Varget powder not listed in Hornady manual

[marksman79]

Hi all.

So as the title says, i had the brass all ready to go today only to find at the last minute they didn't have bullet in store that i wanted.So i changed the head from a 55 grain Hornady V max to a 50 grain Hornady V max. When i look up the load in my Hornady manual i can't seem to see the VARGET powder there for the 50 grain bullet. It is listed for the 55 grain bullet.
I then thought well lets go off the Hodgdon tub and the data says .223 at 27.5 grains of powder. That powder measurement is listed as the maxium charge and not to be exceed, am i correct saying this? I have now made one round with 26.5 grains of that powder but i'm a little vary of firing it as this is still early days for me and reloading.

Can i use the Hodgdon site for data if the powder is not listed in the VARGET powder is not in the manual?

The WIN748 powder in the Hornady manual almost mirrors the VARGET powder accross the board so i think 26.5 grains will be safe. If you can help a newbie out here then please do. I have my concerns at the end of the day and safety should always be paramount.

Many thanks for reading,

Carl.

 

[Johnboy]

the Hodgdon site is a great place to look up loads.heck its free to the whole world.I use it all the time to get loads from.but most of the time I will back off a full grain or two then work up doing a ladder test in .3 grain increments.sometimes I end up on the lower side,but most of the time I go with the higher end of the charges for my load.

so yes I think you have made a smart choice to back off a full grain.so go and see what it does.

 

[SS427]

Not sure why Hornady doesn't list a Varget load for the 50 grain bullets. My manual shows a listing for 55 grain bullets with 26.4 grains of Varget as a max load. The lighter bullet will handle a little more powder, but not much. You should be safe at 26.5, but if I were you I would start lower. I've found Varget in the .223 seems to shoot more accurately with the midrange loads rather than the hottest loads.

For comparision Sierra lists 26.8 grains of Varget for the 50 grain bullets as their max load. Bullets brands do vary with what they can handle for a max load, but not by much.

 

[Kenny474]

Varget is listed in my manual, with a start load of 26.5grs and it says that will be a compressed charge, and 27.5 as max.

I think there are powders better suited to this bullet weight than Varget. I don't ever like to use a compressed start load, or a load with only one grain from start to max, just not enough adjustment or fudge room there for my liking.

Ditch the Varget and try H4895, BL-C2, H335, or Accurate 2520 or 2230. I would try H4895 myself, as I have had great luck with it in many different rounds in the past.

I know a lot of guys will say to use Varget in everything and they think it's some kind of "magic" powder and often push it on anyone asking for advice. But in reality, if another powder is better suited to the round, than that's the way to go. Varget is a good powder, but no better than many of the others and will be just as bad in a round it's not suited for as anything else.

Your best bet is to try another, better suited powder. Ditch the Varget for now, at least until you need it for the heavier bullets in the .223.

Good luck and be safe.
Kenny

 

[SS427]

Kenny is right, but if all you have is Varget I would give it a serious try even with the lighter bullets. I happen to know it is a magic powder! After all, it does come from Oz.

The stuff works well in so many calibers. I have a .223 that likes H322 slightly better, but I don't want to have to buy one more powder to sit on the shelf. I feed it out of the same 8lb keg of Varget that most my other Vamint rifles feed out of.

 

[15Tango]

Varget's about as slow as I'd go on a 50 grain. I've ran nearly 26 grains of it under a 75 grain, 26.5 under a 50 will be just fine.

Wayne

 

[ReedG]

Confirmed Varget Lover here ...

The .223 Rem. will shoot well with a wide variety of powders (BL-C(2) and W748 among the best), but in 10s of 1,000s of loads over many years, none is better than Varget. I recommend Winchester cases for loads of more than 27.0 of Varget because Lapua cases will barely hold that much and I have never had good results with Remington or Federal. Winchester or IMI (hard to come by) will hold 28.0 from a long drop tube. For years I weight-sorted the cases, but not any more -- it doesn't make any difference. When shooting without wind flags, all the anal-compulsive things we do have little if any value. A tenth of a grain of powder or sorted brass will not overcome a 10 mph crosswind you didn't see.

Hodgdon's loading data is among the best. Find a bullet weight the same as yours, regardless of manufacturer, and start two grains under maximum and load three each at 0.5 gr. increments up to the maximum. Most of the maximum loads in "today's" loading data are well below the data listed 20 years ago.

Enjoy ...

 

[338Lapua]

Here is some loads using varget for 223 hope they help.

 

[SS427]

Nosler always publishes such conservative loads. Do their bullets generate more pressure with less powder than most the other bullets makers? Or are their attorneys writting their reloading data for them?

Nosler recommended loads for the .270 Win with H4831 powder and 130 grain bullets is down right anemic compared to Sierra and Hornady loads in the same weight bullet. I've gone over their recommended loads in .270, .223 and .22-250 a small percentage at a time up to almost the Sierra max loads and I never have had pressure problems.

I will admit that on paper it looks like Varget is too slow of a powder for some applications, but I've found time after time it performed exceptionally well in all situations where it was only in theory a marginal contender.

 

[marksman79]

So am i right in saying that the powder is the best place to check load data, does a bullet manufacter make a difference or is it just down to the bullet weight?

Can some one please explain the term COMPRESSED LOAD? The case did look rather small and when i seated the bullet to 2.200 the head actually looked very small, although that may of been the look due to the ballistic tip.

Many thanks.

 

[ReedG]

A compressed load is one where the powder comes up so far into the neck of the case that when the bullet is seated it compresses the powder charge. This is not necessarily a bad thing as I don't know a benchrest shooter who doesn't shoot compressed loads. Most reloading theory is that the fuller the case is with powder the more reliably and consistently that powder charge will ignite and burn.

Do you have any method of "finding the lands" in your rifle -- the point where the bullet is seated out far enough to actually touch the rifling?

 

[1000yardstare]

Tried Varget in my .223 F Class rifle with 77 gr Noslers and found it a little too slow. Better results with H4895.

+1 on the previous comment that some shooters regard Varget as the universal "magic" powder. An F Class buddy uses Varget in his 6.5x55 with 140 gr bullets??? We have told him for three years that Varget is too fast for the Swede. He says that all the top shooters use Varget so it must be the best. Problem is the top shooters are using .308s with 155 gr bullets. This past Summer at the 2010 Ontario Championships he started blowing primers all over the place on the first day and had to withdraw from the 3 day shoot. Must have gone over the edge on his powder charge.

 

[ReedG]

That's interesting 'Stare. I never had more than 1:9 twist and never tried 77-gr. Did a lot of shooting with 68-gr. Hornadys and 69-gr. Sierras and Varget was best with them, followed closely by BL-C(2). Usually, the heavier the bullet the slower you want the powder. Hodgdon data shows that H4895 generates over 3,000 lbs. more pressure with a 77-gr. Sierra and doesn't get as much velocity as Varget. Of course pressure and velocity do not necessarily speak to the accuracy of the load.

Have you ever tried BL-C(2)?

 

[Kenny474]

As for compressed charges, I will agree they are sometimes good for accuracy. But, when starting load development, I do not ever like to have a compressed start load or only a 1gr margin of adjustment. I usually won't use a powder in a rifle case unless I have at least 3grs to play with from start to max, and (I DO NOT SUGGEST ANYONE DO THIS, THIS IS MY OWN METHOD AND NOT TO BE DUPLICATED) I will usually include 1gr over published max in most manuals as they are very conservative and can usually be surpassed by a bit before pressure signs really start to show up. Modern Reloading is usually an exception to this, as I have found many of the max loads to be pretty close to where I see pressure start to build.