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Shooters World powder?

1Merlin

Silver $$ Contributor
No Varget to be had... Anyone tested the Shooters World Tactical or Match rifle powder for the 6BR?
Thanks for your thoughts.....
 
Yes so62 ? Little hotter than Varget in a Palma load . works great in a Match AR 1-8 twist .
With 80 Gr. Bullets .
The lot I have has funny Size and shapes to the sticks of powder ? I have not found that to be a problem.

N-150 was best in my BR with 107’s ?
 
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No Varget to be had... Anyone tested the Shooters World Tactical or Match rifle powder for the 6BR?
Thanks for your thoughts.....
Had really good luck so far with Shooters World Precision rifle. Start about a grain under Varget and work back up... love it so far in my Dasher, and 6mm Fat Rat Sako. $5 a pound cheaper and being available is also a bonus
 
I got three 8# containers a couple of weeks ago at the GAP Grind. Talk to Ned quite a bit while the match was going on. Same powder maker that I used years ago for hi power rifle and always worked well for me. Glad to see the stuff is available (even if in a slightly different form possibly) to try/shoot again.

As soon as I get a chance to load some up and try it I can post back but it will be about week or two yet.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels
 
No Varget to be had... Anyone tested the Shooters World Tactical or Match rifle powder for the 6BR?
Thanks for your thoughts.....
I think, after looking at the data,SW precision would be a better match to varget. Try some.I think I will,just for the sake of trying.
 
Yes so62 ? Little hotter than Varget in a Palma load . works great in a Match AR 1-8 twist .
With 80 Gr. Bullets .
The lot I have has funny Size and shapes to the sticks of powder ? I have not found that to be a problem.

N-150 was best in my BR with 107’s ?


These powders are made by Explosia in the Semtin region of the Czech Republic. (You can guess where the notorious Semtex plastic explosive much loved by Black September, the Provisional IRA and other nice people originated, given that regional location!) We've had them for years in the UK under the Lovex name.

If you go back far enough, sometime over 10 years, Explosia / Lovex supplied most of the old Accurate Arms powders, and they're still close to today's Western Powders 'Accurate' numbers even though Western terminated the contract with Explosia when it bought Accurate Arms and today's grades are made by other people.

In its Accurate Arms days, SO62 (aka Shooters World 'Precision Rifle') was sold as AA-4064, and that's exactly what it was, and still is, a very good stand-in for that old and trusted warhorse IMR-4064, a flexible number that works very well in a large number of cartridges, especially 308 Win. I'd have said it was a bit faster burning than VarGet and unlikely to produce as high MVs in the 6BR with bullets of over 90 or so grains weight. (Modelling in QuickLOAD says that too.) It also has bit less energy than VarGet - QuicklOAD lists its heat of explosion as 3,850 KJ / Kg v VarGet's nominal 4,050.

The Explosia / Lovex burning rate chart is well out on some of its powders. Do NOT believe that Lovex SO65 aka SW 'Long Rifle' has the same burning rate as VarGet and is therefore a possible substitute. It is a lower energy, slower burning number whose actual in-a-cartridge burn speed is either the same as or marginally faster than the fastest of the 4350 trio (can't remember off the top if that is the IMR or Hodgdon version) and is ideal for cartridges like 30-06, 270 Win, 7X57 Mauser, 7X64 Brennecke, and I see from the Shooters World website, the mid size 6.5s such as 6.5mm Creedmoor too. If your 6BR likes slower powders than VarGet such as N150, it might just take to this too, but I'd be surprised if you got VarGet MVs.

The Explosia / Lovex sphericals are 'hot' numbers - they certainly produce the velocities in suitable applications and many of our UK equivalents to US varmint hunters like them, especially Lovex DO73.6 (aka SW Match Rifle) which produces very high MVs with 70-77gn bullets in 223, the old 75gn Hornady AMax often paired with this powder and used on foxes here at long ranges. DO73.6 was labelled Accurate Arms-2520 in the days when Explosia supplied this marque and today's Accurate-2520 from Western (made by another European outfit, Eurenco P B Clermont just up the road from the famous arms making centres that spawned FN), isn't too different in applications / performance with one exception. That is clean burning which the modern Accurate-2520 / 2230 etc are and the Lovex DO ball powders definitely are not. I stopped using DO73.6 many, many years ago for this reason, especially the rock hard fouling left on case-necks. With STI or ultrasonic cleaning today, that may not be a great drawback anymore, but it's not a clean burner. For this reason alone, I doubt if SW 'Match Rifle' / DO73.6 would prove any great shakes in a good 6BR for precision match use, although it might be fine for varminting. (The 'Match Rifle' moniker comes from the days when 2520 was known as 'the Camp Perry powder' as many M14 / M1A XTC shooters allegedly chose it in 308 with the 168gn SMK - although everything I've read as a foreign observer about these days of this discipline suggests IMR-4895 and 4064 were the standard powders.)

