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.
Reduced 308 Loads Worth the Effort?
- Thread starter Bidwell
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ozyclint
WKR
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.
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
WKR
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
WKR
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2019
- Messages
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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.
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
WKR
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- 4,161
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ended up ordering some H4895 and 110 grain Tac Tx's. Seems like pretty flexible powder and projectile to play with. Good out to 250 maybe 300 at 2400 fps and has 9 ft lbs of recoil. With a muzzle brake, maybe 5 or 6 hopefully. Curious to see if I can spot impacts with this. Feel like that should be no problem but I don't really know what anything else feels like except a 308, 12 gauge and a 22.
I’ve done reduced loads for my wife’s cousin. 125gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, 43.0gr IMR4895, Winchester primer and brass seated to 2.800” COAL. Haven’t chrono’d them, but the book stated 2700fps or so if I remember correctly? Plenty to hunt with. Tried 3 in my gun just to feel recoil and make sure everything would work. Noticeably less recoil than my standard loads (book max 150-180gr) or factory ammo. Noticeably less muzzle jump than my standard loads. Grouped right at an inch too with absolutely zero tinkering. He’s only about 100lbs (12y/o) and can handle them easily.
I used some 125gr NBT for a reduced load for my daughter about a decade ago. I don’t remember all of the particulars other than I went to (I think) hodgdon’s site and found a reduced load recipe. I can look it up…. That load was very accurate and really fun to shoot. With the reduced load and a suppressor it was just a giggle fest out to 300yds. Really fun rig.
That sounds great. Exactly what I'm looking to do. Just kinda wondering why I'm trying to get every bullet screaming to 3200 fps when in a lot cases I won't need that. Get a bullet that expands at low velocity, save some money with reduced powder, reduce wear and tear on the barrel and maybe be able to shoot 4 or 5 rounds at a time without heating the barrel and actually see impacts. Makes a lot sense in some cases.
That's pretty much exactly what I'm seeing when I run everything through Gordon's Reloading Tool.
Good to hear. Seems like it has the most flexibility. I looked at some other reduced loads from the Hodgdon site with different powders and there wasn't really room to experiment, at least from what I could tell.
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