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The random quality of H4895

Curious

Ive read this written a couple of times now written by Alex.

Alex Wheeler said:
Much of what I pulled down is H4895 stuff. I feel like I pushed it too hard in as a result it has caused some shooters to struggle with it when either their barrel didnt like it or they got a bad lot. H4895 can set records or if you get a bad lot it wont shoot in any barrel. One of our local guys is really good at picking out the good lots in his dasher, the difference between a good and bad lot is unbelievable. I realized I need to be more careful in what I post, so now Im more likely to recommend trying a few different powders.
Click to expand...

To be honest this blows my mind and leaves me feeling like H4895 should be the last powder anyone should really be using in their 6BRA, or any other caliber for that matter?

Think of the difficulties this level of inconsistency could cause?

Ive seen plenty of examples of batch to batch variation in a powder but never to the extent one batch could be accurate and another not, that really leaves me scratching my head?
 
More records have been set with H4895 then all the others combined in the BRA and many fell with it in the dasher too. But there are lots out there that shoot BIG. Varget is the same way. I had a barrel that loved an old lot of Varget, could not tune a new lot to save my ass. If your struggling to tune a rifle, change things its that simple.
 
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Ran into some major lot variation from 4 separate lots of Varget years ago, that forced me to abort it. It left such a bad impression on me that except for some limited testing with it, I've never used it since.
Also had a lot of H4350 one time that was hurried in accuracy and velocity (75-fps indifference).
While no doubt all brands of powders can be subject to lot variation, Hodgdon's have been the worse for me.
 
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dmoran said:
Ran into some major lot variation from 4 separate lots of Varget years ago, that forced me to abort it. It left such a bad impression on me that except for some limited testing with it, I've never used it since. Also had a lot of H4350 one time that was hurried in accuracy and velocity (75-fps indifference).
While no doubt all brands of powders can be subject to Lot variation, Hodgdon's have been the worse for me.
Click to expand...


Same experience here with with Varget also.. I have 6 different lots of H4895 that as different as day and night too. I have one new lot I can't get 2900 with. I ended up going to a distributer and opened different lots and got a pound each and tried them to get the same velocity as the old lot that shot the best. when I found one that worked, I went back up and got a bunch..... jim
 
I have 10lbs of H4831sc here that will not give less than 40 ft ES in 3 different barrels with many primers and bullets. If I gave this powder to someone, they would never get a good barrel again....
 
Alex Wheeler said:
I have 10lbs of H4831sc here that will not give less than 40 ft ES in 3 different barrels with many primers and bullets. If I gave this powder to someone, they would never get a good barrel again....
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Yes, the good times are over. I found 4831 to be about 3 gr. slower than the old stuff, it's a crap shoot anymore..... jim
 
tom said:
Here's one for you. My lot, that I've been on since 2011, would shoot good in a dasher but was NOT a good velocity lot. In the bra it IS making unbelievable velocity.... A guy just has to do a full load work up, with his own components.

Tom
Click to expand...
How many powders have you tested in the BRA?
 
Alex, tested the following in the BRA.
H4895 4 lots (3 new lots junk--1 old lot 1/4 lb left good.
Varget 1 old lot left from Dasher--good
Rl-15 1 old lot from 1000 yard record--excellent
8208 1 old lot from Dasher--very good in recent tests.
I will have to revisit barrels I removed that shot poorly. Only tested with H4895. Definitely should have know better. I have always removed barrels that would not shoot in 100 rounds. Must now rethink this process as barrels, bullets and certain smiths are the best I have ever seen. The powders are now the main culprit in long range accuracy.
Roger
 
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It's Hodgdon Powder,they got on board re-bottling 3rd world pull down powders.

10+ years ago several Varget lots were actually H4350.

But it's all temperature in-sensitive.....BS.
 
Going back many years my group where .308 M1A shooters. Many of us had a .308 Bolt Gun for some Matches.
Now 99% of people used IMR or H4895 in there M1A's Always word ….

Now having that .308 Bolt Gun one would think just load 4895 and go shot ! Wrong.

As we came to say back then " one in ten bolt guns will shoot with 4895 but all bolt guns shoot with 4064 "

I had a .308 barrel on a bolt gun not to long ago ,would not group with Varget....
Went in the vault and pulled out some 4320 , drilled holes all the way to 1000 yards.

As stated above sometime things just need to be changed
 
Don said:
As we came to say back then " one in ten bolt guns will shoot with 4895 but all bolt guns shoot with 4064 "
Click to expand...

Wish I'd known that before I stocked up on a metric butt-load of H4895 a few years back :(

Mainly hanging onto it for 'blasta' ammo - if all else fails, it *does* work in an awful lot of cartridges.
 
I am experiencing this exact issue with an AR-10 in 308.
Loads with newly purchased IMR 4320 didn't shoot, but an old bottle of RL-15 shot knots.
(Old as in $39.95 for a 5lb. jug)
I never gave it any thought other than one powder didn't shoot, so I tried another. As an aside H-4895 shot groups the size of a garbage can lid.

Lloyd
 
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