Ruger American Predator 308 loads?

[Jevaughn]

I'm helping a good friend get into rifle hunting. He picked up a new Ruger American Predator in .308 after bouncing between 308 and 6.5 Creedmore. He ordered his scope and as soon as it comes in and gets mounted, we'll be ready to load for it. I know all rifles are different, but does anyone have the American Predator (22 inch barrel I believe, 1:10 twist) that they load hunting rounds for? I load for my Savage 110 Police Tactical and know it's favorite load data, but it's picky, preferring Sierra Match and Game kings better than anything else, and Hornady rounds don't shoot worth a damn in it. Trying not to get crazy on supplies for him, as he's just starting out, and I'm teaching him to load for it. Any recommendations on powders and projectiles and starting loads that work well with the Predator? 1:10 so should do well with 168 and 175gr pills.

 

[gnappi]

Waayyyy back when I first started loading the .308 when I asked a friend for powder info he said, "get a can of WW 748 and be done with it" and after some 40+ years I still can't prove him wrong

I recommended 748 to my Dad for his yearly turkey shoot and he did so well the guys in his club jokingly said they didn't like shooting against him with a plain vanilla 700.

Anyway, my Savage BAT/s has held 1/2 MOA at 200 yards with Remington PSP bullets, even a bit better with Nosler BT's.

 

[Jevaughn]

Waayyyy back when I first started loading the .308 when I asked a friend for powder info he said, "get a can of WW 748 and be done with it" and after some 40+ years I still can't prove him wrong

I recommended 748 to my Dad for his yearly turkey shoot and he did so well the guys in his club jokingly said they didn't like shooting against him with a plain vanilla 700.

Anyway, my Savage BAT/s has held 1/2 MOA at 200 yards with Remington PSP bullets, even a bit better with Nosler BT's.

Never used that one. I've always had great luck in my Savage 10 Police Tactical with imr4064 and Sierra 175gr match kings and game kings. Can easily get 1/2 MOA at 100-200 with those, but I've had horrible luck with Hornady ELD match bullets in that rifle, it just won't shoot those for anything no matter what I load with or the seating depth. My browning shoots them well as long as there's a decent jump before the lands, but the match kings still do a little better than the ELD's. Just wondering if anyone had luck with 4064, h4895, imr4895, or RL15 as those are the powders I have on hand as well as Sierra 175's, 168's, and Nosler 175's.

 

[boatbum101]

1 in 10 should do best with 165's & heavier . 4895 / TAC with 150's , 4064 / BLC2 with 165 / 168's , RL15 / 4064 with the 175's . Rem 9 1/2 primer .

 

[Baddog 0302]

Hodgdon data site

Nosler data

Should be able to find something that works, just remember, weapons are like women , no two are alike and each one has their own preference as to what makes them preform

 

[Jevaughn]

1 in 10 should do best with 165's & heavier . 4895 / TAC with 150's , 4064 / BLC2 with 165 / 168's , RL15 / 4064 with the 175's . Rem 9 1/2 primer .

yeah, I know it's gonna like the heavier (or at least longer) pills. Planned on trying some 165gr or 175gr game kings first. He's using it for whitetail not target shooting, and I have a few of each on hand as that's what I load for hunting.

 

[Baddog 0302]

The 1-10 is over kill as twists go but it's the industry's "monkey see, monkey do" but that's for another story

 

[Jevaughn]

Hodgdon data site

Nosler data

Should be able to find something that works, just remember, weapons are like women , no two are alike and each one has their own preference as to what makes them preform

Yeah, I have two .308 rifles, and they shoot my Federal Gold Medal Match cloned rounds pretty good (175gr match kings over 42.3gr of IMR4064) with a light crimp and federal match LRP's in Federal brass, but for maximum accuracy, I have to tweak that load quite a bit differently for each rifle.

 

[Jevaughn]

The 1-10 is over kill as twists go but it's the industry's "monkey see, monkey do" but that's for another story

the 1:10 twist is great for heavier/longer projectiles. Anything slower won't stabilize them at range. If I ever change the barrels on my savage, I'll probably go with a 1:11 or 1:11.25 twist so it does better with the 150gr pills than the 1:10 does yet still be fast enough to sling the heavier 175's downrange with stability. Though, I have played with some 200gr pills in the 1:10 twist and it is a great 200yd bullet.

 

[boatbum101]

Many 308 Win come with 1 in 12 , 1 in 10 is common for 30/06 , 300 Win Mag , 300 H&H & older 30 cal rounds . 1 in 12 will shoot 168's just fine , 175's maybe not . For deer within 300yds any old cup n core 150 - 165 will do .

 

[Jester896]

I use 42-43gr of RL-15 under 175SMK with 210M primers for my 700P I think it is 1:12
I think it is right there in the same charge range with IMR4064 with 168s I use in my M1A
I think both of those are real close in burn rate

I loaded some 165 GameKings for a buddy with the same charge of RL-15 and he swears they go in the same hole from his hunting rifle.

 

[M118LR]

1:10 Twist over 20 inch barrel? Nosler 180 Partition, 41 grains of IMR 4895. Nosler has load data online. Great place to start for hunting loads. JMHO. 165 Nosler Partition for 1:11.25 Twist IMR Powder dependent on barrel length. Short Barreled Scout Rifle prefers SMK 168 with 3031 and Nosler 165 Partition. Loads are a little hot so this isn't the place to list them. JMHO.

 

[seandizzie]

Can’t go wrong with 41-42 grains of imr4895 with 165-180grain projectiles in MILITARY brass.

Same could be said for IMR 4064.