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Does anyone have experience of H380 and/or Hodgdon BL-C (2) for reloading for the .308, I was thinking of either the Lapua 155 Scenar or Lapua 170LB.

H380 I found no good in .308, but outstanding in .243..... go figure.

BL(C)2 was my standby powder for going through the Dillon powder measure when loading on the progressive. Powde of choice was H335. Very, very good in .308 and very good in .223. As ball powders, they beautifully through the measure.

SimG, this is why I am interested as I can meter ball in my Harrell to virtually on the nose, certainly SP9 was better than 0.1 grains thrown accuracy.

When you say 380 was no good, what issues did you have?

I also have found H335 outstanding in 308 loads with 155gr bullets and BL-C2 more suited to the heavier bullets.

I used H380 many years ago behind 190 and 200 SMKs with excellent results, but switched to N150 when that became available.

SD

ovenpaa wrote:
When you say 380 was no good, what issues did you have?

H380 gave me flattened primers and a sticky bolt lift at around the half way point of the data. And strangely enough, I got exactly the same with it in 7mm08. 243 and .22-250 were brilliant.

If you have it, then I would say try it, H380 is supposed to work very well in .308 sized cases. However, if you have to get a powder that meters well and gives good performance in .308 and .223, try the H335.

I read this thread with interest. I had also noticed that I can throw ball powder as accurately as I can weigh stick.

Where I struggle is keeping the ES low. Did that go OK for those with success?

I am going to get some spherical in to see how accurately it throws and how it performs on the range. Quite which one remains to be seen, I need to spend some more time with QuickLoad before making a decision. Any further observations would be very handy and in an ideal world my choice will be something very similar in characteristics to TR140 so I can use it on both .223 and .308 when running my progressive press.

Ramshot TAC apparently gives good velocity, and CFE223 also. Not sure if you can get Aa2230 but has always been an accurate powder for me (though ES with the 223 was high, not tried in 308 yet)

Am off to Leeds tomorrow so can visit Henry Krank if that would be of use?

Thanks for the offer however the powder is but a 'phone call away and we need to order a load more in at the end of the week so I can add my final choice to the order. The one I always liked was Vectan SP9 although it was a bit peaky on the .308.

So which one to start with...

As a matter of interest, are you still finding availability is OK?