating the bullets farther out for the coal-check your cases for weak spots and primers for signs of higher pressures.If any one of these groups looks like it will shoot all of the bullets in the same hole-then you can play with the powder by adding or subtracting to see if the group size is going to change with the pressure/velocity increase or decrease.Try not to load to maximum powder weight(safety).It means lots of range time to work up a good load.And then again you have other powders to test,and primers,and cases,and don't get me started on bullets....................................................................

 

[Indyarms]

as he mentioned above... although I would use 10 rounds... and fire TWO groups of five... making sure to let the barrel COOL between shots/groups. Keep a boresnake handy... to keep the barrel relatively clean as well... as you build up copper fouling from the jackets, you may notice accuracy starts to tweak which will skew your data... so keep the barrel cool and clean...
shoot the groups, and adjust as mentioned... it will take a while... but thats half the fun, isnt it???

 

[chill1955]

Nosler has a great web site

For good information go here.

Beyond the Basics: Developing Your Own Loads | Nosler Hunting, Shooting, & Reloading Articles

One of the last steps, seating depth, that is the road to wringing the most out of your firearm after the load is worked up. Happy reading!

 

[WyrTwister]

My Remington likes 748 .

God bless
Wyr