Berger 210 go to powder

[Hillhunter]

looking for the go to powder for my 1/10, 30 inch 308 to shoot the 210 match long range BT target bullet (30419), i believe varget is a good choice but cannot get it so is other options out there?

 

[watercam]

I had great luck with H4350 with the heavier bullets in .308. IMR4064 is working as a good substitute for Varget for my Palma loads. Supposedly more temp. sensitive but then I found I had to reduce my Varget loads on hot days too.

 

[Joe R]

I use IMR8208XBR with my 180 grain VLD, it is very temperature insensitive, small kernel and easy to measure. I couldn't get Varget either, and once I switched I never looked back. The QuickLoad pressure curve shows that IMR 8208 is just a bit faster than Varget. If you can get it over there it would be a good choice.

For a bullet similar to yours here's the Hodgdon data. Their max load is going to be very conservative. For my bullet they showed 40.0 as the max load and I went up to 44.4 before I started to see real pressure signs, but accuracy just wasn't there. I get good accuracy at 42.5 grains.

 

[Steve Blair]

H4350 will work but requires a compressed load and COAL of ~3.03". You should be able to tune somewhere between 2550 and 2600 fps. I shot of lot of these in F-TR before the Hybrids. They are accurate, dependable and easy to tune. My experience is that jumping .015-.020" from touching works well. [br]
Another choice that would be just a few fps slower is VV N150. It is also a clean and cool burning powder. At the other end of the range, H4895 also worked well although it does not have a good fill ratio. Varget is still likely the best choice but this might give you some ideas.

 

[Hillhunter]

Thanks gents for the replies , Steve, I was hoping i would get someone to suggest one of the VV powders , they seem to be easier to get , I will try the N150, what kind of speeds should I aim for for the 210's , ?

 

[Steve Blair]

Thanks gents for the replies , Steve, I was hoping i would get someone to suggest one of the VV powders , they seem to be easier to get , I will try the N150, what kind of speeds should I aim for for the 210's , ?

[br]
From 30" barrels, I would expect ~2550 fps. The small velocity difference won't matter. B.C. is what does most of the work.

 

[Hillhunter]

Thanks again

 

[Laurie]

The norm in the UK for the 210gn Berger BT LR is small primer Lapua 'Palma' brass, long throats and Viht N550 with MVs around 2,700. However, there is a big BUT for North American competitors, possible temperature related pressure effects, N550 being much more affected than N150.

Steve Donaldson, who has become the 2014/15 GB league FTR champion, has used this combination for years, a brief flirtation with 230s aside. He did well in the US Nationals and F-Class Worlds at Raton last year too with the 'Palma' case / N550 combination despite 90 plus temperatures. I don't know how much he reduced his charge weights though.

 

[Hillhunter]

Thanks Laurie for your input , I will try the N 550 first , if it is good enough for. S Donaldson it's good enough for me .