• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Powder Question imr8208xbr in 6BR

Heard good things about this powder looking for something to use in place of Varget. I run 30g varget with 105 vld's 28" barrel. Does anyone have any good load they would like to share. I shot 28g fair but thinking somewhere between 28.5g to 29g any thoughts.
 
There has been quite a bit on it posted. I suggest doing a search.

It seems to be faster and denser than Varget. It's slightly faster than 4895, *in my experience*.

In a straight 6BR, Lapua brass, 205M or Wolf SRM primers, I shoot 30.5 grains of it pushing the Berger 87 grain VLD. I have another bud that shot the same load except that his bullets were Danzac coated in a UBR match last weekend and shot an excellent score. So, it works great in the 10-twist, mid-weight bullet application.

I'm just not sure how well it'll work with the heavy bullets.
 
The powder's Australian manufacturer Thales-ADI produces comprehensive load data for what it sells as 'Bench Mark 8208' in its home country. This includes 6mmBR. The ADI guide is more comprehensive than Hodgdon's data for 8208 XBR and is a useful supplement to that. Here's what it says:

6mm BR Remington
55 Bench Mark 8208 30.0 3204 33,900 cup 33.5C 3546 44,800 cup
58 Bench Mark 8208 30.0 3207 36,800 cup 33.5C 3552 50,000 cup
60 Bench Mark 8208 29.0 3121 36,800 cup 32.7 3475 48,900 cup
65 Bench Mark 8208 29.0 3084 36,300 cup 32.3 3397 48,700 cup
70 Bench Mark 8208 29.5 3045 37,100 cup 32.7 3361 51,600 cup
75 Bench Mark 8208 28.0 2926 38,900 cup 30.8 3167 48,800 cup
80 Bench Mark 8208 27.0 2823 39,800 cup 30.4 3107 49,500 cup
85 Bench Mark 8208 27.0 2782 41,400 cup 29.8 3016 49,900 cup
90 Bench Mark 8208 25.0 2599 41,500 cup 28.0 2813 50,000 cup
100 Bench Mark 8208 24.0 2388 40,500 cup 27.0 2630 49,800 cup
107 Bench Mark 8208 24.0 2380 42,700 cup 26.7 2555 50,400 cup

Being 6mm BR Remington, it'll be the short throat 2.2-something inch COAL version, and a long Norma or custom throat will allow higher charges. The fact that ADI publishes 8208 data for the cartridge with 90-107gn bullets tells you something though - that it is worth trying.
 
Yes - they're the same thing with slightly different names, but oddly American shooters got it a year or two before their Australian equivalents.

Why Hodgdon gave it an IMR name is a minor mystery as nearly all other ADI manufactured powders in the company's range are called 'Hodgdon', and until 8208 XBR, all bar one IMR powders were made by another outfit in Canada. The only other exception I know of is IMR Trail Boss, also made by Thales-ADI.
 
I found it to be right about the same as H4895. I never found anything it did super good. Which is sad because it meters like a dream.

I think they should slow it down some. Then it would be dreamy...
 
I found it to be right about the same as H4895. I never found anything it did super good.

It gives VERY good results in .308 Win with lighter (155gn and probably up to 175gn) bullets. ES values are even better than you get with H4895, and if you believe Hodgdon, it moves way beyond VarGet in its lack of sensitivity to temperatures.

ADI originally developed this powder to meet military requirements for near constant performance in Arctic winter conditions through to 100-deg summer temperatures in places like Afghanistan. It's reputed to have been adopted in some countries' 7.62mm sniper loadings. Think of it as an improved H4895 in the same way as Alliant AR-Comp is an improved Re15, the driver in both cases being military customers demanding consistent all-temperature performance.
 
Laurie said:
...Think of it as an improved H4895 in the same way as Alliant AR-Comp is an improved Re15...

Hmmm, my wheels are spinning. I think I saw a lb of this next to where the RE-15 used to be. :)
 
I love it in 6XC with Berger's 105VLD (hBN-coated) & as Laurie said 308 for Palma with (plain) 155's.

It ought to work fine in 6BR too but can be peaky at high-volume loads so work up carefully, maybe from 27.5 grains at first?

I "stumbled" onto an almost perfect 600-1,000 yard load for 6XC of 37.0 grains at the very beginning. Had also loaded 38.0 & 39.0 but never took the latter out of the ammo box after the 38.0 proved too stiff to extract & really flat (Wolf LR) primers. Over 3,200 fps too where the 37.0 gave 3,125.

I've since backed off to 36.7 to preserve case life with no sacrifice in accuracy.
 
Thanks for the posts a lot of good info. I failed to say in my first post but I shot a good group of 5 @ 300yds around 1.5in group with 28g of 8208 with no vertical but I still need to work out to 600 for a true test. I guess I need to keep working with it. Shot in a match in B;ham and the guy that won was using this powder but he won't say load data. His groups @520yds were the best I have ever seen. so that's why I want to give this powder a try. Plus I can't find Varget!
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
166,807
Messages
2,223,484
Members
79,917
Latest member
Joe The Licensed Plumber
Back
Top