]CAUTION: The following post (or a page linked to) includes loading data not covered by currently published sources of tested data for this cartridge (QuickLOAD or Gordon's Reloading Tool data is not professionally tested). USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The Firing Line, nor the staff of TFL assumes any liability for any damage or injury resulting from the use of this information.
Haha , IMR-4064 is one of the only powders I have but don’t use in my PA-10 . Only because it’s my go to match grade loading powder which my PA 10 does not need and I want better metering powders so I can throw charges . I load both IMR & H-4895 , H-335 , CFE 223 , W-748 & IMR 4320 in my PA-10 and worked up loads for each using that rifle .
All of those regardless of bullet weight with the exception of IMR 4895 I have running .5gr below cratered primers which is pretty hot all-n-all for that rifle . The AR platform seems to handle hot loads pretty well though .
Some of my loads I've worked up in the PA-10 and settled on are
All loaded in LC-brass
44.5gr W748 & 163gr AP
46gr IMR-4320 & 147gr FMJ
42gr H-4895 & 150gr FMJ
46gr W-748 and 147gr FMJ
42.5gr H-335 and 150gr FMJ
Loads I already had for bolt guns that seem to work just fine in the PA-10
42gr IMR 4064 & 150gr soft point ( one of the first loads I ever worked up and stayed conservative , Likely could go much hotter )
41gr IMR-4895 and 168gr BTHP ( This is my match plinking load I use and seems to shoot OK with most of my 308's )
I've also shot some Fed GMM ammo through it and it seems fine with those as well .
I have multiple other loads using IMR-4064 , AR-comp , IMR 8208xbr , Varget etc in 308 . However my PA-10 has a long chamber and is hard on brass . All of those other powders are using either Lapua brass or brass I have prepped for a specific firearm and don't want to stress the brass more then needed . That said with out saying what those loads are , I'd shoot them in my PA-10 if I had to but I don't
When using Hornady data I often find there minimum to be way below anything I'll likely be using . I however still start at there minimum but only load 1 or 2 rounds at each of the lower charges and jump up in 1gr increments for the first few loads . I then add more rounds per charge while reducing the charge weight as the charges increase to the point that the last few charges are 5 shots each at .4 or .5gr increments . This allows me to start safe but not waste time and components on charges I know I will likely never use .
It looks something like this