F-TR loads with H4895

[Berger.Fan222]

The Varget jug is near empty with no replacements in sight, so a jug of H4895 has been ordered.

What are the recommended loads with the 185 Juggernaut (.308 Win) at 2.800 OAL and with the 80 SMK (.223 Rem) at 2.520 OAL?

I do not intend to push too hard on the velocity, just tweak for accuracy. But knowing what others are running for F-TR would be good to see how hot I should try searching for the best accuracy.

 

[Dos XX]

You will not likely find anyone shooting that bullet for F/TR at 2.800 COAL. Knowing the load for a much longer COAL really doesn't help.

Have you consulted a loading manual to see what they have for a recommended starting load?

 

[Berger.Fan222]

You will not likely find anyone shooting that bullet for F/TR at 2.800 COAL. Knowing the load for a much longer COAL really doesn't help.

Have you consulted a loading manual to see what they have for a recommended starting load?

Yes, of course. But manuals written by liability lawyers are suboptimal at 1000 yards. Fair enough if someone is loading longer, but I hope they give their OAL along with their load.

 

[Dos XX]

You will not likely find anyone shooting that bullet for F/TR at 2.800 COAL. Knowing the load for a much longer COAL really doesn't help.

Have you consulted a loading manual to see what they have for a recommended starting load?

Yes, of course. But manuals written by liability lawyers are suboptimal at 1000 yards. Fair enough if someone is loading longer, but I hope they give their OAL along with their load.

And how will you extrapolate the load needed for your length from one loaded say, 3.05 ish inches, my length, especially given the probable differences in our chambers?

 

[Berger.Fan222]

You will not likely find anyone shooting that bullet for F/TR at 2.800 COAL. Knowing the load for a much longer COAL really doesn't help.

Have you consulted a loading manual to see what they have for a recommended starting load?

Yes, of course. But manuals written by liability lawyers are suboptimal at 1000 yards. Fair enough if someone is loading longer, but I hope they give their OAL along with their load.

And how will you extrapolate the load needed for your length from one loaded say, 3.05 ish inches, my length, especially given the probable differences in our chambers?

Have QL estimate the pressure generated at your OAL and tweak the powder to match the same pressure in my OAL.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

Because it may be difficult to find many people using similar load specifics to yours (i.e. 2.800" COAL), the easiest approach may be to use velocity as a guide. In my hands, for tuned OBT loads in .223 with 90 VLDs or .308 with 185 Juggernauts using H4895, the MVs almost always end up 25-40 fps faster than the corresponding optimized loads with Varget. The differences in charge weight covered a fairly wide window, ranging from ~0.5 gr to 1.2 gr, and depended largely on lot-specific powder burn rates. For that reason, it may be simpler just to find the H4895 charge weight that puts you in that velocity window relative to your previous optimized loads with Varget, and fine tune from there. If you start with H4895 at 1.0-1.5 gr lower than your previous Varget loads and work up cautiously, it should be relatively simple to find your target window. Just be cautious as H4895 has a faster burn rate and higher energy density than Varget. With your relatively short COAL, pressure can jump up very quickly as you approach MAX load.

Thanks for the detailed reply. Since H4895 is faster than Varget, my main concern was whether I could likely reach the same velocities without pressure issues. The Varget loads are not even that hot (2700ish in 30" barrels), but I'm flying blind on the velocities until the new LabRadar shows up or I drive much further to the range where I can set up the older style chronos in front of the skyscreen. These loads may be developed without a chronograph. I don't intend to load them hot, but I'd also prefer not to ruin any brass feeling my way along.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

Thanks for the reply. That should speed development considerably.