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.260 Rem : varget and 140 grain Amax

turbohardtop

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 1, 2010
217
1
50
Austin, TX
I was wondering if anyone is having much success with varget pushing 140 grain Amax's. I have varget and would prefer not to have 1 more powder on the shelf. Thanks in advance.
 
It's a little fast burning for a 140 class bullet in the 260, H4350 would be better and what I use when not using H4831sc
 
I know some guys are running between 37-38grs Varget, with usually 38grs(max load) being the standard load, and are getting excellent groups.The only down fall is its a a little slower in speed. I would try it if I had Varget.
 
To the OP, what does your reloading manual say? If varget is not listed for that bullet then it is practically not suitable. Too fast means you will reach a peak pressure before achieving velocities slower powders can. IE not recommended for that bullet weight. If varget is listed start 10% down from max and work up a load.
 
If you looked real quick at hodgdon's site, it says varget with a 140 nosler partition out of a 24" pipe max charge 36.0 grains yielding aprox 2578fps

If this is too slow for ya, switch to a slower burning powder. Push it too much with too fast of a powder and you will quickly learn what pressure signs are.

45.7 gn of H4831sc yeilds aprox 2686fps with same pipe bullet combo
 
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With Varget at max load you'll see 2650-2700 depending on your barrel. Yes it would get you to 1k. I would try it first, and see if it works for you. If not, then H4350, or H4831.
 
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Hell, I would trade you some imr4350 or h-4831sc for varget

Problem solved!
I would stick to a proven powder i got 260 im using h4350 on 140 amax,smk and 139 scenar
500yd .263moa 5 shot
20130411_193100_zps0f0f522f.jpg
 
Didnt see in that article how it performed at a grand as the OP stated he will be shooting, she shot out to 600...

If you don't think much changes from 600 to 1000 you obviously don't shoot that far often...
 
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I do not own a 260, I am only posting pressure / velocity facts based on hodgdon's data. But I would be willing to trade some powders...

Others have mentioned 4350 and 4831 as being very accurate, se above pic...
 
I do not own a 260

You've been pretty indignant in this thread for somebody that doesn't own a 260, let alone shot it with Varget...

AGAIN - Varget is very accurate in the 260 at a multitude of ranges. It will give you less velocity than H4350, which obviously means more drop & drift between 600-1000yd.
 
Who says you have to had owned one to understand the physics of pressure. Doesn't take much reading to learn about popular bullet powder combo's...

I never spoke to their accuracy, I left that to Bjay and other 260 shooters, but thanks for agreeing.

I am shooting slow burning powders in 243AI and have had good luck with 4831sc. Principals of pressure carry over to other cartridges. Varget doesn't work worth a shit in 243 with heavy pills either.
 
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Surprised noone mentioned h414... Its a great powder for 260 and 243 as well.

OP, I have 12 powders on my shelf... :)
 
Thanks for all your relies guys. I am here to learn with an open mind. my DTA kit with 26" .260 remington is on order and probably wont be here for a while. I hate to have to wait for H4350 to be available but i guess I might have to.
 
midmoguy has a WTT thread in the PX that has H4350 for Varget, if that's something you interested in.
 
Like mentioned before I have imr4350 and H4831SC in trade and have acces to H-4350 (local chop has about 4 lbs I think)

Maybe someone can educate me... Other than the obvious where the 2 fall on the burn rate chart (quite near each other)... What are major differences of H4350 and IMR4350?
 
...Other than the obvious where the 2 fall on the burn rate chart (quite near each other)... What are major differences of H4350 and IMR4350?


"Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?" :cool:

The other major difference is IMR-4350 is very temperature sensitive, and H-4350 is less sensitive and distinctly more macho....
 
Thanks for all your relies guys. I am here to learn with an open mind. my DTA kit with 26" .260 remington is on order and probably wont be here for a while. I hate to have to wait for H4350 to be available but i guess I might have to.

If you have a 26" barrel to play with, H4831sc would be good to try. I am getting about 20fps faster than H4350. In a longer barrel I "assume" this gap may get even larger. Both shoot equally well in my 24" obermeyer barrel with low ES numbers. The only down side on H4831sc depends on the chamber spec, bullet used and brass as the powder can get a little compressed.
 
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I just used some Varget in my 260. I started low and I am up to 35.6 grains with the velocity right at 2600. This is in a 24 inch Obermeyer barrel. The accuracy was great even with my starting load of 34 grains.
 
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I just used some Varget in my 260. I started low and I am up to 35.6 grains with the velocity right at 2600. This is in a 24 inch Obermeyer barrel. The accuracy was great even with my starting load of 34 grains.

You've probably got 2, maybe 2.5 grains to go before you start getting pressure using 140s.

39.3gr Varget works exceedingly for me well with both the 120gr Nosler BT and 123 A-Max, in both a 26" 1:8 Criterion barrel (2940fps) and a 22" 1:9 Rem 700 factory barrel (2800fps).
 
