Can I compress BL-C (2) .308

**Chin** · February 22nd, 2013, 07:35 PM

I picked up a couple boxes of hornady 165gr polymer tip bullets and these suckers are quite long. Trying to load up 47grains of blc2 in .308 lc brass. The powder is at the bass of the neck and im gonna have to compress the charge to get the bullet to max overall lenghth. According to my load data, it recommends this charge. But i cant find anywhere that you can safely compress the powder. Worst case scenario, i guess ill have to get some faster burning powder so i can reduce the charge

**Mike3888** · February 22nd, 2013, 07:59 PM

Compressed load is normal with certain powders, I load a lot of 308 and yes some are compressed loads, I use a lot of tac and 4064 . Never had any luck with varget, I want to try some bl-c2 I know a lot of buddies who like it. Just be sure of max charge. Show some groups.

**dk99358** · February 22nd, 2013, 08:06 PM

As long as you're not compressing so much that the pressure moves the bullet back out, you'll be fine.

Dale

**Chin** · February 22nd, 2013, 08:10 PM

ok this is great info. thanks guys. I know what you mean about the bullet being pushed back out, i have a few loads for my .375 h and h that causes the bullet to do this.
For this load, maybe ill reduce the charge to 45gr. 47.5 is the max.

**Mike3888** · February 22nd, 2013, 08:30 PM

45 grains would probably give the best start that way you have some room up or down. I achieved best accuracy about 1.7 below max for my 700 rem..

**Delkal** · February 22nd, 2013, 10:39 PM

A small amount of compression is OK. You just don't want to go too far and crush the grains. For some powders it is hard to get all of the powder in a case (even for a safe load). When that happens (or before trying to compress it) try a drop tube. Basically its a 4-6 inch piece of tubing that fits on a funnel. You slowly pour in your charge and as it falls the powder grains settle a bit and take up less space. You can also try just using your funnel and trickle in the powder load from a few inches above. Many times all the powder will go in to the right level without having to compress it.

**bfoosh006** · February 22nd, 2013, 11:21 PM

Specifically... which Hornady 165 grain bullet ? I'm concerned you might have the solid copper ones ... and that would change your powder charge. And also weigh the bullets and make sure they are indeed 165 grain bullets. During this shooting sports sale-a-thon, the wrong weight bullets could be put / labeled wrong, in all the rush.

**762xIan** · February 23rd, 2013, 07:20 AM

Trying to load up 47grains of blc2 in .308 lc brass

Have you started with a lower charge first to see where your accuracy is?

I am a little concerned, the Hodgdon site lists 47.5 as the max load for a 165 bullet. As of right now 47 grains has likely exceeded the max. load data. One thing you NEED to be aware of, LC and most military surplus brass is thicker and does NOT have the same case capacity as commercial brass, it will be smaller. You might find yourself with a high pressure situation.

The general rule of thumb is to start 1-2 grains less with military brass than published data and work your way up from there. I have found I run 1 grain lower in my own loads in LC brass compared to the same results from FC or RP (federal/remington) brass.

Nice thing is it will save you some powder, bad thing is to keep your brass segregated and stay on top of the different loadings.

Stay safe.

**Franky** · February 24th, 2013, 07:28 PM

Originally Posted by bfoosh006

Specifically... which Hornady 165 grain bullet ? I'm concerned you might have the solid copper ones ... and that would change your powder charge. And also weigh the bullets and make sure they are indeed 165 grain bullets. During this shooting sports sale-a-thon, the wrong weight bullets could be put / labeled wrong, in all the rush.

yeah, they are the solid copper ones. They are the GMX bullets. probably better suited for 30-06. I cant return them so ill have to go with a lower charge

Originally Posted by 762xIan

Have you started with a lower charge first to see where your accuracy is?

I am a little concerned, the Hodgdon site lists 47.5 as the max load for a 165 bullet. As of right now 47 grains has likely exceeded the max. load data. One thing you NEED to be aware of, LC and most military surplus brass is thicker and does NOT have the same case capacity as commercial brass, it will be smaller. You might find yourself with a high pressure situation.

The general rule of thumb is to start 1-2 grains less with military brass than published data and work your way up from there. I have found I run 1 grain lower in my own loads in LC brass compared to the same results from FC or RP (federal/remington) brass.

Nice thing is it will save you some powder, bad thing is to keep your brass segregated and stay on top of the different loadings.

Stay safe.

Thanks for this advice as well. Ill start with the minimum load taking in to consideration of the military brass and going 1-2 gr lower