Suggestion on .308 Winchester reloads?

[IdahoLT1]

I bought a box of 165 gr. Hornady SST's and a box of 165. Nosler Accubond. Both are for my Savage 10FP( 22" barrel with 1 in 10" twist). Im looking to try these for hunting mule deer and possibly elk. So i got a few questions:

1)Any suggestions on which bullet would be better for either animal, both or none.

2) And do any of you guys have any load data on these bullets? Any experiences on which one is more accurate?

3)I read on here that SST's dont like to be cimped so are there any reloading tips on these 2 bullets?





Thanks,
Steve

 

[dakotasin]

use varget or rl-15, do not crimp either one, and at 308 velocity either one is fine for your game. most people will tend to favor the accubond for elk hunting, but the 308 doesn't have enough velocity to mandate premium bullets. either is fine for mulies. both bullets should be very accurate. my experience tells me you are more likely to get better accuracy from the hornady, but individual rifles will have their preferences, so you'll have to have a shoot-off!

reloading these in the 308 is pretty straightforward. seat to the lands, check feeding function, and seat deeper until it feeds/ejects properly, then just start working up your powder charge in .5 grain increments. won't take much for you to find a great load from there.

good luck!

 

[evan price]

I use the Hornady SST 165 as my accurate .308 load. I use either H335 or Varget; Varget for when it really counts. My rifle liked the 45.5 grains of Varget the best. No need to crimp- neck tension is enough. Good Luck!

 

[Ky Larry]

Pet load for my CZ-550 Varmint .308:

165gr Hornady SST
Fed case
Win LR Primer
42.5gr IMR-4064
C.O.L. 2.80

Either bullet will serve you well if you do your part. Welcome to reloading. Be safe, careful, and consistant. Keep accurate records. Good luck.

 

[IdahoLT1]

Thanks for the advice. The only loads ive put through my .308 are Hornady 110gr V-max for varmints and some Remington 150gr. soft points when i first bought the rifle. Varget is some awesome powder.

 

[Kernel]

Gotta like Varget, or something a little slower, like RL-17 or a 4064.

 

[Jerry D]

my advice is use the accubond for elk - the sst is more comparable to the ballistic tip which would be great for mulies.

As for powder use any of the many that have a good track record in the .308.

 

[IdahoLT1]

my advice is use the accubond for elk - the sst is more comparable to the ballistic tip which would be great for mulies.

As for powder use any of the many that have a good track record in the .308.

Thats kinda what ive gathered from reading threads dated from the last 3 years. The SST seems to do well for broad side shots or neck shots but the partition seems to hold up better on a frontal shot or through the shoulder.

 

[ForneyRider]

I prefer the Accubonds over the SST, but love em both. SST are about half the price per bullet of the Accubond or Hornady's Interbond.

Been making 150gr Nosler BT's for my brother. I use IMR 4064, Win brass, CCI 200 primer. I hit 46gr of powder and he got great accuracy at 2900fps, but the primers were flattened. The max load in the book was 48gr. I backed the second batch to 45gr.

The 42gr of IMR 4064 recommendation for the 165's sounds pretty good.

H4895, Varget and several others work well. 308 Win is one of the easiest to load. I've read of bench shooters using IMR 3031 with 168gr SMK.

For the cost of a elk hunt running 5k, I'd make the best loads with best bullets. One of the internet outfitter sites for elk hunts recommended 300 win mag and said shots were 200yards a lot of the time. But also read of game wardens making head shots on elk with 220 Swift.