Varget substitute for 7mm-08

The 4350s and 4831s

Shooters World Precision is your answer.

https://thereloadersnetwork.com/2019/11/13/hodgdon-varget-vs-shooters-world-precision/

Looking at some burn rate charts, IMR4320, RL15, or N140 are all in Vargets ballpark.

syhunt said:

H4350/IMR4350 comes up a bit as well as W760. What are you guys shooting in the 7mm-08?

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I use imr 4350 most but have used w760 with mag primers, got better ignition and less felt recoil than with standard primers, as well as h and I 4895. 4350 gave better performance in my rifle.
Check out hodgens site and check for all powders, compare velocities. Choose the best and see if you can find it. Try several so you're not stuck in a shortage.

Have a friend with a 7-08, his likes 4895 and 140 gr bullets

IMR 4166 has been my default Varget substitution. But if you really want exceptional velocity and accuracy, try RL16. It works great in 308 based cartridges. I got 2850 FPS in a .260 Rem with 140’s. Shot sub moa.

syhunt said:

Hola Amigos. I'm nearing the end of a supply of ammunition that Copper Creek loaded for me (140g Nosler BT over 42g Varget/CCI LR primers getting ~2770 to 2800fps, 0.5 to 0.75 MOA). I've since started reloading but cant find Varget ANYWHERE. Does anyone have a bead on where i can find some? What is an acceptable substitute for Varget? H4350/IMR4350 comes up a bit as well as W760. What are you guys shooting in the 7mm-08?

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Varget is starting to show up now, just got mine at PV .
RL-15
VV N140
H 4895 (work up slowly)

Other fellas mentioned some as well
J

I have no first hand experience with it, but I hear ramshot hunter gives good velocities with 140 gr bullets.

QL tells me for that bullet/22" barrel combination and best velocity/case-fill/burn-completion/ all at 55,000psi:

IN ORDER . . . .
Ramshot Hunter
Accurate 4350
Alliant Reloder-17
Hodgdon H414
Winchester 760
Vihtavuori N550
Ramshot BigGame
SNPE Vectan SP 11
IMR 4831
Alliant Reloder-19
IMR 4895

South Prairie Jim said:

Varget is starting to show up now, just got mine at PV .
RL-15
VV N140
H 4895 (work up slowly)

Other fellas mentioned some as well
J

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No Varget at Powder Valley at 8:45 this morning they must have filled orders on hand. Just don't panic and we should be fine.

syhunt said:

nteresting that varget isn’t even on that list.

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Here's the actual QuickLoad list again (filtered again for best Fill/Burn/Velocities -- available powders/90% Max pressure)



Note VARGET just fell off the bottom in comparative performance.

QUICKLOAD is very good at this kind of "what might work best" analysis.
While choices falling 1 or 2 lines apart can be considered "in the noise,"
there's pretty fair separation here.

As always -- run your own checks against published data by the manufacturers,
and DO NOT blindly load against what you see above.

CAUTION: This post includes load data generated by calculation in QuickLOAD software based on a particular powder lot, the assumption the primer is as mild as possible, and assumptions about component, chamber and gun geometry that may not correspond well to what you have. Such data should be approached by working up from published starting loads. USE THIS DATA AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The HighRoad, nor the staff of THR, nor QuickLOAD's author nor its distributor assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information or information derived from it.

I have used Win760, 4350, 4831 and 4064 with 140s from Nosler and Sierra

IMR 4350 and IMR 4064 are the two I'd recommend, and worked up loads with.

syhunt said:

Hola Amigos. I'm nearing the end of a supply of ammunition that Copper Creek loaded for me (140g Nosler BT over 42g Varget/CCI LR primers getting ~2770 to 2800fps, 0.5 to 0.75 MOA). I've since started reloading but cant find Varget ANYWHERE. Does anyone have a bead on where i can find some? What is an acceptable substitute for Varget? H4350/IMR4350 comes up a bit as well as W760. What are you guys shooting in the 7mm-08?

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My ruger American 7m/08 likes imr 3031 as much as varget

In a short barrel like a Model 7, IMR 3031 is a good choice, too.

i shoot lots of 7-08 each year in nra high power silhouette matches. my match loads i use varget and/or imr 4895. both powders work very good out to 500 meters. last year i was looking for a backup powder and found shooter's world precision rifle is the top of all three. i found i could drop the same weight as varget and use the same sight setting across the course. my chronograph shows the speed different was +/- 20 fps between precision rifle and varget. i was a imr 4895 person in the 7-08/308/30-06/30-30 untill i found varget for all my match loads. but with the price of varget going over $200.00 for 8 pounds i am changing over to precision rifle. precision rifle is better and cheaper.

The temp stable is better than varget. I talked with ken johnson of shooters world. Ken is their powder/load tester. Ken told me Precision rifle is a one for one powder drop with varget. Then I did research and found articles with same information. Then I tested and tested and tested some more in 7-08, 308, and 30-30. For me precision rifle is a replacement for varget across the calibers I shoot.

The 7mm-08 is a ~61,000psi* cartridge.
The QL 55,000psi iso-pressure was chosen as 10% down from that.



*See p 24: https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/206.pdf

I’ve used 42.0grn Varget under 140 NAB’s in 7-08 in a handful of rifles. For a turn-key short range load, these have always shot well for me.

Be patient. It’ll stay pretty damned cold out for a while yet, we’ll see a third wave of this imaginary Varget shortage when this final round of “why can’t I find Varget” guys finally finds some on shelves and buys a lifetime supply, but it’ll level off soon enough. Place your back orders, it’s still shipping to Hodgdon and they’re still shipping it to retailers at the same pace they always have. This bubble is imaginary, so it won’t sustain unless you make it so.

Varminterror said:

I’ve used 42.0grn Varget under 140 NAB’s in 7-08 in a handful of rifles. For a turn-key short range load, these have always shot well for me.

Be patient. It’ll stay pretty damned cold out for a while yet, we’ll see a third wave of this imaginary Varget shortage when this final round of “why can’t I find Varget” guys finally finds some on shelves and buys a lifetime supply, but it’ll level off soon enough. Place your back orders, it’s still shipping to Hodgdon and they’re still shipping it to retailers at the same pace they always have. This bubble is imaginary, so it won’t sustain unless you make it so.

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VERY well said!!