Vhit powder for 308
- Thread starter kenbro
- Start date
Burnies Boy
Well-Known Member
I use N540 at present, getting good groups and 2900fps with no signs of pressure with virtus precision 125grain from a 20" barrel. I have a tub of N135 which should be even better for shortish barrel, but as yet I have not loaded up any ammunition for load development.
kenbro
Well-Known Member
Hi,
I’ve looked at the Vhit data but was hoping to get some realtime experiences from users.
Can’t decide between N135 and 540.
Thanks, Ken.
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
Viht N140 x 47 gns sets my Sierra 125 gns Prohunters trundling along at just South of 3,000 fps - pretty much on their site’s data.
Heap big medicine for anything walking this side of the Rockies KB!
The same charge works very well with Sierra 150s but work up to it - usual rules apply…
Heap big medicine for anything walking this side of the Rockies KB!
The same charge works very well with Sierra 150s but work up to it - usual rules apply…
kenbro
Well-Known Member
Thanks Fb;Viht N140 x 47 gns sets my Sierra 125 gns Prohunters trundling along at just South of 3,000 fps - pretty much on their site’s data.
Heap big medicine for anything walking this side of the Rockies KB!
The same charge works very well with Sierra 150s but work up to it - usual rules apply…
Forgot to say, my barrel is 16.5”, how long is your rifle barrel?
See what I did there?
Cheers, Ken.
Jamsie
Well-Known Member
kenbro
Well-Known Member
Cheers J.
KB.
Laurie wrote:-
Your problem with 308 is that your choice of propellants isn't limited, instead the complete reverse as it is such a flexible and undemanding cartridge.
Here are a few:
extruded single-based:
Viht N135
Viht N140
Viht N150
Reload Swiss RS50
Lovex SO62
Double-based extruded, low levels of nitroglycerin content:
IMR-4166
Alliant Re15 / Norma 203-B (same thing, different labels)
Reload Swiss RS52
Norma 202
Double-based 'hot' high-energy
Viht N540
Ball type powders:
Ramshot Tac
Ramshot Wild Boar
Hodgdon CFE223
Lovex DO-73.5
Lovex DO-73.6
......... and there are others that will work but may not provide full velocities within allowed pressures.
As Ray says, Viht N140 is an evergreen 308 powder and has the big plus of widespread availability in gunshops across the land and rarely being on back order. If you have a Reload Swiss stockist near you, Reload Swiss RS50 does exactly the same job and is an excellent choice.
If you wish to stick with a ball type, Ramshot Tac is a very popular choice among 308 Win users.
Lovex isn't as well known as some of the others, nor as widely distributed, but if you see any, SO62 is an excellent choice for the cartridge with 168s.
............. and Alliant Reloder 15 has been used by 308 shooters for a long, long time now for good reasons and is now available under the Norma label too (203-B) at a lower price from what I hear. Norma's slightly faster burning N202 is a good 308 choice especially for lighter bullets such as 150s.
Your problem with 308 is that your choice of propellants isn't limited, instead the complete reverse as it is such a flexible and undemanding cartridge.
Here are a few:
extruded single-based:
Viht N135
Viht N140
Viht N150
Reload Swiss RS50
Lovex SO62
Double-based extruded, low levels of nitroglycerin content:
IMR-4166
Alliant Re15 / Norma 203-B (same thing, different labels)
Reload Swiss RS52
Norma 202
Double-based 'hot' high-energy
Viht N540
Ball type powders:
Ramshot Tac
Ramshot Wild Boar
Hodgdon CFE223
Lovex DO-73.5
Lovex DO-73.6
......... and there are others that will work but may not provide full velocities within allowed pressures.
As Ray says, Viht N140 is an evergreen 308 powder and has the big plus of widespread availability in gunshops across the land and rarely being on back order. If you have a Reload Swiss stockist near you, Reload Swiss RS50 does exactly the same job and is an excellent choice.
If you wish to stick with a ball type, Ramshot Tac is a very popular choice among 308 Win users.
Lovex isn't as well known as some of the others, nor as widely distributed, but if you see any, SO62 is an excellent choice for the cartridge with 168s.
............. and Alliant Reloder 15 has been used by 308 shooters for a long, long time now for good reasons and is now available under the Norma label too (203-B) at a lower price from what I hear. Norma's slightly faster burning N202 is a good 308 choice especially for lighter bullets such as 150s.
kenbro
Well-Known Member
Does it group properly too?
Thanks, KB.
Sure does, I’ve posted a few group using N135 with Fox, Virtus, LOS and Barnes bullets 1/2” and better - quite a lot of my load testing produced groups in the .3” range. Velocity variations in the single digits too.
Foxyboy43
Well-Known Member
No idea - never felt the need to measure….
You will only lose 25/30 fps for each inch lopped off anyhoo…
I never read all the thread, but as the original question was was about a 16" barrel, I thought someone might have your answer.
N135 works for me with 125gr TMKs, but that is with a 24" barrel.
I'm guessing that something faster is what you need.
Happy stalker
Well-Known Member
This works for me, I couldn’t find any N135 at the time.
kenbro
Well-Known Member
What range was that shot at?
Thanks, Ken.
Happy stalker
Well-Known Member
100 yards, works well for me I don’t tend to shoot anything further than 200
Barrel length?
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