High power and Compressed loads

[UncleBuck]

I loaded my 308s for a 20in barrel, Now Iam using a 16in barrel, And I was told buy a long time reloader that they would all shoot consistent, blowing out any unburnt powder, (This seems to make sense) Does Any Know if this is right ?????????

[versifier]

Welcome to the Guide Uncle Buck.

That is true in general, but it depends on the powder. Many will burn completely in the shorter barrel, though you might see some unburned grains with slower powders.

I do hope that before you switch rifles you work up the load again. If you did, fantastic, if not then the following still bears repeating for other newer loaders who might not realize it. Working up is the only safe way to do it. (You might get away with it sometimes, but sooner or later you are going to run into a rifle whose "personal" MAX is well below what is listed, and I am not talking just older rifles either. I have seen more than one show dangerous pressure signs - I am talking about mic'ing case heads, not watching primers - well below "book max".) Besides, every different barrel will find its best accuracy with a given powder at a different charge level. If it were not the case we would all just use factory ammo. If you begin above the START loads you may miss the accuracy node and conclude without really knowing that the powder/bullet combination doesn't work well in your rifle. Trying to save time and components by just going with a "pet load" without working up to it is a recipe for disaster. You will find occasionally that two rifle do like the same load, but a wise reloader will always work them both up to be sure the load is safe. More often than not however, even if both rifles like the same bullet and powder, each will find its best accuracy at a different charge level.

[UncleBuck]

I loaded with Hodgens Varget for a M1A and I wanted to use the loads in a Ruger GunSight Scout the barrel and chamber are equal in thickness.
What do you think about the powder burn rate ?? I didn't think the Varget was a fast burn.
I have 3000 loaded

[UncleBuck]

I found burn rate 99 out of 147 should be fine

[fryboy]

while it can behoove one to use faster powders in/with a shorter barrel ( ditto with a lighter projectile ) it isnt written in stone , varget,4064 etc are all good powder burn rates with the 308 with either barrel , ie; your loads may not be tailored to the barrel per say but should still function and shoot fine , usually a bolt action rifle can use a broader range of charges more successfully than a semi auto that has to have the load tailored towards functioning of the action

[versifier]

I don't see any problem with the powder, and fryboy is spot-on that the functional envelope of a semi is smaller than the average bolt action. I don't expect you to just go and pull 3000 rounds either without a compelling reason. But if I were in your shoes I would still go back and load five rounds at each charge increment and shoot them in your Ruger, checking each time to see if the primers give you any warnings. That is what one does with any new or new-to-you rifle to ensure there is no potential safety problem. (Shooting them for groups as you do it will give you a good indication of where the rifle's accuracy node will be with that bullet/powder combination, too, saving you some time when you get around to load development with it.) Seeing no signs on the primers beyond some flattening as you go up you are good to go. OTOH if you start seeing cratered or pierced primers or the bolt handle gets sticky on the way up the charge table before you reach the level all those rounds are loaded to, then you have a problem and a major pulling session is called for (and it would be well worth it to buy a collet puller if you don't have one already). A lot of folks would just say to hell with it and shoot a bunch of them and see what happens, but I cannot in good conscience say that to you, and most especially not on a public forum. "Probably it's OK" isn't good enough for me and I will give you a recent example from my own experience.

Two months ago I also sold an M1A. It did its best with a near max load of IMR4895, equaling the military load balistically, and I shot thousands of them through it. Despite not being up to MAX on the regular .308 charge table, the load is still too hot for the bolt action .308 I deer hunt with. The bolt gets sticky two grains below, (and accuracy is best six grains lower with 4895, which is not it's favorite powder with 150gr bullets anyway). A different rifle might digest them with no problem, but mine will not. I gave the guy who bought the rifle the last 200 rounds I had loaded for it, not only because I didn't want to pull them, but also because .308 ammo was still not so easily found then. (And because he paid top dollar for it and plunked down cash when I expected him to haggle for it.) It is not the first time I have had a rifle do that, and for me it only reinforced the lesson that there are no shortcuts to safety. Hand loaders only are allowed one big mistake, then we are at the mercy of natural selection, which has no mercy at all.

Please let us know what you decide and how it works out.