Rookie Question 101: Recommended Powder and Bullets for a 308 in F Class

W

Wm Cook

Member
I spend my time shooting short range Bench Rest competition but I would like to start up a side interest in F class.

Set aside the minutia about the ultimate cartridge and assume that I'll be shooting a 308.

The questions are specific to F class, 308 and are pretty simple:
1) Could you recommend two powders?
2) What bullet and bullet weight would you recommend as a starting point?
3) What twist rate would be optimal for the recommended bullet weight?

I would greatly appreciate your thoughts so I have something to start with. Thanks, Bill.
 
You should get with one of your locals there and see what they use. Joe fesi or harry ward know the who to get with. Believe joe even shoots f/tr which is the direction youre going with the 308
 
Your mileage may vary -

1) Could you recommend two powders? - only one - Varget

2) What bullet and bullet weight would you recommend as a starting point? Berger 185 grain Juggernauts or 200 grain hybrids (somewhat less forgiving with recoil management)

3) What twist rate would be optimal for the recommended bullet weight? 1X11 will work for the 185s - 1X10 should work for the 200 - check Berger's website to confirm
 
Thanks! That'll get my shopping cart started. Sort of thought that Berger would come up in the conversation and having Varget as a starting point will get things moving. I just needed a first door to go through. This ought to be fun. I'm sure that an old 308 isn't as exciting as some of the wildcat being shot in F class so I appreciate your help. Not sure if Joe shoots F class or not. We're finishing up a BR match tomorrow so I'll ask him when I see him. Thanks, Bill.
 
One more question..

If I could ask one more question it would be about bipods. People are tellin me that there are a number of options that are out there. I intend to shoot from a bench so that has it's own handicaps for a bipod.
 
Damfino said:
Your mileage may vary -

1) Could you recommend two powders? - only one - Varget

.......... snip.............
Click to expand...

I hope I don't sound argumentative, but I'll say this about Varget:

It was the first of the Extreme Extruded Powders and it works well in .223 and .308. It became very popular. I know many folks who found good accuracy with Varget and never tested beyond that. I've tested it myself with good results. Varget is a fine powder.

BUT...............it's hard (or virtually impossible) to get, at least in my experience. And that fact alone disqualifies Varget as one of my "go to" powders. I only knew of one place to find it in the past many months and that is at a small local gun shop where they keep it hidden in the back room and only reveal its existence to close friends and good customers. And they only do that when you conduct a mini version of the Spanish Inquisition. Yesterday I learned they have sold out.

I don't shoot .308, so I hesitate to recommend a specific powder to the OP. However, there are many powders on the market which I have found shoot as well or better than Varget in the calibers I most often shoot, .223 and 6mm BR. I don't know exactly which powder each and every one of my F Class competitors shoot, but of those I do know about, none of them use Varget.

I want to emphasize that there is nothing wrong with Varget, as far as I'm concerned, except for the difficulty of obtaining it. But since there are powders readily available which are at least as good, I would encourage the OP to give availability some consideration before he goes shopping for powder.

Of course, if the OP can't get Varget at all, then the problem of availability will solve itself. ;)
 
Popular F-TR bipods at Tullahoma, TN, both 600 and 1000, are the Joy-Pod and the Duplin, with a few Sinclairs.
 
Though I have had some success with Varget, I have always gotten better accuracy out of 4895 with 155 grain bullets and 4320 with 175's.. Regards, Bill
 
Sorry I know this is an older thread...but my 2 cents...I use a 30" 10 twist barrel for the 185 gr Juggernauts .168" free bore. You'll want 2700-2800 fps for 1000 yd stability. Varget is the powder I use. Every time I ask for it's available in 8 pounders. Lapua 308 Palma brass and CCI 450 primers. My 1st bi pod was a Duplin and now use a Joy pod.
 
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