Starting load development and would love help

Hi All,

I'm new to reloading, have around 70 bit of brass to play with, shooting a T3X 308 with 16 inch barrel and DPT suppressor, got some 2208 as recommended by mates and Hamils + a box of 168g ELDM.
Not sure what others have done, but guessing that some, amongst the brains trust, would have been playing around with loads for their bush pig... hoping to shoot out to 450m but know that heavier pills are harder to push (all I could get my hands on in the current market).

Any help would be much appreciated!

Give us an idea of what reloading equipment you have ?
ADI reloading manual ? ( available online ) press, dies, balance scale ?
Or are you asking for a starting load ?

that weight is ideal for .308 out long....for bush work you could do a LOT worse than a 180grn hornady round nose.....trust me on this,they kill VERY well. if you find factory loaded winchester 180grn soft points,the bog standard ones...grab them for close work and you get the brass afterwards.the hornady RN is as close as yo uwill get to duplicating preformance terminal wise.
Im big fan of dual loading...eg have your up close n personal loads and couple of sleak slippery ones for the odd across valley shot...you get best of both worlds that way.

I have a mate who's been reloading for years in 7mRemMag and has dies for .308, so I believe he's got all the gear we need - and will be guiding me through the process.
I have 250 of ADI Brass (some unfired), I know it's no the best, but have been told it'll do for now.

That's spot on Frogfeatures, I'm really looking for ideas on a starting load :)


I like your idea of dual loading MD! I have access to some 130g pills too (may develop a goat load at a later point but not worried about that for now), and like the idea of getting some bigger slugs for close up bush work.

How do you go about zeroing for both loads?

So far I've taken 2 deer at 280m & 260m.

If using dual loads, i would zero for the long range load, then just shoot your close range load at same aim point or fresh target with same aim point and measure the offset. If it shoots different thats ok, just know the difference, generally you wont need to worry for under 100m

Greetings @Jukes,
You picked an easy cartridge to load for. Hodgdon's and ADI provide load data for the .308 with a 15 inch barrel in their pistol section. For AR2208 (Varget) and the 168 grain Sierra HPTBT they give a start load of 42 grains for 2.386 fps and a max compressed load of 46 grains for 2,580 fps. I would not waste too many of those projectiles working up a load perhaps loading two each at 42 grains and 44 grains and chronograph them to validate the data for your components. Next you can decide how much further you want to go. You should get around 30 fps more for that extra inch of barrel. I recently shot and chronographed a series of loads in my suppressed .308 with a 20 inch barrel and the 125 grain loads and 165 grain loads shot reasonably close together but your rifle may differ. 43 grains of AR2208 behind the 165 grain Interlock chronographed 2,524 fps. For bush work you may wish to try the 170 grain flat nose intended for the .30-30 which are currently available provided they feed from the mag OK. 10 rounds of testing should easily get you a good working load for the roar. I tried 9 different loads in my chronograph series with 3 different projectiles and 5 different powders and all shot better than 1 MoA. As I said at the start the .308 is an easy cartridge to load for.
Regards Grandpamac.

If your going down to 130s get some 2206h - if you can - for my 308 47 grains of 2206h with any 130 pills I put in it is lethal. If your pushing 450 I would be chasing accuracy so do a few load tests with different projectiles. 150-165 SST’s don’t Get me the accuracy I’m after and haven’t tried anything in the 180 area.
The 130s absolutely obliterate anything I throw them at from 30m to 280m
Get sample packs, give everything a go and see what your rifle likes.

I use the adi brass but use 2206h 42.5 grns 165 game king 2450 fps out of a 16inch howa or a 150 spbt speer with 43.5 grns 2600 fps hope this helps a little

I have played with all sorts of loads for 308, there are so may options depending on what you want to do (and what you can get). My go-to longer range one is the 178gr ELD-X doing 2560fps, the bush load in that rifle is the 170 flat nose 30-30 style at 2370fps, also tried Speer 130gr HP at about 300fps. My bush load for another rifle is the 160gr FTX (30-30 projectile) doing 2350fps. I used to use 2206 and 2208 depending on bullet weight, nowadays I use 2208 for everything, case capacity can get a bit limiting with the 2208 using 130's.

H335 is another good option for the short barrel 308. Very similar to 2206h. I've been using the 130 ttsx with 47gr h335 a hot load i need to dial back a bit. This has been brilliant for shots inside 200m. Currently playing with options for a duel load in 165sst which will be around 40gr and 155tmk loaded but not fired yet.

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Originally Posted by keengunNic

If using dual loads, i would zero for the long range load, then just shoot your close range load at same aim point or fresh target with same aim point and measure the offset. If it shoots different thats ok, just know the difference, generally you wont need to worry for under 100m

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yip..this...I was lucky,my 150grn load 2" high put 180grn spot on at hundy..the 125grns was close enough to the 150 to make no difference.

