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Author Topic: 308 in a pistol?  (Read 609 times)

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Offline rocky_taco

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308 in a pistol?
« on: December 01, 2004, 02:42:41 PM »
Does a 308 load for a pistol use the same load data that a rifle uses, or does it require something different due to the shorter barrel?
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Offline Possum

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308 in a pistol?
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2004, 04:12:33 PM »
Not an expert by any means, but you can shoot the rifle loads in a pistol length barrel.  A lot of the time you will have great muzzle flash due to the powder burn in the short barrel.  I have found using slightly faster burning powders in the shorter pistol lengths reduce the muzzle flash and keep the velocity about the same.  You save powder in the process. :lol:

Some factory loads shoot great in the pistols.  I used a Rem factory .35Rem load for two years in the beginning and got great accuracy.  I just experiment with different loads until I find one that has the least recoil, best accuracy, and good powder burn.  I know someone else can explain it better than I can.
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Offline xphunter

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308 in a pistol?
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2004, 04:36:24 PM »
Possum did a good job of explaining.
The only thing I would add is that I have found (may be different for others) is that the slower powders for that given cartridge bullet selection also work the best most of the time for the specialty handguns.
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Ernie
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Offline KN

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308 in a pistol?
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2004, 05:15:32 PM »
I have been loading mine with W-748 with great results. KN
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Offline **oneshot**

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308 in a pistol?
« Reply #4 on: December 04, 2004, 03:00:51 AM »
I shoot 308 in my Encore.  I shoot 43.5gr H4895 with Fed Match primers and use 150gr Hornady SST bullets.   Get a hogdon manual and they list the 308 in the pistol section using a 15" barrel.  I found H4895 to give me the best results, Varget burned too slow (lots of flash) and IMR 3031 gave alot more recoil.  43.5 is at the low end of the hogdon manual but gave the best accuracy.  1/4" at75yds.
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Offline Lone Star

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308 in a pistol?
« Reply #5 on: December 04, 2004, 03:47:13 AM »
If velocity is your goal, then the loads which give the highest velocities in rifle barrels will give the highest velocities in handgun barrels.  This has been tested and proven many times, it is fact.  However, if accuracy or reduced muzzle signature are important, then a "faster" powder may give better overall results.

Muzzle flash alone does not mean a powder is too slow.  Some powders are coated with chemicals which reduce muzzle flash, and some are not.  Some have a higher nitroglycerin content than others, etc.  In the example above, Varget and H4895 are very close in "speed" (fps/gr), so there should not be much difference in muzzle flash.  Since there is, the cause is most likely the differing chemical composition of the two powders.
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