125-grain .308 loads?

With my big game rifle and load now nailed down (Tikka T3x 30-06 and 165 Hornadys over Superformance powder), I'm now looking for a lower-recoiling Southern whitetail round for my .308 that will double as something fun to shoot at the range each week.

Midway had their 125 BT's on sale at a great price, so I ordered several boxes, figuring if they don't shoot out of my .308, I'll just load them up in my 7.62x39.

With that said, anyone have a favorite combo for 125 grain bullets out of their .308?

I have RL-7, H4895 and Varget on hand.

Thanks!

Thanks all. I was thinking of about 40 grains of H4895 for something like 2600 fps. Should still give me 1000 ft. lbs. at 300 yards if I really need it, but not blow the bullet up at closer ranges. That's the plan anyway. But I use RL-7 for my 7.62x39 too, so I'm hoping there is a RL-7 load that works out real well, then I can consolidate powders a bit.

I plan to use the 125 BT's for the 7.62x39 too. Hope it all works out!

Just learned they make a 125 Accubond, which is really intriguing. If I find a higher velocity load with the 125 BT's, I might just swap the Accubonds for hunting.

Berger.Fan222 said:

My buddies and I have killed (literally) tons of deer with the 125 NBT. It works great up to 3000 fps. The BC is really quite a bit lower than advertised, so if you really want performance at longer ranges, I would start it out faster than 2600 fps.

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Where I'll use this rifle, 250 is a LONG shot. So 2600-2700 is my goal. Anything further and I have my '06 for that.

Glad to know you have had great luck with this combo on deer. That's reassuring.

I already have RL-7 for my 7.62x39, so I think I'll try that as my "fast" powder and see what I get.

Kaldor said:

R-7 is really fast, like H4198 fast. Not that it probably will not work, its just far from ideal. A quick check using H4198 as a rough stand in shows about 200 fps less than 8208, 4895 or Varget.

Burn Rate Chart:
http://www.wwpowder.com/PDF/Burn Rates - 2015-2016.pdf

Burn rate charts are not not the end all of data, but can help when trying to find a similar powder from another manufacturer.

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The Nosler load data is what made me think of trying it. I never thought it would be worth trying until I saw it listed there for 125's. If it worked out, it would be convenient since I will always have RL-7 on hand for my 7.62x39.

Sure glad I decided to try RL-7. I loaded 3 rounds with 48, 48.5 and 49 grains and they produced a 3-shot group just over 1/2"

Recoil was very light, and speed was 2783-2861

Thank you. I will keep that in mind. I did notice the lower recoil loads went through my resizing die easier, which tells me there wasn't as much expansion.

Winchester brass...

Learned something today. Winchester brass, which holds significantly more powder than my Hornady brass, produces sub-MOA groups with 125 NBT's, while Hornady brass - not so much.

I never would have thought just a different case would have such an impact downrange.

davidpipes said:

What caliber are you loading here? According to the Lyman manuels ( 49& 50) these charges are way over for both .308 & 30-06.

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Loading .308 That was a typo. I meant 38, 38.5 and 39 grains. Thanks for the catch.

Nosler load data says this is a mid-range load. Shot another 10 today and I can tell you that out of my Savage model 10, this is one of the most accurate loads I've ever shot.