Just about there...

[EdMP3006]

Hey fellas, 

I've finally gotten to the point where I'm actually going to start loading...(finally, after years) and the last piece of the puzzle is which powder to finally decide on.

I've got 1k primed Lake City, pulled but never fired brass cases and Hornady 178gr ELD-X pills......I was leaning towards either StaBALL Match or Varget, but would really like to hear if anyone has used a similar mix of load components...

Main purpose of the rifle with mainly be comps and maybe some hunting with it, unless I decide to build something on the smaller platform...

Included older pic of the build, currently doesn't have an optic on it, trying to decide between the 2 that I have...

[98Z5V]

9 hours ago, EdMP3006 said:

I've got 1k primed Lake City, pulled but never fired brass cases and Hornady 178gr ELD-X pills

Brother, you are speaking my language now!  

I specifically worked up Lake City brass and 178 ELD-Xs for a new (then) rifle.  I used Accurate 2495 powder.  It's the best .308 load I ever came up with.  Honestly.

I'm not sure what the availability of the Accurate powders is right now, but it's for sure worth trying.  Grab a pound and try it out, you'll love it.   

[shooterrex]

I am partial to Varget. It works well in 7.62 and 5.56.

[EdMP3006]

10 hours ago, 98Z5V said:

Brother, you are speaking my language now!  

I specifically worked up Lake City brass and 178 ELD-Xs for a new (then) rifle.  I used Accurate 2495 powder.  It's the best .308 load I ever came up with.  Honestly.

I'm not sure what the availability of the Accurate powders is right now, but it's for sure worth trying.  Grab a pound and try it out, you'll love it.   

I was actually going to message you yesterday about it since we've talked about it before, but didn't want to bug ya...

 

[EdMP3006]

10 hours ago, 98Z5V said:

I specifically worked up Lake City brass and 178 ELD-Xs for a new (then) rifle.  I used Accurate 2495 powder.  It's the best .308 load I ever came up with.  Honestly.

I just checked, 2495 seems to be in alot of places, so that shouldn't be a problem.....what kinda specs did you end up going with your rounds?

[98Z5V]

CCI 200 primers with 40.6 gr of 2495 gave me 2530 fps from an 18.5" barrel.  I haven't chrono'd it with the Garmin, so that speed number is old.  I need to get it out there and put the little radar on it.

[EdMP3006]

31 minutes ago, 98Z5V said:

CCI 200 primers with 40.6 gr of 2495 gave me 2530 fps from an 18.5" barrel.  I haven't chrono'd it with the Garmin, so that speed number is old.  I need to get it out there and put the little radar on it.

what did your case and overall length end up being? I need to get a chrono badly, which one would you recommend?

[NF1E]

Varget gets my vote.

[98Z5V]

I'd say check your brass length after every firing, but you don't necessarily need to trim after every firing - depends on case length.  

Trim-to length is 2.005" for the brass.  I'll let them go to about another 0.010, to 2.015", and still load them  - it they get over 2.015", I trim them back to 2.005".

Since it's a mag-fed gun, I keep the loaded overall loaded length to the max length, which is 2.800".  And, since it's a mag-fed gas gun, I crimp every single one of them with the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

Notes about case length, crimping, gas guns, pressure, and precision...   Let's talk about un-equal case lengths.  If I have a bunch of cases that are all not the same length, and I set up a crimp die on a short(er) case - it's gonna put a heavier crimp on that long(er) case...  More (longer) brass to squeeze...  which increases initial pressure, will have a higher muzzle velocity, and have a higher chamber pressure...  That's your "flier" when you're shooting...  Same with short cases - not as much crimp, lower MV, slower out of the barrel, lower chamber pressure, falls short of the target, or lower on the target.  

Trimming to the same length definitely affects precision at distance, it affects SDs, chrono data -everything  Trimming is a big deal.  Equal case length is a big deal - for precision.  

Chrono - highly, highly recommend the Garmin Xero C1 chrono.  Fits in your shirt pocket.  There's a new C2, little more expensive, and faster technology hidden inside.  The C1 is so badass, that I don't see a need to pay more for the C2 and it's benefits  - unless I'm winning major prize money at this...  

That's my soapbox, brother...  

 

 

[EdMP3006]

On 7/22/2026 at 10:49 PM, 98Z5V said:

I'd say check your brass length after every firing, but you don't necessarily need to trim after every firing - depends on case length.  

Trim-to length is 2.005" for the brass.  I'll let them go to about another 0.010, to 2.015", and still load them  - it they get over 2.015", I trim them back to 2.005".

Since it's a mag-fed gun, I keep the loaded overall loaded length to the max length, which is 2.800".  And, since it's a mag-fed gas gun, I crimp every single one of them with the Lee Factory Crimp Die.

Notes about case length, crimping, gas guns, pressure, and precision...   Let's talk about un-equal case lengths.  If I have a bunch of cases that are all not the same length, and I set up a crimp die on a short(er) case - it's gonna put a heavier crimp on that long(er) case...  More (longer) brass to squeeze...  which increases initial pressure, will have a higher muzzle velocity, and have a higher chamber pressure...  That's your "flier" when you're shooting...  Same with short cases - not as much crimp, lower MV, slower out of the barrel, lower chamber pressure, falls short of the target, or lower on the target.  

Trimming to the same length definitely affects precision at distance, it affects SDs, chrono data -everything  Trimming is a big deal.  Equal case length is a big deal - for precision.  

Chrono - highly, highly recommend the Garmin Xero C1 chrono.  Fits in your shirt pocket.  There's a new C2, little more expensive, and faster technology hidden inside.  The C1 is so badass, that I don't see a need to pay more for the C2 and it's benefits  - unless I'm winning major prize money at this...  

That's my soapbox, brother...  

 

 

...and it's a great soap box!!!

[EdMP3006]

On 7/22/2026 at 10:31 AM, 98Z5V said:

CCI 200 primers with 40.6 gr of 2495 gave me 2530 fps from an 18.5" barrel.  I haven't chrono'd it with the Garmin, so that speed number is old.  I need to get it out there and put the little radar on it.

I had forgotten to ask this....the cases are already primed with the CCi 34's.....is there that much of a difference between them and the CCI 200's?

[98Z5V]

16 hours ago, EdMP3006 said:

I had forgotten to ask this....the cases are already primed with the CCi 34's.....is there that much of a difference between them and the CCI 200's?

CCI 34s are the harneded military primers.  Same process and mentality as the CCI 41s that are used to load military 5.56 ammo.  

I can say this - CCI 41s are about the equivalent of a magnum primer, and they do run hotter velocities than most any opther small rifle primer out there.  The nearest match to a CCI 41 would be a CCI 450 small rifle magnum primer.

Same deal with those 34s - CCI 200s are standard large rifle primers, the 250s are large rifle magnum primers, and those 34s are about on par with the 250s, just with a harder material, in order to prevent accidental firing from firing pin contact.

So, with your brass already loaded with 34s, start your charge weight about 0.3 lower than what I'm running, work up to your best group that doesn't have pressure signs, and check your speeds.  You'll outrun me, for certain.  

When I'm working on a brand new combination, I start a little low, and work those different charge weights up until I DO SEE pressure signs - ejector swipes, flattened primers, slightly cratered primers, etc.  That tells me "too much..."  I go back down to the next load that was most accurate, under the pressure load, and work from that charge weight. 0.1 up and down from it, find the best group, shorten seating depth 0.003" and see if it improves...