# .308 short barrel m77 ruger



## Mrsailfish (Jan 4, 2005)

I reload for all my rifles and my cousin wants me to reload some for his .308.
I was wondering for the short barrel do I want a fast burning powder or a slower? and also for the short barrel do I want a 150 grain or a 180? just tring to get a starting poinrt for him.

Thanks 
Mr Sailfish


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## coogerpop (Sep 3, 2009)

I won't reload for anyone except my immediate family due to possible liabilities.....that said a favorite 308 load in a short barrled Rem.788 is 52 gr IMR 4350 behind a 150 gr noster partition....killer load...


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## CHARLIE (Jun 2, 2004)

I think too much is made out of barrel length which falls back on the old days with black powder and some early smokless powder. I think it might make a difference on the giant case big magnum rounds but smaller stuff such as the 308 naw. We make mountain out of mole hills as my der ole mother used to say.

Charlie


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## Screeminreel (Jun 2, 2004)

Mrsailfish said:


> I reload for all my rifles and my cousin wants me to reload some for his .308.
> I was wondering for the short barrel do I want a fast burning powder or a slower? and also for the short barrel do I want a 150 grain or a 180? just tring to get a starting poinrt for him.
> 
> Thanks
> Mr Sailfish


I agree with both of the above points.

That said, if he has the Ruger Compact with the 16.5" barrel, like I have, you will notice around 150 - 200fps lower velocities easily across the board on what ever load your going to work up.

What I did for mine, I went to the Hodgdon website, and looked under the pistol loading data. The loads they have listed are for barrels of 15" in length. This helps optimize the powders a bit in some weight bullets. If you compare these to the standard loads you will see some that preform better with certain powders over others.

Either way your working up a load for a specific rifle and should start out with the lowest loads. If I may suggest two bullets that have shot extremely well in my rifle, one is the 130gr Barnes TTSX and the other is the 150gr Remington CL bulk bullets. Also if you want one powder which covers a big range of loads look at H-4895. This powder can be loaded down to around 36gr and up to around 47 on the top end, which with the 130gr bullets will give you a very wide range of use, and hardly any recoil. With the 150's it also has shot better than any other powder I have tried to date, and with the 150gr loads your not giving up too much on the top end like with some other powders in the shorter barrel.

The 150gr CL's are usually cheaper due to your buying them bulk and they will hold up to almost anything you want to shoot with this rifle. I have dropped hogs out past 400yds with them just as effectively as the ones within 20yds, they just work and work well.

The same can be said about the 130gr Barnes except for the price. They will do the job, and do it well, but the added cost might be more than you want to put into them.

Good luck and hope this helps.


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## Ernest (May 21, 2004)

Shooting Times reviewed one of those short barrel M77's in 7-08 with something like a 16 inch barrel. They had a table of some MV's with a bunch of loads. So, I would find that article, compare those results to standard 7-08 load data, and then see if any of the powders significantly under performed with a loss of velocity beyond what one would expect from merely a short barrel. 

If it were my weapon, I would load good bullets over "middle of the road" burn rate powders.


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