I am new to loading for .308 and the Savage 99. I have experience in other calibers and rifles so not new to reloading in general. Anyway my question is... I asked in another forum what a recommended load for 165 grain Nosler partitions would be... I was advised to strive for 2800 FPS. But looking at all the powders in the Hodgedon load data the max recommended loads are going to put me just under 2750fps. What sort of pressures will this Savage 99E handle? Should i be keeping it low key? Could i just start 3/4 up the scale? I was hoping to use the new IMR 4166 powder and from the data, my recommended start load is 40.2 and Max load is 44.9 which is also crushed...

I am looking for use in deer hunting. I My maximum range will be under 300 yards. Most likely the shot will be around 100 yards... I am looking for a load to just make enough to sight in and hunt this season with. Using this box of partitions.

Rather then waste time and bullets trying to figure the rifle out. Has anyone else used this combination of powder/bullet/rifle? What did you figure out?


Thanks in advance