H322 in 308

[ricky5042]

Hi all has anyone tried H322 in 308? if so how did it perform and what was your recipe? I will start from minimum before anyone say you shouldn't do what anyone else has. I just need some where to start from.

Thanks

 

Rick

[Laurie]

H322 is a bit fast-burning for 308, but it used to be popular many years ago for short-range match loads in the USA with bullets up to and including 190gn HPBT match models. Despite relatively low fill-ratios, it apparently worked very well in 200/300 yard match shooting which was the norm back then. It won't produce the sort of velocities we expect today as pressures rise too rapidly. This was in the days of Scottish H322 (ICI Nobel manufactured at Ardeer), but today's Australian ADI/Thales version will still have similar characteristics.

 

Here are some 1969 Ken Waters' loads from Handloader Magazine:

 

130gn Hornady Spire Point ..... W-W case .......... Win 120 primer (forerunner of the WLR) .......... 43.0gn H322 ............ 2,891 fps .......... best 130gn accuracy

 

150gn Sierra Sp ....................... Fed case ........... F210M primer ................................................... 42.0gn H322 ............ 2,782 fps .......... near maximum

 

168gn Hornady Match ............. Fed case ............ F210M primer .................................................... 41.0gn H322 ........... 2,691 fps ........... near maximum

 

180gn Sierra MK ...................... Fed case ........... F210M primer .................................................... 39.0gn H322 ........... 2,530 fps ............ moderate pressures

 

190gn W-W BT Match .............. S-X Case ........... F210M primer .................................................... 36.0gn H322 ........... 2,290 fps ............ moderate pressures

 

 

The usual caveats apply - even more so than usual as so many components have changed over 40 + years - the 1960s 180gn Sierra MK is a very different design from today's for instance.

 

If you're looking to try a faster-burner and maybe still available on dealers' shelves, I'd suggest IMR-3031 which gives surprisingly high MVs in .308 Win and works very well.

[ricky5042]

Hi thanks for that Laurie :-)