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Varget Powder

kyhuntclub

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 20, 2013
167
1
Western KY
I have read countless threads and articles mentioning this powder but I have never used it. I was at a large gun store here in western KY today and they put several cases of 1 lbers out and people was grabbing it like it was going out of style. They had a limit of 5 per person so out of impulse I grabbed my five and my buddy did too.

My question is what all do you guys load with it and what is your favorite charge? I have several manuals to reference but I would like some input for comparison.

I have:
22-250
204
223
260
308
and in the near future a 6.5 creedmoore or 6.5 x 47
 
260 rem, 39 gr 130 bullets, 39.3 gr 123 bullets. Lights out accuracy and decent speed.
 
I guess this is kind of the reason its hard to get, I use varget in my 223, 308, and my 6.5x47's. Its my favorite all around powder.
 
I use it in my 308, 6.5x47Lapua, 22-250Ackley, and .223 when I run out of H335.
 
Sorry, should of made that more clear. I only use Varget in .223 when I'm out of H335. The 308, 6.5x47 and 22-250AI I only use Varget.
 
Sorry, should of made that more clear. I only use Varget in .223 when I'm out of H335. The 308, 6.5x47 and 22-250AI I only use Varget.

I have only used Varget, but picked up some VV N150 because Varget is impossible to find. I havent used it yet as I still have a few pounds of Varget left but was worried about running out and not having anything. Just thought H335 might be another alternative.
 
Good day at Whittakers, eh?

I could use Varget in my 5.56 gas gun, 223AI and 260...but have decided to stick with 8208XBR for the 5.56/223AI and H4350 for the 260.
 
This, but with FGGM instead of the BR2, was a laser in my 700 AAC-SD before I traded that gun away.

I just finished a OCW test over the weekend and came up with 44.0 and am loading some up now! Made 1 little hole at 100 during the test, cant wait to see what it does at 200 Vs. the 42.0 I was using.
 
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kyhuntclub,

Varget is the first of, what I consider to be very successful, 'Extreme' powders put out by Hodgdon. The basic premise of these powders is they have shorter, thinner kernels like a faster burning powder except that they have a new chemically formulated and heavier application of burn retardant sprayed on them. Read most any reloading manual and they will tell you powder speeds are determined by size of the kernel. A thicker, longer kernel is a slower powder than a thinner, shorter kernel. With a few exceptions IMR is still the old formula. Look at them compared to any of the newer Hodgdon Extreme powders and you see quite a difference in size. Yet, the burn rates are very similar.

This allows more powder in a case and less chance of an over pressure (within reason) searching for more velocity. How it works is when temps/pressures get up to a certain point, the retardant chemically comes apart and makes new molecules that cool the burn. Again, within reason. There is only so much retardant that can be sprayed onto each kernel. And in the chemical process of high heat and temp, once all the free electrons have been joined to new molecules, forming the cooling formula, there is no more left and the powder continues to burn as it did before. Only now you are above temp/pressure, and the overpressure signs you normally see gradually, come on very quickly.

Varget was formulated to work best with moderately heavy match bullets in the .308. But, a very good rule of thumb is if it works well in the .308 it will probably work well with .223/5.56mm. The ratio of bullet diameter to case proportions/capacities is pretty close with both rounds. Varget works well with .308 and 175 gr. bullets, but change the diameter to .243 and you find it likes medium to lighter bullets. For heavy bullets in .243, I prefer H4831X....2 speeds slower than Varget. For .260 Rem with heavies, I like H4350. That is also my 'go to' in case I don't have any RE-19 that I normally use in my 7mm-08.

It's good to run a few ladders with the different speeds and see what your rifle likes. What I explained here is 'rule of thumb'. I've never seen "thumb" in any precise measurements. You have to get there yourself. But this information is a start on which way to go if you can't get what you've tried, working.
 
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Varget Powder

If your .308 doesn't shoot well with Varget you have a gun problem.
 
kyhuntclub,

Varget is the first of, what I consider to be very successful, 'Extreme' powders put out by Hodgdon. The basic premise of these powders is they have shorter, thinner kernels like a faster burning powder except that they have a new chemically formulated and heavier application of burn retardant sprayed on them. Read most any reloading manual and they will tell you powder speeds are determined by size of the kernel. A thicker, longer kernel is a slower powder than a thinner, shorter kernel. With a few exceptions IMR is still the old formula. Look at them compared to any of the newer Hodgdon Extreme powders and you see quite a difference in size. Yet, the burn rates are very similar.

