.308 Encore Loads . . . got any?

[Ranger413]

Well, I took the plunge and bought a 15" SS .308 barrel to add to my building collection of Encore barrels.  I would like input on some loadings that work well in this caliber out of the pistol barrel.  

Thanks,

Ranger413

[palgeno]

Last year I used Nosler 150 Ballistic Tips and Varget powder and took 3 deer at about 150yd and one at appx 250yd. This load was good for 2550 fps and better than moa off the bench. Kept the ogive .020 off the lands and had no extraction problems or other signs of too much pressure. This year I used Nosler 165 gr Partitions and Varget and lost some velocity --2450 fps--and only a little accuracy off the bench. I completely missed the season this year---long story. For hunting purposes both loads  are as accurate as  anyone could hope for.  Went to 165 PT's hoping for bigger deer! Using a 4 inch diameter target, point blank range for both loads is about 225 yards and down 10 to 12 inches at 300 yd still with 1000 ft/lbs of energy according too RCBS Load software. See the Hogden Manual for the load data and work up for your barrel. Max loads worked for me. May work for you,too. But DON"T start at max and you will stay safe. :-)

[Ranger413]

I grew up on the .308 in a Winchester Model 88 lever action.  My dad and I handloaded 130gr. Hornady PSP over 47grs. of 4320 out of it (supposed to be @ 2825fps).  My dad stepped his up a bit and was pushing the envelope.  We've always been impressed by this bullet.  I've never had a deer hit in the vitals go more than about 30 yards.  We had the philosophy that the lighter bullet would dump all of it's energy inside the animal.  Rather than punch two holes like a heavier bullet may.  I'll have to give them a whirl in the barrel when I get it.  Who knows, maybe it will shoot great in a 15" Encore too.

I'm anxious to experiment with some bullets made by other manufacturers in the 125gr area too.  Of course the 150gr bullet is the most common, so maybe it's worth some trials.

Ranger413

[palgeno]

Ranger---I forgot to add that my .308 barel is 15 inches overall with 1.25 inches being the factory muzzle tamer. I did work up a load with 125gr ballistic tips also with Varget powder to possibly use on coyotes----haven't hunted this load yet---also better than moa and 2625 fps. Recoil feels about like a .223 in my Contender and is so accurate that I almost didn't go on to try loading heavier bullets------but load 'em all--and have fun! :lol:    Gene

[Steve E]

My Encore is a 15 inch 308 blued barrel without a muzzle tamer, and my favorite load is as followes,
Winchester brass
150 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip
Winchester Large Rifle Primers
42 Gr. of Reloader 12(If you can find it) Average 2640fps.
2.915 C.O.A.L.
4x Leupold Scope
All this gave me consistent 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups at 100 yds.

Needless to say I am sad to see RL 12 go, although I did stock up before it was discontinued.
                         
                                                   Steve E.........

[Ranger413]

How is the recoil?  I can tolerate some hot stuff out of my Ruger SRH 44 mag.  It has a 9 1/2" barrel and I"m shooting either 200gr. XTP handloads (over 28gr H110 - 0.5gr. under max.) or the Winchester Supreme Partition Gold 250gr. factory loads.  Both are a handfull but I can last about 25 rounds per sitting at the range.  Of course, in the field I don't really notice the recoil.

Ranger413

[DesertRam]

150 grain SSTs with Hodgdon Benchmark
150 grain Nosler BSTs with IMR 4064

You can check the powder manufacturers' web sites for loads and work from there.

[sprig]

i have a 15" encore in 308 and so does my dad i load both with nosler 125 gr ballistic tips , fed 210 lg primer, 41.5 gr of imr 4895. a great load. ive killed 3 deer and a 250 lb hog with my encore this year. and numerious with my browning micro madallion in the past. but the encore is the way to go from now on. (handgun hunting only) this load shoots 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds.


sprrig

ARISE PETER KILL AND EAT
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