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IMR 8208 XBR


MikedaddyH

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Got a pound of IMR 8208 XBR and loaded rounds of 300wsm , 308win , 6.8spc . This powder meters better than all the other powders I have used. It has smaller size grandules.

I shot 3 rounds earlier this week as a reduced load in the new AR300WSM a friend made up those rounds.

Anyone else tried this powder ?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey Mike,

I've got my dies on the way and I have 5 different 1 pound containers of powder waiting for some load development.  The 8208 is one of the cans of powder and I was actually thinking of starting with that one.  Do you have any results yet?  If so, what are the particulars on your load and rifle? 

I've got a DPMS LR308 with an 18.5" Criterion 1:10 twist barrel.  I'll be loading 175 Sierra MK's.  Share your results if you've got'em. 

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Hey Mike,

I've got my dies on the way and I have 5 different 1 pound containers of powder waiting for some load development.  The 8208 is one of the cans of powder and I was actually thinking of starting with that one.  Do you have any results yet?  If so, what are the particulars on your load and rifle? 

I've got a DPMS LR308 with an 18.5" Criterion 1:10 twist barrel.  I'll be loading 175 Sierra MK's.  Share your results if you've got'em. 

Haven't shot any 308s yet, just 6.8 and 300wsm. The 6.8 load is just a starting point and I will be moving up, shot up one mag of 25 rounds 4 inch circle @100yards while doing a function test the scope is not sighted in yet. The 300wsm was a 92% load and hit a steel plate at 350 yards every time.
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Well, I just finished loading 25 rounds of 175 SMK's with loads of IMR 8208 XBR starting at 38.7 grains and ending at 41.1 grains of powder, changing by .6 grains for each 5 round group.  My Hornady manual actually listed the max load at 41.0, but they used a 178-180 gr bullet, so I figured I'd be safe with .1 grains above their "directive".  It seems like a really conservative manual.  Anyone else have a different manual with a different "max load" for 8208 with 175 grain SMK's?  Not sure when I'll be able to test, but I'll be shooting them out of a DPMS LR-308 equipped with a Criterion 1:10 twist 18.5" barrel.  My next day off will be this coming Thursday and I might have the itch so bad I won't be able to wait.  These are my first reloads ever, so hopefully I won't blow up my rifle or maim/kill myself in the process of pulling the trigger. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I've tried it in most everything I use Varget in with mixed results....groups are good..close to Varget but not quite as good.....one thing I have noticed is charge weight doesn't have big effect on accuracy..grain or 2 one way or the other still gives respectable groups.....found that light bullets in 6.5 Creedmoor wouldn't cycle action with XBR ...made for an accurate single shot....H4350 rules here still

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Ok guys, I got a box of Hornady Z-Max bullets (500) for my birthday and I bought another pound of the Imr 8208 XBR powder today. I put together a .223 load for the 50gr bt/bt with Win WSR and 25.4gr of XBR in 1X lake city brass. I got 278 rounds out of it. The bullets are really high quality, like V-Max but with a different tip. I'm not buying into the whole Zombie BS but I aint knockin' free lead. Glad I had 1200+ 223 brass already processed waiting for lead and powder.

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  • 2 months later...

Well, I just finished loading 25 rounds of 175 SMK's with loads of IMR 8208 XBR starting at 38.7 grains and ending at 41.1 grains of powder, changing by .6 grains for each 5 round group.  My Hornady manual actually listed the max load at 41.0, but they used a 178-180 gr bullet, so I figured I'd be safe with .1 grains above their "directive".  It seems like a really conservative manual.  Anyone else have a different manual with a different "max load" for 8208 with 175 grain SMK's?  Not sure when I'll be able to test, but I'll be shooting them out of a DPMS LR-308 equipped with a Criterion 1:10 twist 18.5" barrel.  My next day off will be this coming Thursday and I might have the itch so bad I won't be able to wait.  These are my first reloads ever, so hopefully I won't blow up my rifle or maim/kill myself in the process of pulling the trigger.

I finally got to shoot these loads and am sad to say it doesn't cycle the action...not even the "hottest" loads.  I think the powder burns too quickly and the pressure curve doesn't last long enough to cycle my DPMS LR-308 with an 18.5" barrel.  I tried some accuracy loads from my bolt action (they are on the moderately warm side, but well under "book max") loaded with 42.4 grains of IMR 4064 loaded to 2.810 OAL with a 175 SMK and it cycled perfectly.  I also tried some load development with Varget ranging from 42.0 to 44.0 and they all cycled perfectly as well.  The most accurate load for my rifle was the 44.0 of Varget. 
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It seems to me that Varget is just about the most popular for our .308's. I have been holding off on trying it out. I think I have to let my 4064 & CFE223 run it's course. I just can't focus on another powder until I'm convinced I have done all I can with the others, with the bullets I try them with. But I'll try the Varget sooner or later I know.

EDIT: one thing is I read this thread to read about the XBR and like so many other threads everywhere it kind of drifted to Varget  <dontknow>

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one thing is I read this thread to read about the XBR and like so many other threads everywhere it kind of drifted to Varget

Varget is/has become, somewhat quietly, the go to powder for most gas guns. It is exceptional in both the 30-06 Garand and M14 with 168 grain bullets, and is widely used in the 5.56 ARs. You really can't go wrong with it.

I love my ball powders (AA2520 and TAC) for the ease of loading and the accuracy in my rifles, but in my M1, Varget rules.

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I'm gonna give up on 8208 because to make it cycle reliably I have to go above book max and as a new handloader, I just don't feel comfortable with that when there are other powders that cycle the rifle reliably without pushing the envelope. 