Greetings @Jukes and All,
The 168 grain ELDM is likely to give pressures and velocity broadly similar to the 168 grain Sierra but may take up a bit more space. The Hodgdon/ADI data is very close to what I achieved in my .308 once barrel length and charge are adjusted for. You should be able to achieve about 2,600 fps with 46 grains of AR2208 and about 50 fps less for 45 grains which may fit in the case a bit better.
Happy loading Grandpamac.

Im also using the 165 Gameking and 2206H. 42gr gets me 2600 from a cut down 16" Parkerhale TX1200 (Mauser 98 action). I tested up to 43.5gr and was getting FLAT primers in cold (5c) weather, a load like this would be way overpressure at 25c. I have tested the 42gr load in very hot weather with little to no pressure signs.

Im using PMC brass and CCI BR2 LR primers.

Thank you very much team! Appreciate the insight and recommendations.
Time to get in to it! :thumbsup:

sorry for the delay - forgot my forum password :x_x:

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Originally Posted by Jukes

I'm really looking for ideas on a starting load :)

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Hey. I get you're new to this and are probably looking for a bit of reassurance and guidance, but asking people to give you a loads to try out like this is pretty poor form.

People are often quite willing to offer up their data to beginners but you do not need to rely their experiences to get yourself started and you should treat unverified data with huge amounts of scepticism. I've spent a few years lurking on a few forums and have seen some downright dangerous stuff shared - even accidentally just by making a typo or recalling information incorrectly.

The most prudent approach is to collect load data from manufacturers, ADI, Hodgdon, Hornady etc... Cross reference it then start low and work up and find what works best in your rifle. It doesn't take long and you don't need to expend a lots of components doing this. But mostly it shields you from potentially copying other people's mistakes.

Sorry to be the chip pisser in this thread. You've got your bullet, you've got your powder, get your data from the source - not from strangers.

Greetings All, @Pommy I agree that it is dangerous to copy loads from the internet or even data form old load data manuals some of which was never pressure tested but @Jukes request was for guidance based on our experience. I can find no fault in this whatsoever. Guidance based on experience is what I offered. I know it is wise to cross reference with data form a number of scources which is what I do for myself, often creating load data graphs to help understand some of the differences. I suggested that Jukes use the Hodgdon's pistol data as it more closely matched his barrel length and I had found the Hodgdons .308 data to be close to the mark from my own chronographing. The max load of 46 grains of AR2208 (Varget) for the 168 grain first appeared in Handloader in 1995 and is unchanged since. It was also for a spitzer boat tail very similar to the ELDM that Jukes was using. Jukes will develop data sorting skills over the years but for the moment uncomplicated reliable data is all that is needed.
Regards Grandpamac.

I dont care if you are starting out doing FIRST EVER reload ,or 20 year veteran having loaded thousands of rounds....if you DONT TRIPLE CHECK data from three different places before trying a different load...you are just being dumb.
and take it from someone who knows and was lucky to walk away from it...blowing up an action by using powder that isnt right is a terrible experience.
my back lawn got something like $1000 worth of different powders on it as fertiliser as I could not trust them as in unlabeled containers.

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Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings All, @Pommy I agree that it is dangerous to copy loads from the internet or even data form old load data manuals some of which was never pressure tested but @Jukes request was for guidance based on our experience. I can find no fault in this whatsoever. Guidance based on experience is what I offered. I know it is wise to cross reference with data form a number of scources which is what I do for myself, often creating load data graphs to help understand some of the differences. I suggested that Jukes use the Hodgdon's pistol data as it more closely matched his barrel length and I had found the Hodgdons .308 data to be close to the mark from my own chronographing. The max load of 46 grains of AR2208 (Varget) for the 168 grain first appeared in Handloader in 1995 and is unchanged since. It was also for a spitzer boat tail very similar to the ELDM that Jukes was using. Jukes will develop data sorting skills over the years but for the moment uncomplicated reliable data is all that is needed.
Regards Grandpamac.

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Wasn't singling you out or anyone else who was offering information - I wanted to address OP and why they felt the need to seek it. When it comes to reloading, I strongly believe that the "teach a man to fish" approach is better than the alternative. Learning to figure out load data by yourself helps you become more self-reliant and it's a naturally more risk-averse approach. My experience therefore tells me to point beginners to a manual.

The 46gr max load is with Winchester brass which has heaps of capacity. OP is using ADI brass which is the other end of the spectrum - it's really thick and low capacity. I'd work up in much smaller increments than 2 full grains because there's a good chance of seeing an early onset of pressure signs.

can we keep something in mind, the OP was going to to be helped thru the process of reloading with an experienced reloader, he just wanted help on where to start the dialogue here . . the idea that you cannot give an adult any numbers cozz he might fck it up is Health and Safety gone mad . . again
treat people like adults, by all means remind them to start low and work up . . this load works in my rifle with these components etc etc