My Wife and I enjoy target shooting and both of us are in our 50's. While my .308 isn't painful to shoot, a lighter recoiling load for steel targets would be nice. My Wife might even try it. I'm not worried about sub MOA groups, but might like to try such a load on prairie dogs. Any thoughts?
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Low recoil load for .308 target shooting
- Thread starter AL45
- Start date
Hammerhead
New member
Have you looked at Accurate 5744?
http://www.accuratepowder.com/products/rifle/
They have load data there too.
http://www.accuratepowder.com/products/rifle/
They have load data there too.
Geezerbiker
New member
The Ed Harris load of 16 grains of #2400 with a 150g bullet is a nice light load... He also posted some light loads with Red Dot but I'd have to look those up....
Tony
Tony
Saguaro 66
New member
CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond or not covered by currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.
Reduced Loads. In my .308 Win I use 147 soft flat nose bullets with 7gr to 13 grains of Vectan Ba9 --9mm powder-- with oversized primer firing hole and Winchester magnum primers.
7 grains of Ba9 is subsonic and 13 grains gives about 450 metres per second
I have shot many hundreds of them with no problems. When I reload I go one by one and triple check that I don't double charge since more than 13 grains becomes dangerous and than 20 grains can be too dangerous.
I reckon Vectan Ba9 if quite similar to Alliant Unique. Nevertheless TRAIL BOSS is ideal for this kind of no recoil and inexpensive .308 practice and even hunting at close ranges.
Trail Boss is very bulky and its much easier to work with. The European version is Vihtavuori N32C Tin Star
Soft cast 147 gr bullets or even better cheap soft bullets with some kind of copper or special paint protection. I don't use "standard" bullets with reduced loads since they have harder surface they can get stock in the barrel.
At 75 metres I get sub MOA groups with 12 grains of Ba9 with a 20 inch barrel.
Sometimes I use those reduce .308 loads to kill wounded animals at less than 25 metres with good results and much less blasts report.
Cheers !
Reduced Loads. In my .308 Win I use 147 soft flat nose bullets with 7gr to 13 grains of Vectan Ba9 --9mm powder-- with oversized primer firing hole and Winchester magnum primers.
7 grains of Ba9 is subsonic and 13 grains gives about 450 metres per second
I have shot many hundreds of them with no problems. When I reload I go one by one and triple check that I don't double charge since more than 13 grains becomes dangerous and than 20 grains can be too dangerous.
I reckon Vectan Ba9 if quite similar to Alliant Unique. Nevertheless TRAIL BOSS is ideal for this kind of no recoil and inexpensive .308 practice and even hunting at close ranges.
Trail Boss is very bulky and its much easier to work with. The European version is Vihtavuori N32C Tin Star
Soft cast 147 gr bullets or even better cheap soft bullets with some kind of copper or special paint protection. I don't use "standard" bullets with reduced loads since they have harder surface they can get stock in the barrel.
At 75 metres I get sub MOA groups with 12 grains of Ba9 with a 20 inch barrel.
Sometimes I use those reduce .308 loads to kill wounded animals at less than 25 metres with good results and much less blasts report.
Cheers !
I'll second Trail Boss. According to QuickLOAD Trail Boss, at .310 g/cc, is even more bulky than N32C Tin Star, which it puts at 0.459 g/cc. Hodgdon's general formula for TB in bottleneck rifle cases is to start by figuring out the volume of the space under the bullet and start with it filled 70% and load up to 100%, but don't try to compress it.
Rocky Raab's old 30 Cal general purpose charge was 9 grains of Unique. I've used that and it is reasonably accurate at 100 yards.
Rocky Raab's old 30 Cal general purpose charge was 9 grains of Unique. I've used that and it is reasonably accurate at 100 yards.
From our friends at Hodgdon:
While I always liked the light load suggestions using H4895 Trail Boss is another really good choice. The Hodgdon 60% load data works like this:
Hodgdon Powder Company has found that H4895 can be loaded to reduced levels. H4895
was chosen because it is the slowest burning propellant that ignites uniformly in reduced
charges. To create reduced loads, the 60% formula is recommended.
Find the H4895 load in the Reloading Data Center for your caliber and bullet.
Take the maximum H4895 charge listed and multiply by 60% (.6). The load may
be adjusted up from there to achieve the desired velocity and accuracy.
This works only where H4895 is listed. DO NOT use in a cartridge where H4895
is not shown.
Example: 30-06 cartridge with 125 gr. Sierra SP bullet. Max load shown in the Reloading
Data Center with H4895 is 53.7 grains. 53.7 X .6 = 32.2 grains. The shooter begins
with this load, and may work up from there to obtain the desired velocity and
accuracy for his reduced load.
Call Hodgdon Powder Company if additional information is needed, 913-362-9455.
Ron
Hodgdon has three separate tabs under the DATA menu of the website’s main page to help in low recoil loading.
The first is titled “H4895 Reduced Rifle Loads.” H4895 has proven to be a versatile powder that performs superbly at lower powder charges. Loads in this listing are reduced from full power but still offer mid-range performance.
If the goal is minimum recoil, the answer is Hodgdon Trail Boss powder. The second tab under the website DATA menu is titled “Trail Boss Reduced Loads.” Trail Boss can be applied to any cartridge you may want to reload. Trail Boss reloads are very mild and easy to shoot. Designed for Cowboy Action Shooting, Trail Boss has proven to be a great way to get more practice with your big bore hunting rifle.
