Choice Powders for a 308

I have used the TTSX with my 6.8 and had good results. I have the ammo loaded for the 308 but have not had a chance to use it as of yet. The last few times I got to hunt was with pistols.
I am with you I prefer the 168-175 grain range. ( Of course it is the 168 in Barnes). If I am going to need or have to use a 180 gr. I have a 30-06 that does wonderful with 180s.

I apologize for the mix up, that was on me. You did say Barnes NOT Berger. I am actually glad you don't want to use the Berger, because I have not had the experience with them as I do others. Also from what I understand they have a tendency to break up inside of an animal. But there again I do not have enough personal experience. Even though I have the Barnes for the 308, and have had good luck with it,(in 6.8) I hesitate to start beating a drum over them. Reason why? I would rather shoot at minimum 100 animals with a bullet, before I give a final verdict on it. The Nosler Partitions have served me well in more than one caliber.( I am talking Deer and Hogs) The Barnes are doing good so far. I would not hesitate to take the 168gr in the 308 to the field, for hogs.
You have got a good handle on your reloading and Load development. From the Barnes Book I have, Varget seems to be the best or most accurate powder.

This seems like a good place to say this,,, A faster twist rifle will produce greater pressure than a slower twist rifle, given the same load. This is not something to begin a panic over, it is something to remember when developing loads. Yes do watch the primers, and feel for sticky extraction. But you can also take a shell holder to the range, and check each round. If they do not want to go into the shell holder, then that case has been over pressured. This is faster and easier than bringing a set of calipers to the range. Given the loads in the Barnes book, you should be OK. You can, and I would give them a call, to ask them for info and suggestions. You know, just ask them about the powders you have and want to use.
I know you will be using a chronograph too. PM sent.
 
Try some H4895 with Sierra 165 Gamekings. I use CCI LR Primers and get very good results. Don't know about hogs but they will totally wreck a deer.Also,They are very accurate.I don't seat my hunting rounds close to the lands My match ammo is .003 off the lands. My friends have had good results with Varget, RE15, and IMR4064. Can't tell much if any difference between the Federal Match Primers and the CCI's. Shouldn't take much work to find a good load for your rifle. The .308 is pretty easy to load for. Good Luck With Your Loads.
 
I deer/hog hunt only with the 308. I use the 125g nosler accubond and the Barnes triple shock with win 748, accuracy is in the range of 3100-3200 fps, with all groups sub 1/2".

I used to use the 135g Sierra single shot pistol bullet with the same load but they are long out of production, killed some very big bucks with that load.

250 yards is as far as I shoot here.

748 also works extremely well with a 150g and 165g, but I hate the trajectory of those heavy bullets.
 
Something different, if you want to try subsonic: 11.5 gr Trail Boss and 180 gr HDY SST shoots in the high 900s out of a 22" barrel.
I first tried Universal powder, but it is too problematic and Trail Boss is easy.
 
What twist barrel are you shooting, Keith?

Reason I ask is that I'm hoping to develop a load with the 125 gr. TNT for a 1:10 Savage.

I don't have any 748 on hand, but looks like I can get 3000-3100 w/ h335, h4895 BLC2, & Varget which I do have.

Any thoughts?

Regards,
hm
 

HM, my barrel is a 1:10 twist.

Today I finally had a chance to do some loading for the new rifle. I purchased a set of Lee Collet dies and used IMR-4064 with a Speer 168 gr. BTSP. I played around a bit with different powder charges as well as seating depth. The rifle is showing promise, especially for an out-of-the-box factory one.

Here is today's initial target at 94 yards. Factory ammo didn't do very well, though a couple of groups were acceptable for a hog rifle.




The Bergara is a pretty neat rifle in my opinion. It comes factory with a standard 22" barrel, free-floated green composite stock
and a Timney trigger. The bolt is smooth as silk. The rifle has impressed me. I will add photos later.

While the rifle isn't grouping "yet" to win any awards, it seems to want to. For a sporter weight rifle this isn't too bad. Seems that seating depth made a negative difference on the last group when I seated the bullet a bit longer.

QUESTION: Does anyone have experience with a .308 and Sierra 165 gr. BTHP? I have read that the BTHP bullet has a tougher construction than the BTSP bullet, and I'm wondering if that might be a good hog bullet.

