IMR 8208 XBR

craig 25-06

I picked up a pound today on the recommendation of the shop owner. He showed me some targets he had shot this morning from his 20" barrel, 5.56mm RRA AR. I have known him for years. He is a better shooter than I am so my results may not be quite as good as his.

Matched up with CCI 400s and a 69gr SMK, it gave 1/2" at 100yds and 1.1" at 200yds. This was with 23.0 gr.

Anybody here tried it? What results?

I already did a search. I only came up with posts from February with no clear answers.

craig 25-06

This stuff looks good on paper for a variety of varmint cartridges.
Anybody tried it in 22-250, 222 Rem or 17 Rem Fireball?
Also how does it meter compared to H335?
Regards to everyone, Craig

stevecrea

Craig,

This is off your topic, but are you a 25-06 expert? If so, I need to work up a load for my two 25-06s. I have 1000 Hornady .257 bullets in the 117 grain BTSP from the Hornady Lock-N-Load promotion. I also have many fireformed cases. I would probably lean toward IMR and H 4831, and IMR and H 4350. But what do you like?

Thanks.

nononsense

craig 25-06,

8208 XBR is a short grain extruded rifle powder therefore it is not going to meter like H335 or any other ball powder. But it will be easier than some of the slightly longer stick powders. This is certainly no reason to pass up on this powder at all. It would be your loss.

It is not my first choice for the .17 Rem. Fireball but it does perform more than adequately. The others are a shoe in for the best performance you can obtain from a commercially available powder with a wide temperature range, as long as the shooter and his rifle are up to the task.

The track record so far indicates that this powder lives up to the advertising for a change. So go buy a pound and do some testing.

Best.

craig 25-06

Hi Steve, I have always used IMR 4831 in my 25`s. The only advice I can give is to start low with your powder charge and work up in small increments. I have seen in some 25-06`s what some manuals show as a medium charge is way too hot. The first sign of high pressure is sometimes the accuracy goes out the window with a small increase in powder. Hope this helps.
Best, Craig

craig 25-06

Thanks NONONSENSE, What is your favorite for the 17 Fireball?
I just bought one and so far have tried H335 and IMR 4198 with good results. I always like to hear what others have experianced.
Thanks Again, Craig

nononsense

craig 25-06,

The best accuracy was achieved with a compressed load of IMR-3031 under the 25 gr. Berger. I used to demonstrate this load from a bench by shooting 25-shot groups which usually clustered in a 0.250" knot at 100 yards. It is NOT the greatest, most efficient load but it's accurate. I think I first saw the suggestion in the Wildcat Cartridges by Wolfe Publishing.

Other than that little bit of whimsy, I use Accurate 2015 and VihtaVuori N-133.

If I really want to go for the longer range shots, I use the 37 gr. Berger VLD over Accurate 2495, IMR-3031 or V V N-135. I've shot this combination at 1,000 yards on calm days but it's unusable if there is even a small breeze. On hot, dry, calm days shooting prairie dogs, it's amazing!

Best.

laylandad

Steve,

There is a guy on here by the name Ground hog devastator. He has posted in the past that his favorite load was using 117gr Sierra's with 49gr of IMR4350 with CCI BR2 primers. I have used this load with the same data, and with regular CCI 200's and have not seen any major difference. I have tweaked it a little both ways and it really is a good load. I would assume that it works with the hornady bullets, but who knows.