6BR with H380

[HPMike800]

Has any body tried Hodgdon H380 in the 6BR? I know Varget is the go to powder, But, H380 seems like it may be a good choice. The rifle is an Eleiso R5 for XTC shooting and will be spitting 108gr Bergers out of a 30" tube.

Mike Toliver

 

[Forum Boss]

I've tried H380. The good news is that it meters like sand. I think it would be a great choice for a varminter who wanted to load a lot of cases on a progressive press.

However, in my experience it burned kind of dirty and the ES/SD was quite a bit higher than with extruded powders like Varget, N150, Reloader 15. H380 is a spherical or ball powder with a burn rate similar to Varget.

Hodgdon Burn Rate Chart:

72. Alliant Reloder 15
73. Vihtavuori N140
74. Hodgdon VARGET
75. Winchester 748
76. Hodgdon BL-C,2)
77. Hodgdon H380
78. Winchester 760
79. Hodgdon H414
80. Vihtavuori N150
81. Accurate Arms 2700
82. IMR IMR4350
83. Hodgdon H4350

----
Mike, my first choice for your application would be Reloder 15, followed by Varget. Varget is very accurate, but many of us have been able to get 60-80 fps more velocity with Reloader 15.

Many folks favor Varget however as they believe it is LESS temperature sensitive.

I have gotten good results with both.

 

[garry65BR]

Hi Mike, I shoot a lot of 6.5Br for metalic silhouette and my powder of choice has been Reloader 15 for the past 5 years. I have recently tried IMR 4007 with fantactic results, an extra 50-75 fps and nice and clean. You might want to give it a try. I also found 380 to be very dirty and Varget, just didn't cut it velocity wise.
Have a Great day
Garry

 

[lukehalee]

Big velocity, poor grouping, very dirty.

 

[HPMike800]

I stick to Varget for now. Thnaks
Mike

 

[Varminator]

Has any body tried Hodgdon H380 in the 6BR? I know Varget is the go to powder, But, H380 seems like it may be a good choice. The rifle is an Eleiso R5 for XTC shooting and will be spitting 108gr Bergers out of a 30" tube.

Not in a 6BR but in a 6 Dasher. Good accuracy, surprisingly clean burning and easy to load. Lighter load worked best,
33gr over a Fed GMM primer with a Berger 105 moly, no chrono but would like to see what its speed is, it shoots with the accuracy of the RL 15 but is not as consistent from load to load i.e. very sensitive to charge weight small window. I've also had good luck with Data 79,AA 2700) and IMR 4320.
><MM>

 

[Twud]

I'm surprised to learn of 380's dirty characteristics. I've been shooting it for 20 years in my 22-250 and I don't see where it's any any worse than any other powder. Shoots great also. Consistently in the 4's out of a box stock Ruger bull barrel.

 

[fieldratsniper]

i agree with you twud. i think 380 is a great power. i too shoot it in my 22-250. 38gr with a 55gr vmax moly at 100yards, and i make tiny little clovers with 3 shot groups,stock Rem 700 varmint rifle with jewell trigger). and i find that it is pretty clean. and it flows like water throught the powder measure, which is why i think my loads are accurate. consistancy.

i actually used varget in my 223wssm and it was extremely dirty. and its doesnt meter well.

i shoot H4895 in my 223 and its doesnt meter much better than varget but it shoots extremely well. ive seen many people who suggest it in a 6br....

 

[HPMike800]

I finally received the stock last week, and got the rig to the range last weekend. Since the start of the thread I found a homeless pound of RL-15 and gave it a try. Meters great, outstanding velocity and accuracy, but, it seems to leave allot of carbon residue and is more temp sensitive. I left a round in a warm chamber during some wind gusts,1.5 min or so)and it came out 25fps faster. I don't know if it will hold for an 88 round match. There's only about 60 rounds down the pipe so far. We'll see how it holds for the AZ Mid Range Prone Champs next week. I want to like this powder.

Current load: 6BR,108 Berger, Norma brass, Fed 205M,30.0g RL-15, 0.020" off. MV 2870fps. 1/2 min easy.

Mike