I also read somewhere that the Barnes TSX needs a certain velocity in order to open properly and that .308 velocities might not be enough. Does anyone have experience with that bullet in a .308? Barnes TSX is my go-to bullet in the 7mm STW, but it is a fast-stepper for sure.

I'm searching for a proper .308 bullet (for hogs) and appreciate suggestions.


 
Okay since theres a thread about this few questions. I have a 700 5r that im doing development on. I plan to shoot mainly 150 FMJ Hornadys, 168 Sierra or Hornady, and at some point 175 Sierras. Currently loading the 150s to practice learning to shoot distance before stepping up to a match bullet. I got IMR 4064 for starters, would Varget be another powder I could try? Just looking for some variations to test. Thanks
 
Looks like you have a keeper there, David. The .278 and .280" COAL loads look real promising.

My .308 experience has been almost entirely match shooting w/iron sights. Used mostly 168 gr. SMK's out to 300 and 180 SMK's @ 600-1000. burned a lot of W748 and 4064 but milder loads for accuracy, especially for short range; a bit warmer on the LR stuff.

No hunting experience w/308's, but 30-06 was my go-to hunting rifle for years and 165 gr. NP was bullet of choice in the '06, later 300 WM. and 210 gr. 338 WM. Nosler partitions just plain work on game from hogs to Gemsbok.

YMMV, but I don't own a rifle that will shoot Barnes X-TSX. Lots of folks swear by them but I can't seem to make them shoot.
Have tried .223, 6mm, .308 and .338 in several rifles and no cigar so never tried them on game.

Regards,
hm
 

HM, I have never been able to get good accuracy with Partitions for some reason, and in a variety of calibers. The TSX is the opposite in my experience since everything I have tried them in shoots them well.
 
Go figure!
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I know a lot of folks swear by them, but......
I lose just a tad of accuracy from the partitions, but not enough to worry about it (comparing to SMK's).

I get excellent accuracy from NBT's and Accubonds in everything I've tried them in and the accubond is close to the NP in performance on deer and oryx. The hunting BT's also work well on game as well. The Combined Technology silver tips and hunting NBT are same bullet w/different color plastic tips.

Regards,
hm
 
I've shot plenty of deer with the Sierra 165 gr. SBT and 165 gr. HPBT. I know the HPBT is supposed to be tougher but I can't tell the difference between the two. In fact, in 2013 on a doe management hunt in a state park here I shot an average size 100 lb. (field dressed) doe broadside through the lungs from about 50 yards with the 165 gr. HPBT fueled by 45.5 grs. of Varget. The rifle was my 20" barreled Browning BLR, I've not chronographed the load but it can't be all that blazingly fast. She died normally after a short death sprint but later when I skinned her the bullet jacket was found flattened out nearly the size of a quarter on the inside wall of the off side rib cage. The core exited and I don't consider that a failure per say but I was a bit surprised. I've never recovered a SBT jacket from a deer and I've shot a bunch with that bullet. Both bullets are very accurate.

I've found the standard Speer bullets to be a bit softer than the Sierra and the Hornady Interlock to be a bit tougher than the Sierra. I'm speaking of 165 gr. bullets from .308 and .30-06 rifles used on whitetails. I have limited experience with the Nosler Ballistic Tip in that weight from my .308 and it did an excellent job in the couple deer I've shot. The Partition is always a safe bet if there's any doubt. The Partition is a no brainier choice if the shots aren't going to be stretched to really long distances and BC and pin point accuracy aren't hugely important. None of my hunting has such a criteria so it doesn't concern me much if the Partition shoots a 1/4" bigger group and doesn't slice the wind quite as clean as some other missile.
 
Me and my son had spentsome time working out loads for his ruger American it now has a vortex 4x16 scope . And really thinking about putting a break on it . Anywa6 . Tried several powders and bullets . Our best groups where with imr 4064 sierra 150 gr sbt and rem 9.5 mag primers .very accurate but when deer hunting . For deer just just didnt do the trick . So did some reading more load test . And ended up 3/4 group at 100 yds not as good as other load but decent went with 44.9 gr of varget rem 9.5 mag primer and Hornady 150gr sst . Very deadly on whitetails we have pushed this load to 200 hunded same group . Now this is my sons rifle who is 10 . He has been doing alot of case prep work . Useing rem once fired brass have others but but just prefer the rem brass . This is what we are sticking with for now . But seriously looking into putting a clamp on brake for it . Hopeing to get him shooting further . He has no problem with recoil but at a futher range it could help him . I might add just to those looking that the 44.9 varget load is a max load out of the Hornady 8th load manual
 

I phoned Speer bullets the other day and spoke to a rep about the 165 BTSP. He doesn't recommend it for hogs but says it's a very good antelope bullet and for deer too.

