Somebody wanna explain Varget to me?

[mugsie]

Today I visited my local gun shop looking to purchase some BLC(2) for my 223 loads. Unfortunately they were out. I thought this would be a good time to try something different, so I checked out one of their reference loading manuals and found Varget would work for a majority of the 223 bullets I have yet to load. Hodgdon says 25.5 - 27.5 for a 55g SP. Hmmm? I can fit 25.5 in the case. I can even fit 26.5 in there with a little scrunching - 27 nope - 27.5? No FREAKEN WAY unless I take every case, shake it to settle the powder then hope there's room for the bullet!

What is your experience using this powder for 223? Anyone able to get 27.5 into a case - the full 27.5 grains? Yeah, I know - I'm the only one with this problem right? So what is your experience?

Tomorrow I'll try 10 rounds of 25.5 and 10 of 26.5 and we'll see what happens. Do you people like it or have you found something better for 223. H335 I tried and the groups out of my guns suck. BLC(2) does a fairly decent job but the eternal quest for the holy grail of one ragged hole is driving me nuts!:banghead:

Ideas?

Thanks....

 

[dstark]

Never used varget, but use reloader 15 works pretty well for me. 26.5 gr. RL15, sierra 60gr varminters.

 

[joneb]

You could try Blue Dot it runs cool and is accurate, but you won't set any speed records.

 

[jenrob]

I have a bottle of varget that I picked up a while back. Just haven't got around to useing it. Let me know how it works out. what are you shooting. I can cover 5 shots with a nickel out of a Remington 700 Tactical .223 1X9 twist load useing sierra 69gr hpbt matchking and Berger 73gr bthp with win748 Im trying to cover that with a dime but it's been to chili for my blood. Let me know how it works.

 

[BsChoy]

Varget is a bit bulky for certain brass. the federal brass I was using was very light and I could fit 26.2 grains under a looonnnggg 60 vmax. winchester on the other hand is friggin heavy and it was hard to make that much fit.

 

[Dave R]

I've never been able to fit enough Varget into a .223 case.

OTOH, my rifles love H335 in .223. 26 gr. under a 45gr. bullet. Fast (but not a speed record) and accurate for me.

 

[snuffy]

What I and others have found out about Varget in .223 is that it isn't good for 55 grain bullets. It's much better for 60 grainers on up. The the top charge is reduced a bit and fits in the case WITHOUT being compressed. Do you have a long drop tube under your powder funnel? They allow a little more powder to be poured into the same space. Also pour the powder slowly onto the side of the funnel, let it swirl down through the neck.

But then, there's nothing wrong with using compressed loads. Some of the most accurate loads I've fired were compressed. It is necessary in some rifles.

 

[Telperion]

Which brass are you using, and are you using a drop tube for charging the case?

 

[FieroCDSP]

I don't use Varget for 223, but I use it in my 7.62x54 cartidges. Great stuff for larger rifles where you have the capacity. Meters well, burns clean, and is temperature insensitive. For cold-weather loads, this is the stuff.

 

[Reload45]

I have used Varget with 60 grain V Max. Compressed load And they shot very well.

 

[jethro75]

I have had better luck with H4895 in 223(Sierra 55gr SP) then Varget. However Varget works better then anything Ive tried in my 300 Savage(Sub MOA).

 

[krahling]

I've never had a problem using Varget with 69 gr. Sierra Match Kings.

 

[Jayhawker]

In Winchester brass, 27 grains of Varget is doable but you have to be careful not to spill it and I would not try it in a progressive press. I've never tried 27.5 grains. In Lapua brass, the most I use is 26.5. Anything past that would be a stretch and would be too easy to spill in handling the case. At 26.5, you defintely have a compressed charge. That being said, it is my preferred powder in both .308 and .223.

 

[Ol` Joe]

I`ve used it with 69, 60gr Hornady and Sierra HPs in my 223 M70 HV and with 52 gr Hornadies. Accuracy was fine with all bullets. The only load I`ve chrono`ed was 24.5 gr Varget with a 60 gr Hornady. That gave 3052 fps, very good with this bullet wgt. This load is 2.5gr under Hodgdons max and only ~ 100 fps below their max velocity. Good enought for my purposes, I doubt I`d need the extra 2.5 gr to achive the missing 100 fps.

BTW, Varget is my powder of choice for the 7-08 with 150 and under bullet weights. I get very good velocity and excellent accuracy

 

[jcwit]

I use Accurate 2015 in my .223, also use Sierra 53 gr. fb bullets, this is used for benchrest shooting.

 

[Crazy4nitro]

I load 26.5 with crunching......I like Varget,but NOT my choice in .223 powders.

'Nitro

 

[ATAShooter]

Alliant Re-7 works extremely well in .223 -5.56Nato

 

[flashhole]

If you are hell bent on getting more powder in the case use an electric toothbrush (minus the brush) and run the vibrating flat on the shaft up and down the side of the case. It will settle the powder big time.

 

[agd1953]

great luck

I have had great luck with 24.5 gr of varget behind a 55 gr v-max. 1/4 " gorups of 3 shots at 100 yds. I shoot a Bushmaster Varminter.

 

[mec]

good for 60 grain bullets and upward in .223. Always a case full with some compression.
Not exactly a speed demon from my 20" predator but usable groups:

 

[redneck2]

.....

 

[redneck2]

I use 26.0 Varget with 50 grain Nosler BT's, WW cases, and Federal primers and get exceptional accuracy.

From everything I've seen, the .223 has to be one of THE easiest rounds to load. I suspect there are a dozen or more powders that work well. Actually, I suspect that picking a really high quality bullet is perhaps the most important part of the equation.

 

[taliv]

i use varget for 69g and 80g SMK and iirc, both are compressed loads. shoots great though

 

[dcon]

I've had good luck with Varget and the 55gr v-max, loads from 24.5-25.5 grains group very well. 24.5 & 25.0 are under 3/4" 5 shot groups, 25.5 about 1/2" 5 shot groups, but at 26.0 it opens up to 1". I haven't tried any loads over 26.0

 

[Lennyjoe]

I had the same problem with Varget and LC brass. Couldn't fit a load above 26.5 gr. Switched to H-335 and like it even better.

I do use Varget with my 22-250 with great results though.