[IDShooter]

Hi,
     Just tried a new (to me) powder today and got some surprising results... but first some background. I have been reloading for the .308 Win for some 17 years now, first in a Win 70 Featherweight which I foolishly sold and currently in a Rem 700 Stainless. The biggest thing I have found about  the .308 is that it's hard to come up with a bad load for it. My Winchester grouped virtually every load I tried into 1" or less. The M700 has been just as consistent as the Winchester, but not as accurate- every load I've tried has gone into 1.25" to 1.5" at 100 yds, 3-4" at 200 yds so I figured that was just the accuracy potential of this rifle. Today I tried Reloder 15 with 165 gr Hornady bullets and shot 1 group at 100 yds which measured 1". Then I shot a group at 200 yds that measured .75"! That was all the ammo I brought since this was an experimental load, but it sure shows promise. Incidentally, the reason I tried R15 was to get higher velocities, since it shows the highest in the Speer manual. But my velocities were actually lower than most other powders I have tried. Ah well.
      I guess the lesson is that every rifle is an individual and that we can never learn all there is to know. My personal experience has been that most powders within a reasonable burn rate range perform pretty much the same ( in accuracy terms, not velocity!) and the bullet has much more effect on accuracy, especially in the .308 Win. But this is certainly an exception!
                  Have fun and shoot straight!  ID

 

[IDShooter]

Gilamonster,
     I used to use R22 in a .338 also, although I used the 210 gr Partition. Didn't have a chronograph then, but it was a very accurate load, grouping 2.5-3 inches at 300 yards.
   I've been quite disappointed in the R15 velocity-wise though. It is the most accurate powder in my .308, but gives lower velocities than any other powder I've tested in 308, 257 Roberts (75 gr bullets) and 30-30 (170 gr bullets) and 30-06 (165 gr bullets). Acually it comes close in the 30-30, but is much slower in the other three, posting velocities 200-300 fps slower than published data and quite a bit slower than other powders in the same rifles.
    The other thing I don't like about it is the smell when it's fired! I know that has little to do with anything, but I usually like the smell of gunpowder!  I probably won't be buying any more of it.   ID