I don't get it, how can Varget manage to be both a fast and slow powder at the same time?

It's not a fit all powder. Any powder company will post data for everything a powder can possibly be used for to keep you buying their powders. It's not both fast and slow but it's roll changes depending on which cartridges it's used in.

If you use Varget in the .223 its a slow powder in that cartridge. If loaded in the .300 WinMag it's fairly fast in that application. Powder speed is relative, not fixed.

Blue Dot in a pistol is slow, when used in a rifle it's fast.

The burn rate of powder does not change. The relative role of burn rate per cartridge changes.

It's even more confusing, it's great in a .308 bolt action, but some say it's too slow for a .308 semi-auto M1A

the count wrote:
by the way, if anybody from their IT dept is reading this, fix the site it so that Safari and Firefox works...

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I have no problems viewing the Hodgdon reloading site using Firefox versions 45 and higher. I am curently using Firefox 51.0.1 to access it and have not experienced any problems.

the count wrote:
...either a powder is slow, middle or fast...

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As others have already said, powder burn rates are relative to one another so that a "fast" rifle powder might be a "slow" pistol powder.

But even absolute burn rates are also dependent upon the environment in which they are tested. Compare the burn rate chart on the Hodgdon site with the one on the Vihtavuori site and note they are not the same. This is because powders burn faster or slower based on how you test them.

Powders also perform differently based on how you load them. A powder that nearly fills a case may burn faster because, when ignited, the pressure rises faster within the case because there is little empty space whereas the same powder might burn slower loaded into a case where it only fills half the case.

The powder burns at the same rate in 308 and 300 WM. But 300wm NEEDS a much slower powder. Think of it this way. I could have a car that will do 150 mph top speed. Driving on the interstate at 150 mph would make it a fast car. At Daytona later this month it would be a slow car even though it is running at the same speed.

Varget gets a lot of traffic in reloading manuals which it may not necessarily deserve, simply because it is so popular, has been around so long, and so widely available. As others have mentioned, it's really too slow for .223rem with the lightest of pills, and actually too fast for .300wm with the heaviest of pills, but you'll often find data spanning a broad spectrum simply because the data is available and people want it. Manufacturers know service intervals for the 1911 like the back of their hand, because they've been around for a long time to have data collected. Comparatively, we see so many medication side effect law suits because the meds are relatively new upon their implementation and somewhat of an unknown quantity. Varget falls closer to the 1911 than the meds, lots of info from lots of years of use.

It depends on the case size mainly, and then bore diameter.

Varget is a medium burning powder, kinda like IMR4064. You can use it in a lot of cartridges, but that doesn't mean it is the best choice for all of them. It depends on the bullet used sometimes also.

Well it is faster than some powders and slower than others. Which means it depends on the application as to whether it is fast or slow. Sounds smart alec but it is really true.

A burn rate chart shows a powder compared to other powders ... Relative to other powders...

A Reloading manual shows a powder's burning rate in various cartridges ... Relative to other cartrdges...

The burn rate of powder does not change.

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Not strictly true, compare burning powder in a small pile on the ground vs. in the closed cartridge case.

The "holy grail" of powder makers is a "progressive powder" where the rate slows down at high pressure so it continues to burn as the bullet moves down the bore and keeps the pressure near the peak for the entire barrel time. Nothing is very close to doing it yet.

Unique is rather progressive as these things go, which is why it can be used effectively in virtually all handgun cartridges, although it can't hit maximum velocities with the big magnums (.357mag, .44mag, etc) while staying within safe max pressures, it is still very usable if you are willing to give up some velocity. Black powder is also pretty progressive burning allowing a wide range of charge weights and resulting velocities.

How can Titegroup and H1110 be used in a 357 Magnum?

Why whine about Hodgdons. Their website is fine. The changed some stuff so you need to reload the site and bookmark it as the new one.

https://www.hodgdon.com/

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/

The powder doesn't change so it is not slower nor faster. In fact the differences between powders considered 'faster' or 'slower' for bottleneck cartriges are not that big and can
be found in the middle-and-up of the burn rate tables.
So as a result there are a good number of powders that work fairly well with a large number of cases and bullets. Varget is one of them.

the count said:

Hey, don't tell me what to do. It has known issues with Apple OSX. I have been in touch with their IT department. You are wrongly assuming you are the standard things are measured by!

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Chill out.
If you don't like their website than you can call them and tell them, it's been working with Firefox for many years.

Just out of curiosity I looked at the Smokeless Powder Burn Rate Chart in the Berger reloading manual. There are 98 powders listed as faster than Varget and 43 powders listed as slower than Varget. If you take out the pistol powders it appears not to be fast and not to be slow. Sort of in the middle range like IMR 4064, like witchhunter said..

Because we have proved that varget is not fairy dust i think it is safe to say that everyone here should STOP buying Varget. It is clearly inferior. I will do a public service and take any varget off your hands.

In all honesty though, i like the fact that it can be used in many applications. I imagine it is not best in all, but flexibility is one reason we reload right? I have affordable ammo when others may not. I only have 2 rifle calibers now but varget works well enough in 308 and 223 to keep me buying it

One take on powder speeds has to do with a charge's expansion ratio to the barrel volume the bullet goes through.

90 grains of powder expanding its gas into a 30 inch 300 Weatherby Magnum barrel has a low expansion ratio.

45 grains of powder's gas in a 24 inch 308 Win barrel has a medium expansion ratio

4 grains of powder putting its gas in a 3 inch 30 Luger pistol barrel has a high expansion ratio.

Slow powders for the 300 Wby Mag, fast ones for the 30 Luger. Medium ones in between for the 308. Each cartridge has a speed range of powders for its bullet weights used. There'll be faster and slower ones for each cartridge and its bullet weights.

As most rifle cartridge hand loaders pick powders producing highest velocities, some say powders producing lower velocities are too slow. Others say it's too fast.