I am still searching for just the right hog bullet. I had considered the 165 Sierra HPBT, but now I am not so sure. Hogs can be tough critters to stop sometimes.
 
You ought to take a look at Nosler Accubonds, Dave. I've never shot a hog with one, but a lot of deer and oryx w/338 WM and a few w/375 h&h. In the 375, the deer I shot, the front end opens up resulting in a quarter size hole as it exits entry side rib cage and same size exit side of animal. Talking small deer to 125# field dressed. About same on scimitar horned oryx w/338 WM. Have never recovered one yet.

I personally wouldn't hesitate to use either a 165 to 200 gr. AB in a 308 for hogs.

http://www.nosler.com/accubond-bullet/
They have some smoking deals on:

180 gr. Blems

200 grain Blems

Edit to add: I may have been lucky, but have never bought anything but Nosler blems when available and they all looked and performed perfectly. Many times they are overruns or as in the case of the 180's above, they have wrong color points as all AB's are white. May have been an overrun on special run??

You might want to call Nosler for their recommendations. They even offer 10% Military discount.
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I have shot a number of hogs w/NP's in .223 but only two were shoulder shots and they were smaller pigs to 70# more or less.

Regards,
hm
 
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Thanks HM. That's a great buy. I had planned to go with a lighter bullet, but maybe the 180's would be OK. I would hope they would open up properly at .308 velocities. I will phone Nosler and inquire.
 
I'd bet the hunting ballistic tips in 155 would work as well if you want them to open a bit more. Have shot quite a lot of hogs while hunting predators with 55 gr. NBT's. They are excellent choice for coyotes/bobcats and happened to be what I had in the rifle when the opportunity presented itself. I prefer side head shots between eye and ear w/such a small, light built bullet. They are DRT with that placement, but don't try a head on shot between the eyes, at least on large hogs, as the bullet will hit at a poor angle and not penetrate skull. Found that out the hard way.

The NBT is same bullet as the combined tech. silver tip, only different color tip. Have used them on scimitars, as well w/good results, but my all time game bullet is the NP.

Regards,
hm

Reards,
hm
 

Update on the new .308 purchase: I picked up a box of 150 gr. Barnes TSX bullets recently and yesterday got to the reloading and shooting bench for some testing. I settled on IMR-4064 and shot at my 94 yard range. I was initially concerned that 150 grainers might not shoot well in the 1:10 twist, but I decided to give it a try.

I shot two-shot groups rather than the usual three that I normally do, mainly due to the cost of the bullets more than anything. But also, my reasoning is that one shot generally sends hogs scattering and rarely will a guy get another shot, and even more rare to get a third aimed shot. I shot each group from a cold barrel.

The POI on paper was essentially the same with all groups and in the same pattern, which is important. I used a ruler rather than calipers to measure the groups. The first group went 7/8", the second group was 11/16" and the third was 9/16". I consider that pretty good for an out-of-the-box factory rifle with a standard contour barrel. It is definitely good enough for some hog hunting.

I haven't chronographed the load yet but the charge is up there and actually slightly exceeds the max load in two different manuals I have, yet is lower than a third manual. I worked up carefully. I don't have any of the usual pressure signs. I suspect the round is stepping along at a pretty good pace, but I will chronograph it later to see just what it is doing.

No doubt the Barnes TSX will be a good bullet. I just need to get on some hogs to find out.

My plans are to install a Photon 6.5x digital NV scope for night hunting.

This Bergara rifle comes free-floated from the factory and with a Timney trigger. It has a pillar-bedded composite green stock, with the feel similar to Hogue.
I used a Weaver picatinny base and Warne Quick Detach Medium Rings.


Bergara B-14 Hunter, .308 Win.
Leupold Vari-X 3, 4.5x14

http://www.bergarausa.com/bergara_b-14_series_hunter_rifle.php













 
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