Re: New to reloading
Did you have a particular propellent in mind for that 44gr starting load?
HunterH, forget about trying load information from well meaning anonymous folks on the Internet. Get a good handloading manual from the folks who make the bullets you're using, and start with reading and rereading their handloading instructions section in its entirety.
Select a propellent and bullet; and try working up load beginning with their recommended minimum.
As a new handloader, you should work your way through this entire sequence at least once in order to learn how to observe the process and understand causes and effects.
For a first load development exercise, be generous with your test load samples. I'd use .3gr as a charge increment for the .308 and at least 10, perhaps 20 rounds of each. Shoot 5 round groups and average those group sizes. It's a learning experience and there's more to learn besides just finding a 'good load'. There can be shortcuts to this, but now is not the time for shortcuts.
Greg
