N140 or N150?

[TrxR]

Anyone here use N140 or N150 in their 308? I am getting ready to start shooting F/TR out to 900M with a 155.5 Bergers out of a 28" barrel. I was going to use varget but it is hard to find and can get the N140 or 150 fairly easy. My question is how well does it work and is it as temp stable as Varget?

Thanks

 

[memilanuk]

I've heard of people having decent results with N140 - apparently quite popular over in Britain, and I've heard of Palma shooters a few years back using N135 with good success.

That said, N150 works really well for me as a Varget substitute.

Last time Varget became unobtanium (following the 2008 presidential elections), I had to find something else to use. N150 is a bit more spendy, but it works really, really well. Most of my loads were very nearly the same charge weight as with Varget, and I never noticed any problems with temps from 20-30F in February through 90-100F in August. I used it behind both .30 cal B155.5BTs in a .308 and .224 cal B82BTs in .223 Rem. Seemed to shoot a bit cleaner than Varget as well.

My primary gripe with the stuff (besides cost) was that the powder kernel size & weight are not consistent. With a Chargemaster or similar 0.1gn scale you probably would never notice. But trickling by hand onto a milligram scale... I found there to be about four different kernel sizes, ranging from ones that were extra long, but very light (cheese puffs) to ones that were very short and dense (nuggets), and a couple in the middle. Rather frustrating but it did shoot very well, no doubt about it.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Monte, you would not have that problem if you would uniform your kernels!

 

[stool]

i'm sure someone had one for sale..YESTERDAY........

Monte, you would not have that problem if you would uniform your kernels!

 

[TimP]

Monte, you would not have that problem if you would uniform your kernels!


http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2012/04/powder-kernel-uniforming-for-ultimate-long-range-accuracy/

Just go to the link above and you will be enlightened

 

[gaboon]

I tried the n140 with the 175SMK. It did tighten the group up and it seem to be easier on the brass. I was getting low sd and 2750fps.

 

[Down South]

I use N-150 with the 200 hybrids and really like it.....When i was doing load work i tried Varget also but N-150 gave better groups, lower ES/SD and burned cleaner, velocity was about the same.....With that being said, i had better results with Varget with the 185 Juggernauts.....That could just be my particular rifle.....With the 155.5s i would think N-140 would work really well as its a bit faster burning but as Monte stated, N-150 can work as well with the right setup......As far as temp stability goes, they seem to be stable as far as i can tell.

 

[dbaird]

N140 works GREAT with the 168-175 bullets. 43.0-44.0 grains of this in an Iron Brigade Armory .308 shoots fantastic. Haven't tried N150 .

 

[terryperkins]

My question is how well does it work and is it as temp stable as Varget?
I found N150 and 155.5B's to be an excellent combination. After experimenting for 3 years with other bullet/powder combinations I have not found anything as accurate. The only problem is the lower BC of the 155.5's compared to the newer heavy bullets. If you can read wind, you're in the money.

I have never had a problem with pressure problems in varying temperatures.

 

[Laurie]

As Monte says, both are widely used here in the UK. N140 was the standard 308 Win handloading powder with 155s for many years, although most of the top GB F/TR league shooters prefer H4895 these days. N150 was and still is very popular in the cartridge, though more usually for heavier bullets 175gn and up. It works extremely well with the 185gn 'Juggernaut'.

Personally, my first choice of the pair is N150 even with 155s. MVs are a little down on the faster powder with this bullet weight, but the results and MV spreads are excellent. It's also my first choice in .260 Rem and 6.5X47L match loads with 123s, so spreads one powder over more cartridges.

Incidentally, Viht's data for N140 in .308W is extremely conservative for some reason with max loads of 44.2gn for the 'old' 155gn Sierra MK, and 43.4gn for the 155gn Lapua Scenar. Most people work up to 46gn plus even in TR rifles with 'tight' barrels, and 47gn + is not unknown, these in Lapua standard (large primer) brass. Winchester takes a little more safely being larger capacity.

The pair are pretty temperature stable, but we wouldn't expect to see the big changes that some of you guys in the US get.

 

[TrxR]

Thanks guys I think I will order some N150 to give a go as its easier to get than Varget around here.

 

[cheng1962]

I use 42.0gr N140 in my TRG-21 with 168gr SMK. Great results. sorry I don't have a chrony to tell you how fast they go.

 

[cheng1962]

Can you tell me approximately how much N140 you use with your 260 REM? I have one, and I have a couple kilos of N140. Right now I am using 38.3gr N160 with 139gr scenars, but N160 is hard to find.

 

[Grimstod]

For the 155.5s I would use 140 but since you have a 28in barrel this makes it tuff. 150 would give lower SD and probably higher Velocity with less powder in the longer barrel. A shorte barrel would def prefer 140

 

[fm1947]

I been useing IMR 4064 runs about the same as Varget, I couldn't find Varget either, my 308 is doing really well

 

[fgcook]

I use N-150 with the 200 hybrids and really like it.....When i was doing load work i tried Varget also but N-150 gave better groups, lower ES/SD and burned cleaner, velocity was about the same.....With that being said, i had better results with Varget with the 185 Juggernauts.....That could just be my particular rifle.....With the 155.5s i would think N-140 would work really well as its a bit faster burning but as Monte stated, N-150 can work as well with the right setup......As far as temp stability goes, they seem to be stable as far as i can tell.

What weight are you using with the 200’ and N150? I running out of my Varget.

 

[MikeMcCasland]

What weight are you using with the 200’ and N150? I running out of my Varget.

Depending on your lot of N150, I'd expect it to tune in around 44gr-44.8gr with a 200.20x and a .170+ FB.

 

[Uglybird]

Rem 700 5R Gen1 here. 175 TMK likes 43 grains N150 and 178 ELD-M likes 43.5 N540 in my rifle. I've tested up to 45 grains so far but haven't found pressure. Seating 20 off, which is way over sammi due to the famed Lovelace throat. Going to try the 208 ELD-M's w/ RL16 and RL17 as well, though unsure if I'll be able to stabilize them with 11.25 twist.

 

[BP1]

Depending on your lot of N150, I'd expect it to tune in around 44gr-44.8gr with a 200.20x and a .170+ FB.

Although it’s been 6years ago with this thread..Mike is right..my load with the 20x is 44gr at .010 off right around the 2645fps mark.