I too am a Viht N150 fan for the 6BR with 105-108s - like most Brit users of the cartridge. We gave up on VarGet here years ago due inconsistent / non-availability, and it can no longer be legally imported here anyway as of last year due to a raft of bullsh*t EU 'Health & Safety' regulations
 
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These powders are made by Explosia in the Semtin region of the Czech Republic. (You can guess where the notorious Semtex plastic explosive much loved by Black September, the Provisional IRA and other nice people originated, given that regional location!) We've had them for years in the UK under the Lovex name.

If you go back far enough, sometime over 10 years, Explosia / Lovex supplied most of the old Accurate Arms powders, and they're still close to today's Western Powders 'Accurate' numbers even though Western terminated the contract with Explosia when it bought Accurate Arms and today's grades are made by other people.

In its Accurate Arms days, SO62 (aka Shooters World 'Precision Rifle') was sold as AA-4064, and that's exactly what it was, and still is, a very good stand-in for that old and trusted warhorse IMR-4064, a flexible number that works very well in a large number of cartridges, especially 308 Win. I'd have said it was a bit faster burning than VarGet and unlikely to produce as high MVs in the 6BR with bullets of over 90 or so grains weight. (Modelling in QuickLOAD says that too.) It also has bit less energy than VarGet - QuicklOAD lists its heat of explosion as 3,850 KJ / Kg v VarGet's nominal 4,050.

The Explosia / Lovex burning rate chart is well out on some of its powders. Do NOT believe that Lovex SO65 aka SW 'Long Rifle' has the same burning rate as VarGet and is therefore a possible substitute. It is a lower energy, slower burning number whose actual in-a-cartridge burn speed is either the same as or marginally faster than the fastest of the 4350 trio (can't remember off the top if that is the IMR or Hodgdon version) and is ideal for cartridges like 30-06, 270 Win, 7X57 Mauser, 7X64 Brennecke, and I see from the Shooters World website, the mid size 6.5s such as 6.5mm Creedmoor too. If your 6BR likes slower powders than VarGet such as N150, it might just take to this too, but I'd be surprised if you got VarGet MVs.

The Explosia / Lovex sphericals are 'hot' numbers - they certainly produce the velocities in suitable applications and many of our UK equivalents to US varmint hunters like them, especially Lovex DO73.6 (aka SW Match Rifle) which produces very high MVs with 70-77gn bullets in 223, the old 75gn Hornady AMax often paired with this powder and used on foxes here at long ranges. DO73.6 was labelled Accurate Arms-2520 in the days when Explosia supplied this marque and today's Accurate-2520 from Western (made by another European outfit, Eurenco P B Clermont just up the road from the famous arms making centres that spawned FN), isn't too different in applications / performance with one exception. That is clean burning which the modern Accurate-2520 / 2230 etc are and the Lovex DO ball powders definitely are not. I stopped using DO73.6 many, many years ago for this reason, especially the rock hard fouling left on case-necks. With STI or ultrasonic cleaning today, that may not be a great drawback anymore, but it's not a clean burner. For this reason alone, I doubt if SW 'Match Rifle' / DO73.6 would prove any great shakes in a good 6BR for precision match use, although it might be fine for varminting. (The 'Match Rifle' moniker comes from the days when 2520 was known as 'the Camp Perry powder' as many M14 / M1A XTC shooters allegedly chose it in 308 with the 168gn SMK - although everything I've read as a foreign observer about these days of this discipline suggests IMR-4895 and 4064 were the standard powders.)

I too am a Viht N150 fan for the 6BR with 105-108s - like most Brit users of the cartridge. We gave up on VarGet here years ago due inconsistent / non-availability, and it can no longer be legally imported here anyway as of last year due to a raft of bullsh*t EU 'Health & Safety' regulations
The new AA2520 is made in Florida by ST Marks.
 
The new AA2520 is made in Florida by ST Marks.

Hmmmm .... I wonder. P Clermont had a big shutdown after a fire a while back (a year, maybe 18 months ago), and stopped supply of Ramshot / Accurate powders. Western had to source some of its grades from the nearest St. Marks equivalents. Production in Belgium has since resumed, so Western may have remained with St. Marks ... or maybe not and picked up with Eurenco again.

In the UK we get Ramshot powders direct from the factory by agreement with Western cutting out the 7,000 (??) mile round trip from northern Europe to the UK via Montana, but no 'Accurate' brand powders. We lost our Ramshot imports too for a year after the fire but they've been going good and strong since the plant restarted and they're definitely Belgian. We have a so-called 'Europe-only' grade called Ramshot 'Wild Boar', rather slower burning than 'Tac'. The reason I mention this is that on comparing Western's 'Wild Boar' loads data against 'US-only' Accurate-2520, the tables are identical strongly suggesting they're the same product. It may be that Western is still ordering 'Wild Boar' from PB Clermont for its European customers, but remains with a different US supplied grade for the home market as '2520' but hasn't got around to updating its loads data, but such dual-sourcing seems very unlikely to me.
 
Hmmmm .... I wonder. P Clermont had a big shutdown after a fire a while back (a year, maybe 18 months ago), and stopped supply of Ramshot / Accurate powders. Western had to source some of its grades from the nearest St. Marks equivalents. Production in Belgium has since resumed, so Western may have remained with St. Marks ... or maybe not and picked up with Eurenco again.