While I always liked the light load suggestions using H4895 Trail Boss is another really good choice. The Hodgdon 60% load data works like this:
Hodgdon Powder Company has found that H4895 can be loaded to reduced levels. H4895
was chosen because it is the slowest burning propellant that ignites uniformly in reduced
charges. To create reduced loads, the 60% formula is recommended.
Find the H4895 load in the Reloading Data Center for your caliber and bullet.
Take the maximum H4895 charge listed and multiply by 60% (.6). The load may
be adjusted up from there to achieve the desired velocity and accuracy.
This works only where H4895 is listed. DO NOT use in a cartridge where H4895
is not shown.
Example: 30-06 cartridge with 125 gr. Sierra SP bullet. Max load shown in the Reloading
Data Center with H4895 is 53.7 grains. 53.7 X .6 = 32.2 grains. The shooter begins
with this load, and may work up from there to obtain the desired velocity and
accuracy for his reduced load.
Call Hodgdon Powder Company if additional information is needed, 913-362-9455.
Ron
Don Fischer
New member
Reduce the powder chg your using and/or go to lighter bullet's.
I use Trailboss under a 175gn bullet for subsonic loads in 308. Im pushing that bullet right at 1000fps and in my (admittedly heavy) FN SPR its a *****cat with almost no recoil at all.
It gives me groups just unde an inch at 100 (that rifle with full power loads is a true 1/2min gun). So, im giving up some accuracy with the reduced loads. Im sure that bullet/twist rate is not designed for such low velocity, but its stable.
I put a 7year old behind it once and he LOVED it.
It gives me groups just unde an inch at 100 (that rifle with full power loads is a true 1/2min gun). So, im giving up some accuracy with the reduced loads. Im sure that bullet/twist rate is not designed for such low velocity, but its stable.
I put a 7year old behind it once and he LOVED it.
condor bravo
New member
Use Trail Boss and fill the case to the base of where the seated bullet will be, regardless of bullet weight.
"...for steel targets..." At what distance? What rifle you're using will matter a bit too. It have a recoil pad? It's weight matters.
"...load on prairie dogs..." 110 to 130 grain bullets. Lots of data on Hodgdon's site. Accuracy matters when hunting those wee beasties too.
Mind you, a 150 grain bullet at 2800 FPS out of a 7.5 pound rifle generates just 15.8 ft-lbs. of recoil energy. A 165 at 2700outot the same rifle gives 18.1 ft-lbs. That's not the felt recoil. It's the actual recoil.
"...load on prairie dogs..." 110 to 130 grain bullets. Lots of data on Hodgdon's site. Accuracy matters when hunting those wee beasties too.
Mind you, a 150 grain bullet at 2800 FPS out of a 7.5 pound rifle generates just 15.8 ft-lbs. of recoil energy. A 165 at 2700outot the same rifle gives 18.1 ft-lbs. That's not the felt recoil. It's the actual recoil.
Solid 308 Target load
I have also been experimenting with a fun target load that doesn't instigate shooter fatigue too quickly that both my daughter and I can enjoy. I am still fine tuning this load but out of my Savage 12 FV w/ 26" Varm contour barrel:
Winchester Brass
Seller & Bellot Lg Rifle Primer
43.4 G H335
125G Sierra MK
2900FPS
COAL: 2.800 ( still tweaking this ) but it feeds from mags nicely
currently I am avg'ng 0.589" groups @ 100yds and 1.77" @ 300yds
This is still mid range in terms of load data found in books, leaves a lot of velocity still to be had but regardless common sense says make sure you start lower and work your way up to ensure your config can handle the load. I also found a solid accuracy node at 42.1 g but it is smaller and velocity drops to 2740 avg. I was able to walk the load out to 400 yards so far and it has done very well. Group size still stays under 1 MOA but I am still learning longer shooting techniques so it may be better.
H335 is a bit fast of a powder but so far it has shown really solid promise for me.
I have also been experimenting with a fun target load that doesn't instigate shooter fatigue too quickly that both my daughter and I can enjoy. I am still fine tuning this load but out of my Savage 12 FV w/ 26" Varm contour barrel:
Winchester Brass
Seller & Bellot Lg Rifle Primer
43.4 G H335
125G Sierra MK
2900FPS
COAL: 2.800 ( still tweaking this ) but it feeds from mags nicely
currently I am avg'ng 0.589" groups @ 100yds and 1.77" @ 300yds
This is still mid range in terms of load data found in books, leaves a lot of velocity still to be had but regardless common sense says make sure you start lower and work your way up to ensure your config can handle the load. I also found a solid accuracy node at 42.1 g but it is smaller and velocity drops to 2740 avg. I was able to walk the load out to 400 yards so far and it has done very well. Group size still stays under 1 MOA but I am still learning longer shooting techniques so it may be better.
H335 is a bit fast of a powder but so far it has shown really solid promise for me.
Stats Shooter
New member
I have tinkered with light rifle loads myself. I would be another thumbs up for trail boss. I love the fact that you don't have to worry about a double charge with it which is possible using traditional pistol powders in a rifle case . I like to have a full case where possible allowing nice consistent ignition and lower extreme spreads for velocity.
But as others have said, dont try and compress trail boss powder .
I have not used it in .308 but i absolutely would if i were trying to do what you are doing. I would also add that you may want to use a light flat based bullet to ensure its stable at low velocities. And flat base bullets are cheaper and perfect for short rang.
But as others have said, dont try and compress trail boss powder .
I have not used it in .308 but i absolutely would if i were trying to do what you are doing. I would also add that you may want to use a light flat based bullet to ensure its stable at low velocities. And flat base bullets are cheaper and perfect for short rang.