alexj1206

150 gr. FMJ
40.1 Gr. RE-15
Winchester primers WLR
Winchester brass.

150 gr. Nosler Partition (green tip)
40.5 gr. IMR 4895
Winchester primers WLR
Winchester Brass

I like to keep the loads light for my Socom 16
.

broylz

I currently have a bunch loaded with 168 grain Hornady HPBT at 42.5 grains of Reloader 15 in Nosler brass with CCI primers. the COAL is 2.80"

this is the most accurate load in my Remington 700 so far. i might get some more playing with the COAL closer to thelands but i lie to have them fit in the mag.

i was told this is too high of a pressure curve for my M1A?

JAILDOG

41.5 IMR 4895
168 Nosler CC
WLR Primer
LC Match Brass
Loaded Overall 2.810

craig59

42g AR2208
168g Sierra HPBT
Murom primers
Mixed cases, all weighed
Seated 10thou off the lands

choppersdad

I use 41 gr. IMR 4895 with a 175 gr. Sierra HPBT MK. Out of my super match it is a drill !
Winchester brass and CCI Standard Large rifle primers.

Phil McGrath

Ok, here is what both my rifles like.
Load #1 USGI Brass (RA,LC,WRA,WCC,FA,FC)
Trim lenth; 2.005
Powder; 41.5grs H-4895 or 41.0grs Varget(AR2208)
Pill; 125 Speer TnT
Primer; Win Large Rifle
Coal; 2.70
M/V; about 2700fps
Great offhand and sitting rapid load(200 yds) that makes your rifle recoil like a Ar. If the wind is/picks up use the load listed below.

Load #2 same brass, case prep and powder charge as above.
Pill; 168 Nosler or Sierra
Coal; 2.80-2.82
M/V; a smidge over 2600fps
This is a clone loading for L.C. M-852 match, if your rifle doesn't loke this load there is something wrong. I shoot this loading on the 200yd line if the wind picks up, and on the 300yd prone rapid.

Load #3 same brass,case prep and powder charge as above.
Pill; 175 Sierra or 178 A-Max
Coal; 2.82-2.83
M/V; about 2600fps
This is a clone load of M-118LR, I shoot this on the 600yd line and it just fly's.

The above loads are mild in preasure as I'm not looking too DRIVE them. But as with anything that you find on the net. do your own load development.

alexj1206

Hmm, Im not to sure if its a high pressure curve. It sounds like your keeping your powder low. Are you using magnum primers?

soybean

Phil, maybe I'm confused but do you mean IMR-4895 powder? Because looking in the Sierra manual that and Varget give very similar numbers, however using that kind of a charge of H4895 behind a 168 gr pill ought to be a recipe for disaster (at least in a bolt gun). Maybe someone could clarify?
Also lots of great info here, but does anyone know of an actual listing of safe guidelines for loading for the M14 w/o destroying the gas system etc.? You hear so many horror stories about reloads gone wrong, but rarely any reliable numbers. And isn't there supposed to be a load combo that duplicates the USGI match ammo that's supposed to be just dandy?
Thanks Soybean out.

Ted Brown

H4895 and IMR 4895 are not the same powders. You can believe what the loading manuals say.

There are sevarl good powders to load .308 with. The main thing to remember is that they accuracy loads are usaually going to push the 168 grain Sierra bullet about 2550 fps.

Keep in mind that most loading manuals state loads using commercial brass. GI brass has thicker walls that increase pressure with the same loads. It's best to load about 1.5 to 2 grains lower when using GI brass.

I shot some Mexican Match ammo this weekend using M118 Match ammo with 168 and 175 grain bullets. I didn't alter the powder load and neither bullet produced excessive pressure.
The M118 bullets that I pulled were 173 grains.

m1a shooter

I'm getting outstanding performance using a 150gr bullet with 43.6 grains of AA2520. Results off of the bench at 100 yards 1MOA or better.

valken

Ted 2550 sounds a little low for 168. Fed factory leaves my barrels at about 2650. My loads leave at about 2642. Help me to understand

SER

Most accurate in my 1-10 and 1-11 twist barrels...
LC Brass
Trim lenth; 2.005
Powder; 41.2grs TAC
168 Nos CC
Primer; Win Large Rifle
Coal; 2.80
M/V; about 2550fps
above load is very similar to BHA. If you are using commercial brass, it would be ~ 42.5 grs

Low Recoil Load
LC Brass
Trim lenth; 2.005
Powder; 42.0 grs TAC
125 Speer TnT
Primer; Win Large Rifle
Coal; 2.685
M/V; about 2700fps

Working on 155 Nos CC loads...

Phil McGrath

Soybean, I use H-4895 and a load of 41.5grs is a midlevel loading for preasure. I like the Seirra load manual, but , I use the Hodgdon manual as they are the powder maker for the powders I use, as a side the more info you have to compare the better off you are.

Valkin, you are correct 2550fps is a little soft, but small arms ammo from Uncle Sam is measured at 78ft from the barrel. When M-852 is measured at about 15ft it runs about 2600fps with the Sierra 168.
M-118/M-118LR run about the same M/V my guess maybe 2580fps there only real differance is the pill M-118 uses the M72 173gr pill from the 30.06 and the M-118LR uses the Sierra 175gr pill.

Ted Brown

You're right... The 168 will move a little faster with the same load used in the M118. However, some of the best shooting factory ammo I seen was military M852. It was loaded with the 168 SMK to a velocity of 2550 as I recall. I'll check that out to confirm the velocity.

(I just checked the mil spec for M852 ammunition and found the velocity requirement is 2600 fps. I guess I'm just getting old.)

timrb

My standard load:

168SMK
Winchester brass, WLR primers
H4895, 41.5 grains
2.800 COAL
2560fps

Works great.

Tim