ok so i will like to buy the best powder for accuracy for my ruger precision rifle 308. what will you guys recommend and why ? thank you I'm trying to get deal for cyber monday or today

I have great accuracy with an ar10 1 moa or less at 300 yards with imr 4166. 168 sierra mkhpbt. Supposed to be temp tolerant. That was from the bench on a sandbag. Im sure prone i could get a little better. 20" barrel and 1/11 twist.

There is no best, you will need to figure out what is best for your gun.  Varget, BL-2, Tac, H4350 are worth looking at.

Vlad is right. I use A2230 but your results can be different.

I've had good results with old standbys like H4895 & IMR4064. You'll just have to try bunch and see.  

You also need to establish how much accuracy you need or want. My favorite 308 load will shoot .75" consistently and smaller if I do my part at 100 yds. BTW is not a hot load; more like 7.62 NATO. I can shoot Federal 7.62 NATO all day long at 1.5" or less. That would suit 99.99% of my requirements.

 

If you want the absolute smallest group possible like a bench rest shooter be prepared to spend a couple of hundred hours on load development which is fine if that's what floats your boat. A friend of mine who got into bench rest shooting had about 30 1lb cans of powder before he found his load. Not to mention the diffent bullets, primers, and cases he acquired in this quest.

 

The rifle and ammo Carlos Hathcock used in Vietnam were only capable of about 2" at 100yds. That worked well enough for him.

Not to go too off topic. But ive always wondered what ammo or loads he used. Also what do military snipers use. Handloads or govt supplied?

Not to go too off topic. But ive always wondered what ammo or loads he used. Also what do military snipers use. Handloads or govt supplied?

Gov supplied.

You have to find out what that rifle likes. So, I would buy several boxes of factory match ammo and fire it keeping track which shoots best overall.  Bullet weights should vary from 168 to 177 or so. After you find your sweet bullet weight then work with that weight to find the sweet spot and see if it gives you that warm tingling feeling your looking for.

 

Here's a load that works well with the M1A crowd at the NM.

IMR-4895 41.5 grains with a SMK 168.  Rumor has it, it matches a 'match ammo' used by armed forces rifle teams.  YMMV. All prudent loading rules applies.

Varget or RL15. They are proven to shoot well out of a 308 barrel time and time again. If your rifle does not shoot well with quality heads and either one of these powders then its either the shooter or the barrel.

T bill. Thanks for that info. Ive just been using ae m1a ammo. I have 4895 in my inventory and a lot of 168 gr smkhpbt heads im gonna try that out. Thanks again.

These loads are my favorite out of a NM M1A barrel. Mild loads but each will deliver sub-MOA groups for me. 

• 41.5 grs. H4895 168 gr. HPBT 
• 43 grs. IMR4064 150 gr. FMJBT
• 41.5 grs. IMR4064 125 GR. Speer TNT JHP

Thanks. Also good to know.

41.5 grs. H4895 168 gr. HPBT 

 

Done. That's it.  Also make sure you push them out to max length for mag feed (prone rapid and sitting rapid) and even longer for single load (off hand and prone).

You can always take H4895 and start a ladder at 60% of max load an work your way up to the speed and accuracy you want.  This according to Hogdgon Powder

https://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/H4895%20Reduced%20Rifle%20Loads.pdf