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can anyone help


Big h

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hi all i am looking for some advice on what is the best load to start with on my 308, i have the following already lapua brass 155gn sierra heads cci primers and RS60 powder.

looking at what data i can find there is a recipie for a 168gn head but not for a 155gn head can anyone advise what the best load is to start off and work from there .

this is my first post on here so please be gentil with me :)

powder loading will be with a Lyman gen 6 powder loader.

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I use same components but RS50 powder. 44.5 - 46.0 works well with 155s.

 

RS 60 / Elcho 17 = Reloader 17 I think, may not be the best powder. I think a long range/heavy bullet powder.

 

RS50 is also called TR140 or try Vit 140 which is very similar.

 

Try Internet search for start loads. Start low and work up. Load 5 or 10 rounds and test. Don't load 100's!!! - yet!!

 

I'm sure more advice will follow!

 

Good luck

 

JohnG

 

PS this load works fine in MY rifle. Start low and work up loads.

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If you look at the RS web site you can work out some loads from their own data.

 

https://www.reload-swiss.com/en/reload_swiss/service_2/rs_ladedaten_1/index.php?kaliber=308+Win.&pulver=RS60&hersteller=Sierra

 

From my own experience there is still very little information available on RS powders in the major reloading manuals.

As advised in #2 above you would be better looking for data on the original powder (Reloader 17).

 

Take a look at the Vhit reloading guides for some useful information on possible loads with their powders.

 

http://www.vihtavuori.com/en/reloading-data/rifle-reloading/-308-winchester.html

 

There are also pages on powder burn rates, which will give you an idea where RS60 (Reloader 17) lies in relation to other powders.

 

https://www.1967spud.com/powder-burn-rate-chart/

 

 

HTH

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You won't go wrong with Vihtavuori N140 to start with. It's readily available and affordable, and there plenty of shooters who'll share their load data with you. The disadvantage is you won't get the higher end MVs without excessive pressure. This is where RS52 and RS50 come into their own.

 

I would suggest avoiding H4895 a new Varget etc purely because they won't be available much longer.

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N140, around 44gr will work well (obviously, start low and work up). I found two very accurate nodes for my rifle, one at about 43gr and one at 44gr, both 0.5moa.

 

RS50 works better still. It delivers more velocity for less pressure. I use it for my 175gr loads and achieve almost the same MV with the 175s as N140 was delivering for the 155s.

 

Personally, I'd recommend RS50. RS60 is double base and probably a bit to slow for 155s, better suited to heavier bullets in .308. All the above loaded to mag length, 2.800.

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Ah. Ok. I have used RL17 a lot in 308. It works best with the heavy bullets i.e. 180gr and up. For 165gr and down its not really ideal, better with the Varget, Rl15, N140 type powders. Sounds like RS50 is more in line with that group ?

 

So I would suggest you either go to heavier bullets and get the benefits of high mv's. Or change to a slower burning powder.

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What's the barrel length and twist? If it's a typical sporting factory barrel (ie 24 inches or less), you'll be pushing things trying to stay transonic with 155gr bullets. You may need to consider high BC 175 to 190gr bullets instead, that being the case.

 

You'll still get there with a shorter barrel and 155's, just don't expect precision or tight groups!

 

The 155 Sierra Palma (#2156) is a good highish BC bullet but isn't very jump tolerant, like many large radius or secant ogive designs so unless loading close to the lands (which you wont be able to do with many if not most factory barrels and a short 155gr bullet), that only leaves the more jump tolerant, lower BC models like Sierra's #2155 Match King with its (more) tangent ogive. The #2155 and similar designs need around 3000 fps to be anywhere near competitive at 1000 yards.

 

If you have a shorter barrel, you'll struggle to get anywhere close to those sort of velocities, just something to bare in mind.

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Thanks for all the replies regarding the powder I am looking at getting 168gn heads and then give it a go

the benefit of the RL17 powder is high mv on heavy bullets so you get the benefit of their high bc (if chosen carefully) without the historic norms of lower mv. albeit at the cost of some temp sensitivity.

 

imo 168 is not heavy enough. find some modern high bc bullets 175gr - 185gr ish. Berger hybrids or Juggernaughts are one (rather expensive, but very good) option.

 

Avoid Sierra 168gr Matchking at all costs if you are planning on running them out towards 1000.

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the benefit of the RL17 powder is high mv on heavy bullets so you get the benefit of their high bc (if chosen carefully) without the historic norms of lower mv. albeit at the cost of some temp sensitivity.

 

imo 168 is not heavy enough. find some modern high bc bullets 175gr - 185gr ish. Berger hybrids or Juggernaughts are one (rather expensive, but very good) option.

 

Avoid Sierra 168gr Matchking at all costs if you are planning on running them out towards 1000.

