Reduced 308 Loads Worth the Effort?

[Bidwell]

Got a lightweight 308, 6lbs, and was curious about trying some reduced loads. The recoil is actually completely fine as-is but thought for some more close range hunting, 200 yards and in, staying on target after a shot could be useful when hunting by myself. Before I go out and buy new powder and bullets, does anyone have any experience with creating reduced loads and could confirm if they actually reduce muzzle jump enough to stay on target? I was looking at some Barnes Tac Tx 110 grain and H4350 powder. From the Hodgdons site, there's a reduced load thats about 29k psi and 2400 fps with 46 grains of powder. Again, don't really care about the recoil in general but could be useful to stay on target and see impacts in some situations.

 

[ozyclint]

Not sure about 308 but I made a reduced load in my 270w for my 12yo son.

110gr Sierra prohunter bullet at 2550fps with AR2206H (H4895)

Proving to be a great combo on pigs, deer and goats. Really pleasant to shoot. Accuracy is great. Nothing not to like for sub 200m shooting.

Make sure you choose a bullet that will give the desired result at the lower velocity.

 

[Bidwell]

Not sure about 308 but I made a reduced load in my 270w for my 12yo son.

110gr Sierra prohunter bullet at 2550fps with AR2206H (H4895)

Proving to be a great combo on pigs, deer and goats. Really pleasant to shoot. Accuracy is great. Nothing not to like for sub 200m shooting.

Make sure you choose a bullet that will give the desired result at the lower velocity.

Thanks, that sounds like what I'm trying to do. Are you able stay on target after firing? I'm not sure if that's a realistic goal or not.

 

[EdP]

My thinking is that how you mount the gun and the stock geometry has more to do with staying on target than a potential 10 or 20% reduction in recoil. That is just an opinion and not based on actual experience.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

If you want to stay on target and see impacts thru the scope get a can....I loaded up sub sonic rounds for my 308...wasn't impressed, picked up a 300 blackout for subsonic 30 cal round.

With a can I can spot impact thru the scope out to 600 yds, probably farther, havent tried. 150 AB over 3031, 2900 ft per sec.

 

[TaperPin]

I think a lot of reloaders go through a reduced load phase. It’s fun to play with and anything that means more time at the range is a good thing. If you want 30-30 or 300 Blackout velocity that should be easy to duplicate.

When a friend is sold on a small capacity case and is planning out a complete rifle I suggest reduced loads in an existing rifle - sometime the newness wears off quickly and it saves them from the expense of a rifle they really didn’t want.

 

[Macintosh]

Spotting shots is harder at close range than it is at longer range, because your fov thru a scope is smaller the closer you are. Yes, reducing recoil helps a lot. I have not reloaded them but I have used various “standard” loads as well as commercial reduced recoil loads—yes, the difference is very noticeable in a 308. My brother loads (I think) 110gr bullets for his kids in a 308 and has great luck with them, with very mild recoil, but I dont know the recipe or details, only that they've worked fine on deer out to 150-200 yards.
If you plug numbers into a calculator you'll see most standard 308 loads in an 8.5lb gun produce between 15-17ft/lb of recoil. 130gr at 2600ish or a bit less would be around 10ft/lb so 30+% less recoil. 110gr at 2600fps is around 7 ft/lb recoil...so less than half the recoil of a standard load. 15 may not be uncomfortable, but its amazing what you see with barely more than 223-level recoil that you DONT see with 308-level recoil.

 

[Bidwell]

Thanks for the notes everybody. I think I'll give it a go just to see what happens. Running the recoil calc puts me at about 12 ft lbs so that would be a decent reduction from 18. Sounds like around 243 level, which I've never shot but I know it's fairly light. Put the scope on a lower power and I might just be able to see impacts.

 

[Bidwell]

If you want to stay on target and see impacts thru the scope get a can....I loaded up sub sonic rounds for my 308...wasn't impressed, picked up a 300 blackout for subsonic 30 cal round.

With a can I can spot impact thru the scope out to 600 yds, probably farther, havent tried. 150 AB over 3031, 2900 ft per sec.

I got a brake but unfortunately CA is not can friendly. I may try a few different brakes though. I'd be really interested in trying a 300 blk.

 

[Bidwell]

My thinking is that how you mount the gun and the stock geometry has more to do with staying on target than a potential 10 or 20% reduction in recoil. That is just an opinion and not based on actual experience.

Yeah I can agree with that. I'm still a fairly new shooter and every once in a while I seem to get in just the right position and I can tell the muzzle jump is noticeably less. I haven't been able to exactly pin down what I'm doing differently.