I've been talking with a guy who has basically the exact same rifle as I do (DPMS LR-308 with 18.5" Criterion barrel and rifle length gas system) and he uses H4895 with the 175 SMK and is getting great results.  I guess I'll try that one next since it's one of the 5 powders I bought with the intention of trying.  Anyone got any results with that powder in a similar setup?

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  • 2 weeks later...

The H4895 I have not but I have read from lots of others that have. Seems to do pretty well for them. Good chance it will for you. Let us know ;)

Edit: I was on another forum a few days ago and started a thread "Burn Rate to Barrel Length". My AR308 has a 16" barrel and I was thinking maybe I should try a faster burning powder than I have used so far (so far just 4064 & CFE). so the first answer I get is H4895, and he made a point to say "Not the IMR 4895 but the H4895". On my list of powder relative burn rates, the H4895 is just above the IMR 4895 in burn rate. The H4895 does not seem to get the velocities that Varget, IMR 4064 or IMR 4895 get, but it is supposed to be accurate to shoot with.

H4895 was the very first smokeless powder that Hodgdon

offered to the public many moons ago. It had been used by the military before that. I'm going to finish up what I'm doing with the CFE223 and make a decision about that. Then I'll probably get a lb of this H4895 and dabble with that. The IMR 4064 is slower burning than H4895 but I am not done with it and it is good stuff. I will do some testing with that one too, I have a few lbs of it and lots of rounds already loaded with it, just haven't tried to optimize with it.

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The guy I've been talking to who has the same basic setup as me says he's getting 2665 FPS muzzle velocity from his 18.5" Criterion barrel using the 175 SMK with a load of 42.3 grains H4895 at 2.800 and is Sub MOA.  His accuracy load for Varget is the same as mine at 44.0 grains, but he only gets 2550 FPS from it.  My goal is the exact results he's getting from his H4895 load...2650 or better FPS at the muzzle and sub-MOA accuracy without pushing limits too far.  The Lee reloading manual max for H4895 is 42.7 grains, so it looks good to me. 

I've seen a couple of burn rate charts and I don't think they are an exact science since I've seen some of the powders swap places in different lists.  Of course, I don't think ANYTHING related to reloading is an exact science.  I'm just getting started, but I can definitely see some art mixed in there with the science. 

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The guy I've been talking to who has the same basic setup as me says he's getting 2665 FPS muzzle velocity from his 18.5" Criterion barrel using the 175 SMK with a load of 42.3 grains H4895 at 2.800 and is Sub MOA.  His accuracy load for Varget is the same as mine at 44.0 grains, but he only gets 2550 FPS from it.  My goal is the exact results he's getting from his H4895 load...2650 or better FPS at the muzzle and sub-MOA accuracy without pushing limits too far.  The Lee reloading manual max for H4895 is 42.7 grains, so it looks good to me. 

I've seen a couple of burn rate charts and I don't think they are an exact science since I've seen some of the powders swap places in different lists.  Of course, I don't think ANYTHING related to reloading is an exact science.  I'm just getting started, but I can definitely see some art mixed in there with the science.

That's the antithesis of what i would have expected as far as that velocity. All the data I too have seen says H4895 not as much velocity as the ones I mentioned. 43.8 grains IMR 4064, Win brass, 168 A-Max chrono'd to 2519 ave. with a 5 round group out my 16". Not so fast out of my barrel, but it had an ES of 23.7 & SD of 8.9 FPS. With 43.5 grains the ES was 7.6 FPS & SD was 3.5 FPS!!! That raises an eyebrow.  I'm not done with the IMR 4064 yet and it's probably a keeper. It would be great if I can get some velocity out of the H4895 but we'll see. That's why I wanted to try the CFE223, Monday I'll be bringing some more loads of it to the range, but that one is slower burn rate than all the rest mentioned previously. I don't know now if that's good for my short barrel, maybe I'm paranoid.

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Those are interesting results Nofail!

Re: burn rates, some powders are so close in rate that their position on the chart in relation to a similarly burning powder doesn't matter.

Also, remember that powder manufacturers tweak recipes from time to time and that may alter an old standby powder's burn rate slightly, altering its position on the chart.

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Those are interesting results Nofail!

Re: burn rates, some powders are so close in rate that their position on the chart in relation to a similarly burning powder doesn't matter.

Also, remember that powder manufacturers tweak recipes from time to time and that may alter an old standby powder's burn rate slightly, altering its position on the chart.

Yeah, on my list, which is from the Hodgdon/IMR/Win guys, IMR 4895 is Slower at #72 on the list and

H 4895 is #69. There are 120 powders from everybody. I'll try it though, I'll try the IMR too.

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  • 9 months later...

This thing is NASTY, by the way. I'm just sayin'...  :eek:

But the problem with this powder is it overpowers the gas system in the AR300WSM at any thing over a 94% load. Accuracy well...IDK... I can hit a steel plate at 350 yards but it is 12" by 12"every time, so that is not saying much.

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  • 2 years later...

this is a couple of years old, but I am currently under load development using 8208xbr.  Previous barrel was a Rainer Arms match (Black Hole Weaponry) polygonal bore 1:11 heavy profile 20" with a lo-pro gas block (150 round ct.).  Re-forming mandrel turned and polished to .306.  Max loads as follows: IMR4895 44.5 grains 175 smk COAL 2.81 vel 2590 avg,  RL-15 43.5 grains 175 smk COAL 2.81 vel 2450 avg,  Varget 47 grains 155 palma coal 2.80 vel 2808 avg, IMR8208xbr 41.5 grains 175 smk COAL 2.81 vel 2550 fps.  The XBR loads started at 39 grains, never had a problem with cycling the action.  I have since moved to a 24" bull profile 1:10 twist, just broke in.  Sentry 9 adjustable gas block turned down to barely cycle the 41.5 grain loads.  Starting at 42 and going up with my next "test day".  I will let you all know

 

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