 

RL 17 is just re-packaged RS 60 which you can buy for half the price. Agree RE the 168. It was developed I think for 600yds, and the steep boat tail isn't favourable for longer distance work. 175 is better but bullets really need to be batched as the base to ogive variance with those (and the 190s) is pretty high....around 20 thou between bullets in the same batch by my measurements, Both of those seem to remain pretty stable through transonic, especially the 190.. TMK 175 is much better 1000 yd bullet but more expensive.

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Up to 1000 yards at bisley but will also be 100 to 900 and in between

 

168 gr's are not ideal for the longer distances. Are you shooting F Class or sling ? if you can also confirm the barrel details that will assist replies.

 

 

Martin

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​thanks for all your replies

my rifle is a Bergra B14 HMR with a 20”/1:10"Twist in .308 I have Zeroed at 100 yards and it hits out to 1000 yards with GGG 155gn rounds from Bisley armoury out of the box.

I am looking a reloading to tune the round to the rifle and to tighten the groups. and was advised to get 155gn sierra heads and lapua brass as well as RS60.

this is a very steep learning curve for me and I will be honest am nervous as hell.

I reload .38s and have just bought a Gen 6 Lyman powder dispenser to better load to the 1/10gn.

again thanks for all your advice thus far.

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Slightly off topic but I use RS 60 with 50gn V max bullets in my 22-250 T£ and it works just fine.

I plugged the numbers into quickload and RS-60 came out with the best MV, so i went with it - no regrets so far.

 

Cheers

 

Bruce

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​thanks for all your replies

my rifle is a Bergra B14 HMR with a 20”/1:10"Twist in .308 I have Zeroed at 100 yards and it hits out to 1000 yards with GGG 155gn rounds from Bisley armoury out of the box.

I am looking a reloading to tune the round to the rifle and to tighten the groups. and was advised to get 155gn sierra heads and lapua brass as well as RS60.

this is a very steep learning curve for me and I will be honest am nervous as hell.

I reload .38s and have just bought a Gen 6 Lyman powder dispenser to better load to the 1/10gn.

again thanks for all your advice thus far.

 

RS60 might work well, but seems a little slow for a 20 inch 308 and a 155gr bullet. RS50/52 is what is more commonly used and looking at the RS website confirms higher velocities but still not high enough if precision shooting is the aim.

 

You will be able to hit the target at 1000 with a 155 bullet/20"/RS combo but velocities may be a few hundred fps down for the #2155 to keep it above transonic so don't expect too many in the 10 ring at that distance unless pushing the bullet harder. There's a reason so many shoot 30 and 32 inch barrelled .308s when driving 155gr bullets at Bisley competitively. See previous comments, they still apply. If a bit of fun is your thing and you don't have too much interest in competition, then you'd still be better advised to use a 175 or even a 190 grain bullet (the latter two with RS52 or Vhit N150 should work well).

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Personally, I'd recommend RS50. RS60 is double base and probably a bit to slow for 155s, better suited to heavier bullets in .308. All the above loaded to mag length, 2.800.

RS site says that RS60 is single based.

"RS60 is an extruded, single-based propellant powder based on nitrocellulose. A unique impregnation method using nitroglycerine assures top performance"

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RS site says that RS60 is single based.

"RS60 is an extruded, single-based propellant powder based on nitrocellulose. A unique impregnation method using nitroglycerine assures top performance"

Well it starts out as a single base but has the addition of nitroglycerin- making it high energy. Sort of like the equivalent to what VV N540/550/560 is to N140/150/160. The addition of the nitroglycerin gives RS60 a high rating of 4,000 j/g, so it's hot burning and is likely to kane your barrel when pushed to its potential. RS60 is Rel17, and many people who jumped on the Rel17 bandwagon for its top velocities a few years back soon jumped off it again due to experiencing short barrel life.

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24 inch .308, 1/10twist, shooting to 1000 yards without caning the barrel. 175 TMK plus RS50 is ideal. You could also use Vhit N150 with the same bullet but would likely get lower velocities for higher pressures, ditto N140.

 

As mentioned above by Catch-22, RS60 is one of the single base RS powders infused with Nitroglycerine, so exhibits higher energy than the straight single base powders, behaving like double base. You get higher velocities from them, but if you load them even a little too hot, you'll sacrifice barrel life significantly. If you only load mildly warm, then reports are that they're not too bad . The only RS powders that are non-infused single base are RS50 and RS62.

 

If you go the Vhit N150 route, it may be of interest to note that the latest batches of all Vhit powders have been altered to now include anti-fouling agents to reduce coppering: http://www.vihtavuori.com/en/powders/overview.html

 

RS50 though would probably remain the strongest recommendation for a 24 inch barrel.

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I'm another very satisfied RS50 user - RS50 works very well with most 155gr bullets (Sierra, Lapua, Berger & Dyer in my case).

 

You will normally get lower pressure and higher velocity than with N140 for example.

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