This allows more powder in a case and less chance of an over pressure (within reason) searching for more velocity. How it works is when temps/pressures get up to a certain point, the retardant chemically comes apart and makes new molecules that cool the burn. Again, within reason. There is only so much retardant that can be sprayed onto each kernel. And in the chemical process of high heat and temp, once all the free electrons have been joined to new molecules, forming the cooling formula, there is no more left and the powder continues to burn as it did before. Only now you are above temp/pressure, and the overpressure signs you normally see gradually, come on very quickly.

Varget was formulated to work best with moderately heavy match bullets in the .308. But, a very good rule of thumb is if it works well in the .308 it will probably work well with .223/5.56mm. The ratio of bullet diameter to case proportions/capacities is pretty close with both rounds. Varget works well with .308 and 175 gr. bullets, but change the diameter to .243 and you find it likes medium to lighter bullets. For heavy bullets in .243, I prefer H4831X....2 speeds slower than Varget. For .260 Rem with heavies, I like H4350. That is also my 'go to' in case I don't have any RE-19 that I normally use in my 7mm-08.

It's good to run a few ladders with the different speeds and see what your rifle likes. What I explained here is 'rule of thumb'. I've never seen "thumb" in any precise measurements. You have to get there yourself. But this information is a start on which way to go if you can't get what you've tried, working.

Thanks for the reply and that was very informative. I am going to be busy deer hunting and trapping over next 4 months but I plan to test this stuff out in the spring.
 
22-250 loaded with 52gr amax and varget at about 3650-3700fps in a bone stock 700 1 in 14 twist. most accurate load I have for the 22-250. because I have so much varget I am just starting to use with .308. But as someone else said if it doesn't work in your 308 you have a gun problem. For those of you in Michigan you can check jays sporting from time to time and they seem to get a lot of it. They seem to put out only so much per day so go early in the morning.
 
currently im loading 23.5 grains for 223 55gr, hornady fmj..................for 308 i need to see if the gun would like varget or imr4895
 
It works really great in the 22-250 with 36.5 grains and 52,53 gr smk. and br2's. This load has worked in many 22-250's.

As with any barrels and owners the round count will vary. I have wore out many 22-250's and you can expect anywhere between
850 and 1500 before you see it go south.
 
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My OCW loads for Varget are

308 win
45.2 gr varget
178 gr hornady a-max
Hornady match cases
CCI br-2 primers
2730 fps

308 win
44.9 varget
175 gr berger vld
Lapua brass
CCI br-2 primer
2730 fps

If your 308 does notmlike those you have a gun problem the key to varget that i have found is cci-br2 primers in these and the 22-250 load below

22-250 rem
39.0 gr varget
40 gr hornady v-max
Win cases
Cci-br2 primer
4100 fps
Very accurate load for me also it is listed on the varget can
 
I have read countless threads and articles mentioning this powder but I have never used it. I was at a large gun store here in western KY today and they put several cases of 1 lbers out and people was grabbing it like it was going out of style. They had a limit of 5 per person so out of impulse I grabbed my five and my buddy did too.

My question is what all do you guys load with it and what is your favorite charge? I have several manuals to reference but I would like some input for comparison.

I have:
22-250
204
223
260
308
and in the near future a 6.5 creedmoore or 6.5 x 47

22-250 34 grains with a 52bthp sierra or nosler in remington brass. Could load hotter but this shot well for me.

223 I work around 24 grains with 52s, 69s and 77s. Sometimes a little more sometimes a little less. So occasionally 24.3, 23.8, etc. Another good one is 26gr with a 40 or 50 gr bullet save that for varmints.

308 for me was 43.1 grains in LC brass with a 175smk for a very long time, with winchester brass I use 43.5 which ends up being milder but still very accurate. 178 amax same charges. Also used 42.5 with 168s which shot well without being very hot.