.308/.223 Powder Better in cold and hot weather

[Hawkeye75]

I am interested in finding out what powders for .308 and/or .223 rounds resist or perform the best in colder weather and hotter weather.

I live in Boise Idaho it's dry here and we have both the extreme hot and cold weather for Coyote hunting.

I shoot 110gr V-Max and 110gr Sierra Varminter also 150gr Hornady SST

bullets.

I have Rem, Win and Lapua brass.

Federal 210 Match Pirmers and Win 748 and Varget Powder.

I shoot a Remington Model 700 SPS Varmiter 26" Heavey Barrel and a 200 Stevens .223 rifle.

Can you all give me some good loads you have??

 

[Galil5.56]

I'm sure Varget and their other "Extreme" rated propellants from Hodgdon will be mentioned as having exactly what you mention. I hope it's recommendation is from actual testing by the individual to prove it, not simply parroting Hodgdon marketing.

 

[Envisaged]

I know Michelle Gallagher uses Varget under the 155 Berger VLD's. That is good enough for me.(She is a champion shooter).

45.8gr to be exact.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Varget and Reloder 15 are both insensitive to temperature variations...I prefer Reloder 15 myself because it gives good accuracy and higher muzzle velocities than Varget.

 

[Grump]

My shooting of .308 loads using 748 showed almost exactly 1 fps velocity drop per every 2 degrees F in temperature drop. Or was it 2 fps per 1 degree???

Anyway, from 110F down to 55 or whatever F, it was significant.

 

[Hawkeye75]

I am thinking about trying Reloader 15, opinions??

thanks for all the great imput, please keep it coming.

 

[dirtman]

I have used 748 for both 308 and 223 going back over 20 years.. ... i use a mag primer... I have never had a problem... but i have never tested for FPS in the middle of winter.... believe me it gets cold .... minus 40 or more... on those days I keep an extra clip in a warm pocket... regardless it has always been an accurate load... this winter will have to run a test on a real cold day....

 

[ar10]

I use varget 41.6gr with a 168gr 2200 matchking and Hornady Vmax BTHP. neither are hunting bullets. With that said, temperature affect the burn rate of powder, all powders regardless of which brand you use. (I us Varget exclusively), and have shot it in 14 below and at 90+ degs, with high humidity. What I found not to do is load the powder at near to max. Why it does it I don't know, other than when it's hot things tend to catch fire easier. I'm guessing the same thing happens with powder.

 

[huntershooter]

RL 15 and Varget are the "accuracy" loads in my .308 bolt gun.
By all means try them.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Dedicated Varget/223 shooter here. It is my favorite for heavy bullet .223 loads in my AR-15.

Here is a quick story: I started off using Win 748 and a 69gr Sierra in my AR-15. Well, my loads weren't very hot, but when exposed to 75+ degree heat, I would have a popped primer from time to time. So I switched to Varget. One day I left my gear in my car while at work, in July. Even after being baked beyond reasonable care (my fault), there was no change of zero or popped primers.

And it shoots as well at 20-degrees as it does at 100. What's not to like?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Varget seems to be the new do-all powder and with good reason. It's an accurate powder that works is a very wide range of cartridges.

 

[neal7250]

I've had good results with H-335

 

[longdayjake]

I buy the cheapest I can find and load up a bunch. I have recently been buying Ramshot TAC powders. It works amazingly in my .223 and I have shot a few with my .308 and the groups seem just fine. However, you will have to work up loads for it since there is really no good load data for it.