Thread: 308 Max loads

Hi Team just doing a few reloads for the 308 got to the range today in perfect conditions but buy the time id put the flags up & target up could barely open the car door, anyway I had 12 rounds loaded but 4 shots of AR2208 at 46.1grn of powder looked promising, question is how much more powder can I get in there as its already sitting in the neck & a touch over the recommended load ...anyone got a load that's similar ? projectiles are Nosler 165 ballistic tips , seated well off the lands.

I use 2206h with same pills in 16" 308 for 2650fps. Its a little laser out to 550

You can get as much powder in there as you can intill it all spills out the top to be frank.

Similar but not the same 47gr 2208 168amax lapua brass magnum primer.

dont be too concerned with light compression of powder,hey they even list compressed loads.

Where it becomes an issue is when it is compressed so much that it pushes the projectile back out or stretches the body so it wont chamber......I am sure you will have no problems going to 47 (Standard disclaimer work up and stop if any signs of excess pressure!)
Check overall length after seating and again in a few days...if it is growing that is not good pull them and go back to the drawing board,but I am sure you will have no problems there......I got growing problems at 52gr 2208 with a 130grttsx for example.

Some specialist powders like trail boss should not be compressed.

Originally Posted by Gibo

I use 2206h with same pills in 16" 308 for 2650fps. Its a little laser out to 550

308 and laser should never be used in the same sentence!
Ok it is not the same sentence but I failed Englrish.

I use 44gns 2206H behind a 165 SGK, very accurate out of 2 rifles, can also swap for 165 SST with do difference in speed or POI, close to 2700 fps, not sure if thats up to max but powders right up to the neck.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

308 and laser should never be used in the same sentence!
Ok it is not the same sentence but I failed Englrish.

Too true, shes a sharp wee rainbow

As stated by others, you can probably cram more powder in if you want to, but why would you want to? Loading to max pressure or possibly beyond is to take the track of diminishing returns. Your brass doesn't last long, any extra velocity gained is mostly gone in the first 100 to 200 yards, shock stress to your action is cumulative and you risk a premature action failure which could be to you or to the poor bastard that you on-sold it to. If you are looking for better long range performance, then seek a better bullet. The highest BC bullets in 30 calibre require a larger case than the 308W to give good performance at reasonable pressures

Originally Posted by JWB

As stated by others, you can probably cram more powder in if you want to, but why would you want to? Loading to max pressure or possibly beyond is to take the track of diminishing returns. Your brass doesn't last long, any extra velocity gained is mostly gone in the first 100 to 200 yards, shock stress to your action is cumulative and you risk a premature action failure which could be to you or to the poor bastard that you on-sold it to. If you are looking for better long range performance, then seek a better bullet. The highest BC bullets in 30 calibre require a larger case than the 308W to give good performance at reasonable pressures

Valid point but often book data max is well below even factory ammo speeds which of course have to be loaded to be safe in the lowest common denominator.(old worn weak actions)

IMO and only my opinion (for a hunting rifle)if you are not achieving close to or above factory speeds with better accuracy then why bother reloading?

Not quite sure where you got the idea that factory ammo is faster then home loads. I'd suggest you go to the SAAMI website and see what the max pressure limits manufactures are allowed. They have to account for old actions, hand loaders don't. Try 47grn 2209 under a 208 match. Pressures are way over the spec of 50,000cup but the action is a barnard and cases binned after three reloads.

Originally Posted by Walker

Not quite sure where you got the idea that factory ammo is faster then home loads. I'd suggest you go to the SAAMI website and see what the max pressure limits manufactures are allowed. They have to account for old actions, hand loaders don't. Try 47grn 2209 under a 208 match. Pressures are way over the spec of 50,000cup but the action is a barnard and cases binned after three reloads.

Factory ammo is often faster than book max data which is why one should work up a load to find max in your own rifle which may or may not be many grains above book max.
This is the point I was trying to make.

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When I worked up a load for my 308 with 150 grain interlocks I got really sticky bolt lift at 44 grains of 2208. But this was over 20 years ago, and the listed loads for 2208 are quite different from what they used to be when comparing the ADI website to Nick Harvey's first edition. I suspect the powder has changed over the years, or maybe it is more consistent/stable now.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

You can get as much powder in there as you can intill it all spills out the top to be frank.

Similar but not the same 47gr 2208 168amax lapua brass magnum primer.

dont be too concerned with light compression of powder,hey they even list compressed loads.

Where it becomes an issue is when it is compressed so much that it pushes the projectile back out or stretches the body so it wont chamber......I am sure you will have no problems going to 47 (Standard disclaimer work up and stop if any signs of excess pressure!)
Check overall length after seating and again in a few days...if it is growing that is not good pull them and go back to the drawing board,but I am sure you will have no problems there......I got growing problems at 52gr 2208 with a 130grttsx for example.

Some specialist powders like trail boss should not be compressed.

Where it becomes an issue is when it is compressed so much that it pushes the projectile back out or stretches the body iv been having a bit of a chuckle reading that ...

Ok sweet il try a nice day & a bit more powder , I was hoping to seat the bullet just behind the lands but the mag wont allow it ..thanks for the reply's team.

I'm intrested to know where factory ammo is faster then reload Data. Please list where to find this information and what calibers/barrel lenghts.

Book max, and there is plenty of factory ammo shooting faster than book max especially the adi book. Superformance comes to mind ive chronied it 8n quite a few calibers and it's never been far off the box speeds in some cases it's been 50 fps faster.

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