4895 vs varget pros and cons

[DAFAR]

HEY guys I am shooting 223 in an ar and a bolt gun usually 55 grain or 68 grainers
308 bolt and semi 175's maybe 208amax
260 remington bolt gun with 140 amx or 142 smk

I am trying to settle on one powder for all three rounds, I have it narrowed down to Varget and IMR 4895

I was wondering if you guys had any pros or cons of why one would work better than the other.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DAFAR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am trying to settle on one powder for all three rounds</div></div>
Just curious, why? Varget would be my pick out of the 2. But, IMR4895 is easier to find. Varget will work well in the 223 and 308 (for the 175- so so with the 208). But the 260 will lose about 80 to 100 fps with the 140 bullets over a more suitable powder.

 

[bowslngr]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

I agree. Varget is probably about as good as it gets for a 'one size fits all powder', but no powder can do it all as well as you would probably like it to.

 

[Rafael]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

I cannot get enough Varget into my .223 55fmj loads to get decent velocities so I use H4895 in it.
While I prefer Varget for my .308 175MK loads, H4895 works well too.

If I were limited to one I would choose H4895......but then I am not limited to one.

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChadTRG42</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just curious, why? ... </div></div>

+1... I use several different powders. I want the best for that particular round. Sometimes a different powder will give you a better group.

 

[Fuzzball]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

'wondering if you guys had any pros or cons of why one would work better than the other."

My ol' dad taught me to use the proper tool for the job at hand. I take that to include powders too.

 

[DAFAR]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

my reason was I was just trying to simplify the amount of powder I had to buy. I have not really done alot of loading with the 260 yet, I started out using RL17. I was jsut looking at the books for the maximum velocities and that is what I was basing my choices on.

 

[DAFAR]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

OK I have been schooled, my idea was not a good one

 

[MitchAlsup]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DAFAR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">my reason was I was just trying to simplify the amount of powder I had to buy. </div></div>

Once you start to realize that you will be keeping a different set of reloaidng books for each caliber--and should be keeping different books for each recipie in each caliber. It should begin to be obvious that maybe a single powder solution for everything is less than optimal.

Then consider shooting (maybe) 2000 rounds per year per caliber (hey somebody has to have fun) it should be spanking obvious that you are burning through a 8 pound jug of 308 per year and 1/2 to 2/3rds of an 8 pound jug of 223 per year, so it makes litle sense to restrict your set of choices to one powder, and try to optimize your recipies thereto.

So, while working up your recipie, stick to the one pound jugs and see what you can get to work best. Then stock up on 8 pounders of that powder, and don't worry about "saving money"; nobody ever saves any money reloading, they simply get to shoot more for the same cash input.

 

[larbhills]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

I had a great IMR 4895 load for the 308 but I found that when it got cold my groups got pretty big. Like 3 MOA. A little interweb research revealed that it is accepted that 4895 is pretty temp sensitive. My new Varget load seems to be much more consistent across the temperature range.

 

[Garvey]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

I purchased 4895, 3130, and Varget to try in my .308 with 165gr. and 168gr. pills. And my .22-250 with 55gr. pills. I loaded 3 rounds at 3 powder rates with each powder and recorded the results. I kept every other factor the same, brass, powder, case length, O.A.L, primer, and bullet. On both calibers I got decent results (1 M.O.A.) out of 4895 and 3130, but I got excellent results (.5 M.O.A for the .308 and .25 M.O.A.) out of Varget. I've, since, been buying Varget every time I come across it.

 

[mdmp5]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

Varget and RL15 are really the only 2 powders that work well for me in my 308 and 223. Every time I try a new powder, like IMR4895, 4064, Viht N540 or N140, my results are very ambiguous to decipher if the powders are good for me or not. For example, I ran an OCW test for 77 SMKs with Viht N140 last week, and all 10 groups landed in the same general area, low and lacking precision in any individual group.

 

[DAFAR]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

when I was shooting Varget two years ago I thought the rumor mill was saying it was very temerature sensitive ansd the at the 4895 was the more stable powder

 

[dmg308]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DAFAR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">when I was shooting Varget two years ago I thought the rumor mill was saying it was very temerature sensitive ansd the at the 4895 was the more stable powder </div></div>

Varget is one of the most stable powders temp wise I've ever seen.

 

[doc76251]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

As time goes on I give more consideration to a single manufacturer of powder rather than a single type of powder. Simply stated most companies will allow you to mix n' match in a case sale of the same mfr. Knowing I can do several things "well" with a single powder is handy, but I prefer optimum performance if possible which requires choosing the optimum powder for the stick/boolet etc. I have several powders that cross connect a wide variety of cartridges.

As long as ATK doesn't go out of business I'm good

Cheers,

Doc

 

[LR-WSM]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

Why paint yourself in a corner choosing one manufacturer or line of powder. I normally get together with 2 or 3 friends a couple times a year and do a online purchase from Powder valley. Dividing the Hazmat and shipping will normally bring your price per pound below the $20 dollar mark. Buying the 1 Lb'ers from the big box stores will drive the cost up quickly with prices between $25 & $30 a lb.

You allready have the RE-17 for the big boys in the .308. IMR-3031, RL-15, IMR-4895 for the 175's & below, and the .223's with upto 75 grn heads.

There are many sources on line to choose from. Do your homework, make a plan, issue the Op'order ( to your shooting partners ) and execute.

Good luck

 

[Ratbert]

Re: 4895 vs varget pros and cons

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DAFAR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">when I was shooting Varget two years ago I thought the rumor mill was saying it was very temerature sensitive ansd the at the 4895 was the more stable powder </div></div>

That was H4895, not IMR 4895. I got a bit more velocity from IMR 4895 than H4895 but it is certainly more prone to responding to temperature swings. I currently use H4895 in my 155gr 308 loads and H322 in my 55-75gr 223 loads. Both appear to fit case capacity well and give a slightly more complete burn than Varget, but I'm seriously considering just standardizing on a general OCW varget load for each now that I run a 260 as my "when it counts" rig. For the 260 you probably want H4350 or R17, though my initial testing showed H4350 was much preferred in my gun. With a long barrel and the 208 AMAX's you might even want to look at 4350 for that, but I wouldn't know anything about that.