To the OP, what does your reloading manual say? If varget is not listed for that bullet then it is practically not suitable. Too fast means you will reach a peak pressure before achieving velocities slower powders can. IE not recommended for that bullet weight. If varget is listed start 10% down from max and work up a load.

A Manual is simply a "SAFE" starting point. None of the ones I have show H1000 for a 243, but using Nilescoyote's load of 45.9gr and a magnum primer per Dan @ bangsteel on OCW loads, it is by far the most accurate load for a 9.125" twist launching 105 Amax's . Sometimes you gotta "think outside the box" or "Manual" I know alot of folk shooting Retumbo in their 243's.
 
I have tried powders as slow as reloader 25, but was not using magnum primers so I was blowing un-burnt powder out of a 28" Kreiger...

Have a friend getting astounding accuracy with 105 a-max's with factory pipe with imr-4350, no mag primer

But you wouldn't recommend anyone start reloading without having a loading manual right...
 
You've probably got 2, maybe 2.5 grains to go before you start getting pressure using 140s.

39.3gr Varget works exceedingly for me well with both the 120gr Nosler BT and 123 A-Max, in both a 26" 1:8 Criterion barrel (2940fps) and a 22" 1:9 Rem 700 factory barrel (2800fps).

I loaded some more today and went to 35.8. I am not going anymore then this. I found my barrel bullet combination works the best in the 2650 to 2670 area. It gives me the best accuracy. I have tried some other powders and gone into the mid 2700"s and accuracy was there, but not as good as the 2600's. I tried shooting some of the lighter bullets and I could not get any kind of nice grouping at all.
 
You need to keep working up in about .4gr increments until you start to see pressure signs. You will find that you will have about the same accuracy at different speeds. I had one rifle that loved 37+grs of Varget and another that really liked 38grs of Varget, all with the AMAXs. I shot mine out to 1200yds with those varget loads. I have since switched to the 123s and H4350 and really like that combination. I personally think the 123 to 130s are the ideal bullets for the 260 sized cases.
 
Here are some loads with my 260 using H-4350 and H4831sc with 140 A-Max's and 139's respectively.
 

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My 260AI shoots great using 123's with H4895 and shoots 140's with H4350 really well. I tried Varget with both bullet weights and couldn't get comparable velocities to the others without starting to see pressure signs.
 
My 20" Lilja shoots H4350 and RE19 the best. I have not tried Varget yet due to availability but you would think the faster burn rate may be better in a shorter barrel. Thoughts?

What velocities are you seeing through that 20" tube?
 
Assuming a 26" barrel, Varget, H414/W760, Ramshot Hunter, H-4831, and if course H-4350 will do OK to 1000 with 139-142gr projectiles.
 
I have tried powders as slow as reloader 25, but was not using magnum primers so I was blowing un-burnt powder out of a 28" Kreiger...

Have a friend getting astounding accuracy with 105 a-max's with factory pipe with imr-4350, no mag primer

But you wouldn't recommend anyone start reloading without having a loading manual right...

Of course I would. Why not? You can go to Hogdon's site and get alot of info. Matter of fact from my 6BR's, 6mm, 308, and even 6.8spc's I found my load's from lots of places. But Dan at OCW has given me more loads than most. (dan@bangsteel). If I set up a CNC machine "by the book" the darn thing never runs right. Everything needs tweaking, but common sense will get you a long way in life. "Start low-Work up" There's a cpl accuracy nodes in there somewhere, just depends if you wanna push the pill faster or slower?? Matter of fact I shot a rock .308 barrel last week with an 8 twist, from a friend writer, and guess what "Over stabilization" of a good "Match" pill I have yet to see. Under ? Yes. But not over. Spin em fast. The darn gun shot a .8moa @ 100 and a .4moa @ 1000. Wer'e still living in the time where barrel twist is still configured the same way it was over 50yrs ago.

BTW: No sarcasm intended, but I wouldn't care if my muzzle was spitting out Marconi n Cheese as long as it was putting my pills in a tiny cluster. Just my .02
And don't worry, I'm shooting 105's from a factory pipe and getting .3"s &.4"s, and a bud has an 8 twist Brtlein and can't get it to shoot better than an inch, and a bone stock 5R that out shoots a Tooley built .308 at any range. Mine actually punched a .5" with Berger Hybrid 107's with the factory 9.125 twist.
 
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It's a little fast burning for a 140 class bullet in the 260, H4350 would be better and what I use when not using H4831sc
This is news to me, and National HP Champion SGT Sherri Gallagher, as she used, Varget, 142SMK, fed 210 (and rem brass) to win the Nationals, how is it too fast again? Should she have been using a different powder?
 
They were easier to find when this thread was started. Now it seems you can only find them from people selling off their private stash.