308 question

[G0nefishin]

So I'm just starting to reload for my aero precision lr308 anyway I'm using mixed brass all trimmed using a lee hand trimmer forgot the exact length.
Using varget powder 150gr sst by hornady the lee dies comes with reloading data & says using 150gr & varget to start loading at 44.0gr & not to exceed 47.0 I just loaded 10 & figured I'd just ask the experienced. Thanks in advance for the help

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[v0lcom13sn0w]

whats your question exactly?

 

[DizzyJ]

Try to segregate the brass into the same headstamp at least.

 

[G0nefishin]

Just double checking if 44.0 grains of varget is a normal charge for a 150gr hornady sst. My bad for not completing my question.

 

[G0nefishin]

Try to segregate the brass into the same headstamp at least.

Shouldn't be an issue.
Thank you.

 

[Goosebrown]

Go to the reloading resource at hodgdon powders and see what they recommend. Your numbers are pretty close to theirs.

 

[G0nefishin]

Go to the reloading resource at hodgdon powders and see what they recommend. Your numbers are pretty close to theirs.

Thanks a lot I didn't know about that resource.

 

[Goosebrown]

| Hodgdon Reloading

Clock on the drop down. Not great UX there...

Google is a friend in reloading you'd be surprised what's out there. I recommend multiple resources then average the results or take minimum charges and start from there. You don't need the strongest load, you need the most accurate load at the lowest velocity you can get. Most important is deliver the pill on target, second is barrel life. Don't fall into the testosterone trap of max loading without reason.

 

[P7M13]

Google is a friend in reloading you'd be surprised what's out there. I recommend multiple resources then average the results or take minimum charges and start from there. You don't need the strongest load, you need the most accurate load at the lowest velocity you can get. Most important is deliver the pill on target, second is barrel life. Don't fall into the testosterone trap of max loading without reason.

+1
Outstanding advice.
MORE POWER !!! * J/K *

 

[tac]

I use Lapua or Norma cases, but never mixed up.

I use Lapua 155gr Scenar bullets, period.

I use H4064 and CCI Large rifle primers, period.

Results below - three shots @100m



tac, the man wearing the Portland Bolt baseball hat.

 

[P7M13]

@tac, the node at 44,0 sure looks like two holes in one, but is that actually three into the same hole?

 

[oli700]

Always knock a grain or grain and a half off 308 win load data for use with 7.62x51 cases ......

 

[G0nefishin]

Now why would brass matter? If there all the same case length and loaded to the c.o.a.l of the magazine 2.791 with 44.0 grains of powder what's the difference. Now's probably a good time to state I'm not reloading 762 brass intentionally. It's all 308 brass a large majority of it is pmc & ppu some Winchester and a few head stamps I've never seen.
Thanks for everything so far guy's.

 

[oli700]

Now why would brass matter? If there all the same case length and loaded to the c.o.a.l of the magazine 2.791 with 44.0 grains of powder what's the difference. Now's probably a good time to state I'm not reloading 762 brass intentionally. It's all 308 brass a large majority of it is pmc & ppu some Winchester and a few head stamps I've never seen.
Thanks for everything so far guy's.

Internal capacity sir. If you develop a load that is pushing pressure limits in a Winchester brass ( large internal capacity ) and transfer that data to military brass , you will likely have a problem with over pressure. How big of a problem depends on a lot of things...... could be case head separation ..... could be barrel separation . It's the most important thing to know if your loading for 308 ..... if your looking for precision , even mixing 308win stamped brass will give you fits ..... because internal capacity varies that much from manufactures

 

[tac]

@tac, the node at 44,0 sure looks like two holes in one, but is that actually three into the same hole?

Yessir, that's the reason I showed it.

tac

 

[tac]

Not being standing there in your shoes, I can't imagine what kind of 7.62 cases you are reloading - but most 7.62x51 is, as you might imagine, military, and the vast proportion of that is Berdan-primed.

In any event, as it has already been done to death a gazillion times, the internal volume of ANY case will vary from brand to brand, and .308Win usually has a larger volume/capacity than military brass. The military brass usually has LESS capacity than civilian, as the material at the base of the case has to withstand not just ejection from a regular machine gun at around 700-800 rpm in the case of the GPMG/MAG59, but the MG3, which churns 'em out at 1100 rpm. All small cheese compared with the GE/Westinghouse Mini Gatling gun, at 4000 and 6000 rpm. Anything less than a VERY substantial base is going to get torn off.

Civilian ammunition doesn't need that property, so the volume is greater by about 10%, simply because the interior of the case is flat, and not concave. Expanding propellant gases in a greater volume act substantially differently to the way they propagate in the smaller case - NATO spec ammunition is also pegged at 150gr, whereas the civilian can be shooting anything between 120gr and 200gr.

The bottom line is that civilian-spec .308Win shooting a 150gr bullet is operating at ~2000 psi MORE than milspec stuff, and you can take that to the bank.

tac

 

[11Charlie]

Yessir, that's the reason I showed it.

tac

Well that is impressive!!

 

[tac]

Well that is impressive!!

Well, I figured that if I showed you a a COS target you'd lose all faith in my abilities. I might be old, bald and creaky, but you'd be crazy to show your head to me at a thousand yards.

tac

 

[P7M13]

Well, I figured that if I showed you a a COS target you'd lose all faith in my abilities. I might be old, bald and creaky, but you'd be crazy to show your head to me at a thousand yards.

tac

Duly noted, but I might moon you from 2000.

 

[SnapShot]

You sound like a new Reloader.... Excellent job taking the first steps and asking questions, and trying to be safe. Have fun in your new hobby that will not save you any money, but will allow you to shoot more bullets ).

I reload for 308. some of my observations.

Varget... while its supposed to be relatively temperate insensitive - meaning it performs about the same in a wide variety of temp's still be careful loading to the max powder load, and letting them get warm on a hot day. -- I used to use Varget... until it became hard to find and the price went up about 40%. I liked it.

secondly get a variety of reloading manuals. I have about 5. (you can usually find last years or old editions cheap- good thing about varget and 308 is that they have been in use for a while) and cross check them for specific power and bullet weights for recommended loads. start out near the bottom of the data.. work up slowly. (i shoot for accuracy also, check out what ladder testing means... when Im trying to find a new load i increase by about .3 - .5 grains , then double check for pressure signs, and velocity using a chrono) watch for signs of overpressure.... (crater where the firing pin hits the primer, black / burnt powder coming out from the back of the primer pocket, split necks) its harder to tell on a semi, but even the extraction of taking the case out of the rifle (in a bolt) will start to get sticky. )

and like someone said above -- check for military cases in your brass lot. (nato head stamp) 1) they will probably have a crimped primer - #2 they are actually are a little thicker and hold a little less powder- (meaning if you load those near full - you could have some serious over pressures) general rule is to take 1 grain off the max load. so if your using varget with 7.62x51 brass and your data said 44-47 ... 44 should still be ok to start at, but dont go over 46 without testing and checking for signs of danger.

Velocity is not always king when it comes to accuracy. I found some nice loads that shoot about about 2440 FPS from my rifle.... although i keep trying to find some that shoot about 200 FPS faster... (to allow the bullet to travel further before it goes subsonic)

When working up a load, ill usually load about 10, make 2 groups on paper.. and repeat to try to find the sweet spot. (i'm not the best at my fundamentals, and need more trigger time for sure) so i try to make up for that with 2 data sets on the same load.