In the UK we get Ramshot powders direct from the factory by agreement with Western cutting out the 7,000 (??) mile round trip from northern Europe to the UK via Montana, but no 'Accurate' brand powders. We lost our Ramshot imports too for a year after the fire but they've been going good and strong since the plant restarted and they're definitely Belgian. We have a so-called 'Europe-only' grade called Ramshot 'Wild Boar', rather slower burning than 'Tac'. The reason I mention this is that on comparing Western's 'Wild Boar' loads data against 'US-only' Accurate-2520, the tables are identical strongly suggesting they're the same product. It may be that Western is still ordering 'Wild Boar' from PB Clermont for its European customers, but remains with a different US supplied grade for the home market as '2520' but hasn't got around to updating its loads data, but such dual-sourcing seems very unlikely to me.
I am pretty sure Western quit with the Belgium plant.
 
Recently stumbled onto Shooters World powder. Been doing a lot of research on something to replace Varget in my Dasher. Hoping the "precision" powder will be the ticket. I've read that velocity suffers pretty bad over what Varget produces.
 
These powders are made by Explosia in the Semtin region of the Czech Republic. (You can guess where the notorious Semtex plastic explosive much loved by Black September, the Provisional IRA and other nice people originated, given that regional location!) We've had them for years in the UK under the Lovex name.

If you go back far enough, sometime over 10 years, Explosia / Lovex supplied most of the old Accurate Arms powders, and they're still close to today's Western Powders 'Accurate' numbers even though Western terminated the contract with Explosia when it bought Accurate Arms and today's grades are made by other people.

In its Accurate Arms days, SO62 (aka Shooters World 'Precision Rifle') was sold as AA-4064, and that's exactly what it was, and still is, a very good stand-in for that old and trusted warhorse IMR-4064, a flexible number that works very well in a large number of cartridges, especially 308 Win. I'd have said it was a bit faster burning than VarGet and unlikely to produce as high MVs in the 6BR with bullets of over 90 or so grains weight. (Modelling in QuickLOAD says that too.) It also has bit less energy than VarGet - QuicklOAD lists its heat of explosion as 3,850 KJ / Kg v VarGet's nominal 4,050.

The Explosia / Lovex burning rate chart is well out on some of its powders. Do NOT believe that Lovex SO65 aka SW 'Long Rifle' has the same burning rate as VarGet and is therefore a possible substitute. It is a lower energy, slower burning number whose actual in-a-cartridge burn speed is either the same as or marginally faster than the fastest of the 4350 trio (can't remember off the top if that is the IMR or Hodgdon version) and is ideal for cartridges like 30-06, 270 Win, 7X57 Mauser, 7X64 Brennecke, and I see from the Shooters World website, the mid size 6.5s such as 6.5mm Creedmoor too. If your 6BR likes slower powders than VarGet such as N150, it might just take to this too, but I'd be surprised if you got VarGet MVs.

The Explosia / Lovex sphericals are 'hot' numbers - they certainly produce the velocities in suitable applications and many of our UK equivalents to US varmint hunters like them, especially Lovex DO73.6 (aka SW Match Rifle) which produces very high MVs with 70-77gn bullets in 223, the old 75gn Hornady AMax often paired with this powder and used on foxes here at long ranges. DO73.6 was labelled Accurate Arms-2520 in the days when Explosia supplied this marque and today's Accurate-2520 from Western (made by another European outfit, Eurenco P B Clermont just up the road from the famous arms making centres that spawned FN), isn't too different in applications / performance with one exception. That is clean burning which the modern Accurate-2520 / 2230 etc are and the Lovex DO ball powders definitely are not. I stopped using DO73.6 many, many years ago for this reason, especially the rock hard fouling left on case-necks. With STI or ultrasonic cleaning today, that may not be a great drawback anymore, but it's not a clean burner. For this reason alone, I doubt if SW 'Match Rifle' / DO73.6 would prove any great shakes in a good 6BR for precision match use, although it might be fine for varminting. (The 'Match Rifle' moniker comes from the days when 2520 was known as 'the Camp Perry powder' as many M14 / M1A XTC shooters allegedly chose it in 308 with the 168gn SMK - although everything I've read as a foreign observer about these days of this discipline suggests IMR-4895 and 4064 were the standard powders.)

I too am a Viht N150 fan for the 6BR with 105-108s - like most Brit users of the cartridge. We gave up on VarGet here years ago due inconsistent / non-availability, and it can no longer be legally imported here anyway as of last year due to a raft of bullsh*t EU 'Health & Safety' regulations

What a GREAT POST!!!

Do you know if they have the old aa2015?
 
Do you know if they have the old aa2015?

It seems not. The old Accurate Arms version of 2015 is still available in Europe as Lovex SO-60. Looking at Shooters World, they don't show an SW version in their list. When I used more fast burners than I do nowadays, I was a fan of this powder too - a lovely flexible number. You could contact SW and ask if they have any plans to add this grade to their range.
 

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