StaBall Match

[klamathsteel]

It's available at my local GS and about ten bucks cheaper than others which are not in stock.
They say it's burn rate is Varget burn rate. Can anyone verify that ? Thinking of trying it in my Dasher and my 22-250 AI. Since my Varget is running low.

 

[WyleWD]

With Varget being in high demand and sometimes hard (or impossible) to find or expensive it would be a great thought to have a backup powder or two on the ready list. It's definitely worth a try. JME. WD

Burn rate chart- https://hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023-05-smokeless-relative-burn-rate-chart.pdf

 

[SeabeeKen]

Match is a double base ball powder so may perform different but worth a try. I've also had good results with SW precision powder. Better in my testing than varget but also getting hard to get. N-140 shoots well also

 

[nakneker]

I have some StaBall match but I haven’t used it yet, I’m curious. That being said Varget has been pretty easy to get lately. Powder Valley has one pounders at a decent price, 8 pounds would run you less than 350.00 plus the usual shipping and Hazmat. The Hodgdon website also has it buts it’s more $$

Hodgdon Varget Smokeless Gun Powder

Small-grained for uniform metering, Hodgdon Varget smokeless powder is popular with reloaders. Get great prices on Hodgdon Varget powder at Powder Valley.

www.powdervalley.com

 

[Zero333]

About same burn rate as Varget. "Maybe" a splinter slower,.. so on average it takes 1 gr or 1.5 gr to reach same velocity. Max loads with Staball Match are in the area of 1 to 2 gr more depending on the bullet ( heavier bullets probably closer to 2 gr to reach max and lighter than 155 gr bullet like 1 gr extra to reach max.

Hope you get the idea.

I've shot some in a 308win with 168 smk and accuracy was comparable to Varget.
For this 308w rifle the accuracy node with Varget is 43.4 - 43.5 gr. With Staball Match was around 45 gr. ... I've only done 1 round of testing thus far with the Staball Match.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Hodgdon has data available online for 6.5 and match for 22-250.

 

[Bill Norris]

VV-N140 seems to be really close to Varget burn rate.

 

[Tommie]

Did a ladder test with a .204 Ruger a few weeks ago. Shot fine. That said, I found the max load listed was truly MAX. Tried going .2 grain over listed max and got flattened primers with firing pin hole extrusion. That’s a bit too “spikey” for my taste. Since it’s a live varmint gun and the ammo will spend time in the sun I decided to move on to a different powder.

 

[cmysix]

Ball powders METER very well.

 

[Laurie]

Did a ladder test with a .204 Ruger a few weeks ago. Shot fine. That said, I found the max load listed was truly MAX.

Hodgdon's maximum loads for recent introductions are right on maximum SAAMI MAPs. Traditionally, Hodgdon's max would be 1,000, 1,500 psi down on max SAAMI, but not any more. StaBALL Match 223 Rem loads are only 300 psi down on SAAMI max; 600 psi down on 308 Win loads I've looked at. MVs aren't higher than for H4895/VarGet either with the same bullets, or if higher only marginally so despite running at pressures with little leeway in SAAMI-spec pressure barrels and chambers. Hodgdon is making a big thing of the StaBALLS giving significant velocity gains, and I suspect the company is desperate to 'prove' this is and so help divert demand away from the ever-short-supply ADI 'Extreme' extruded grades.

That's not to say they are poor powders and may represent excellent value against extruded competitors, so I wish them well. (Over here in the UK, the importer seems to be trying to say they are premium products by putting RRPs on the trio which are WAY above Viht and other competitor powder prices, yet is selling these powders to local gun shops at trade prices that see them retail at either same or even slightly lower prices.)

VV-N140 seems to be really close to Varget burn rate.

Incidentally, for those considering Viht N140 as a VarGet replacement (an excellent move in many combinations), just be a tad wary of some of Viht's newer maximum charge weights. Over here, Viht has a reputation for really anaemic max charges which goes back to their early days 30 years plus ago in some cartridges, especially 308 Win. Not any more! Some of their recent maximum loads are over the top IMO and might produce problems in some barrels and chambers.

http://www.targetshooter.co.uk/?p=3856

tested against VarGet in a long-throat 223 Rem F-Class rifle with the 77gn SMK seated well out.

I'm currently writing up my StaBALL 6.5 results vs H4350 range-tested in an 6.5X55 SE F-Class rifle, and am about to load up a box of 77s loaded with 'Match' in 223 to add to the VarGet alternatives previously tested and their results published.

 

[Zero333]

I found some Hodgdon's loads to be on the spicy side while others far from max. There is no better rule than to reduce and work up, and accordingly try to look for pressure signs.

I had a load of 155 Scenar in 308win with Varget. Shot phenomenal at 2,995 fps from a 24" barrel, and no pressure signs... That's until the 4th firing. Original load was 47.2 gr Varget ( Hodgdon lists 48 gr MAX with 155 SMK ). After getting pressure signs on the 4th firing I backed down the load to the next node at 45.2 gr Varget.,,. yet still the pressure signs remained. The Lapua brass was trashed after the 5th firing.

There are some things I can't wrap my hear around, ... so I just move on and keep on being vigilant regardless if the load shows any pressure signs or not.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

""
" Hodgdon lists 48 gr MAX with 155 SMK" - 47g, compressed, according to their website - my "pet load" (paraphrasing Ken Waters) is 46.5g in a Lapua Palma case.

 

[209jones]

In reading some of the observations on the mfgr`s data, always nice to have printed copies of older data shown to compare to. I`ve seen a couple where loads changed quite a bit, and of course no notices from the mfgr on the fact they changed things in there. And they also make mistakes they don`t own up to either, with being online, they just change it. Need to pay attention to that chit.

 

[Dave M.]

It's available at my local GS and about ten bucks cheaper than others which are not in stock.
They say it's burn rate is Varget burn rate. Can anyone verify that ? Thinking of trying it in my Dasher and my 22-250 AI. Since my Varget is running low.

I used Staball 6.5 in a 6.5CM and honestly, I wouldn’t consider ever using it in competition. The ES and SDs were huge and I shot several 5 shot groups over a 3.0 grain window and none shot worth a shit. I would only consider it for hunting as the accuracy inside 200 yards was more than suitable for hunting deer (nothing any smaller than deer though).

 

[rockhound78]

Tried some in a 22br, but speeds were low compared to CFE223 probably because it seemed the density of the powder is less than the CFE223 and I just couldn't get enough in the case to get to anywhere close to the speed I needed. My 223ai was faster. Didn''t load enough to try for groups, was just checking speeds