Thread: "Feather in my hat" 308win Featherweight load development

two questions.....is it currently bedded and do you own a craft type hot glue gun?????

and please.please please...put a decent slip on recoil pad on it for now..those red hard rubber things are worse than a hunk of jandle and give you no protection at all...Ive got a bisley pad here that will screw straight on as it came off my one...put your red "thing" away in drawer so still got it to put back on if want later but the difference is huge.... its one of three things I did to tame my .270 years back... lighten trigger from 126lbs was 2nd thing and drop from norma hot 150 to 130s was the other.... she was a bit harsh for a 16year old before that.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

two questions.....is it currently bedded and do you own a craft type hot glue gun?????

Don't know and no, either way if I'm gonna bed it I will do it properly and do pillars as well

I was going to suggest a quicky job to see if tightens groups up immediately...so you stop chasing tail with testing till have ruled it out.... dead easy to do and results may change dramatically .

Ive got some alloy arrow shaft bits here too,can post them with recoil pad if you needs them....

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings @flock,
IMR4064 and Varget are two different powders and you should not use the data from one for the other. I have tested the two side by side and in limited loads found IMR4064 a little faster with the 165 grain and a lot faster with the 150 grain in the .308. The 45 grain load for IMR4064 appeared in the no 9 Speer Manual (1976) with a little less velocity due to a shorter barrel. The Hodgdon data for Varget is dated from about 1990 and their data for IMR4064 is much more recent. This is the best data we have currently. Differences in case capacity and projectile hardness need to be taken into account as well.
I see that Hodgdon needs over a grain more IMR4064 to get the same velocity with the 165 grain projectile which suggests to me that the IMI case they used is on the heavy side. The federal case they used certainly is. Handloading is chock full of variables which I guess is why some find it so fascinating.
Regards Grandpamac.

I used the current ADI powder equivalence charts, so interesting what you are saying.


Perhaps the chart is confusing showing 2 different IMR powders

Very interesting, my 300wsm pushes back hard but it's no biggie and I'm just a wee fella. My 22 inch xbolt jumps at the front. I believe the featherweight to be about 23-24 inches.

Originally Posted by SmokeyJason

Very interesting, my 300wsm pushes back hard but it's no biggie and I'm just a wee fella. My 22 inch xbolt jumps at the front. I believe the featherweight to be about 23-24 inches.

The recoil pad on the 308win is fairly lacking it's quite thin and not particularly supple, so in a light rifle and hot loads with heavy pills it's a bit unpleasant. I'll get it sussed, loading a seating depth ladder with the 165btsp at 44.5gn, I have also loaded a charge ladder with 150gn NBT's that I had on the shelf, need to keep in mind this isn't being set up as a long range rifle.



NBT's are at saami spec and loaded charge weights from 44.5 - 46.5 in half gn steps, the BTSP's are at mag length (jam was longer than the mag could accommodate) then stepped back 50thou, 90thou and 130thou

the offer of my bisley is there mate.....the difference is huge.

Originally Posted by dannyb

The recoil pad on the 308win is fairly lacking it's quite thin and not particularly supple, so in a light rifle and hot loads with heavy pills it's a bit unpleasant. I'll get it sussed, loading a seating depth ladder with the 165btsp at 44.5gn, I have also loaded a charge ladder with 150gn NBT's that I had on the shelf, need to keep in mind this isn't being set up as a long range rifle.

Attachment 228880

NBT's are at saami spec and loaded charge weights from 44.5 - 46.5 in half gn steps, the BTSP's are at mag length (jam was longer than the mag could accommodate) then stepped back 50thou, 90thou and 130thou

My 308 loves 150gr NBT with 45.5gr 2208 at saami coal. Super Accurate.

I had one of these in 22.250 and it never shot well until I bedded the action. It took a lot of mucking around to find a load for it too. They are coveted for their looks but not renown for inherent accuracy.

As you say if you get 1" groups you have probably got a good one. Especially shooting those heavy projectiles un suppressed.

Originally Posted by Tahr

I had one of these in 22.250 and it never shot well until I bedded the action. It took a lot of mucking around to find a load for it too. They are coveted for their looks but not renown for inherent accuracy.

As you say if you get 1" groups you have probably got a good one. Especially shooting those heavy projectiles un suppressed.

Life's funny. Had a baikal(new) sighted it in and to see how it would group fired three, 15 mm
With the featherweight and at the price of ammo if I'm close enough it's good enough.

Originally Posted by flock

I used the current ADI powder equivalence charts, so interesting what you are saying.
Attachment 228877

Perhaps the chart is confusing showing 2 different IMR powders

Those charts are what the name implys, "equivalent" not "same". Varget/2208 and IMR4064 are very close though.

Not a featherweight but a liteweight in 308 Win. Good enough for magpies out to 260m so good enough for me. Had it since about 1980, will never part with it. My liteweight is actually lighter than a featherweight that a mates father owned, same caliber.

Originally Posted by 6.5 CRD

Those charts are what the name implys, "equivalent" not "same". Varget/2208 and IMR4064 are very close though.

Quite correct. Two different powders may be near identical in burning rate but that's very different to saying they need the same charge weight..