While I'm waiting for my Winchester 94 to get a new Duracoat finish, I loaded my rounds with my first batch of the new Hornady Flextip 160g .308 for the .30-30.

I've never loaded Varget previously. I started somewhere b/w the 150g and 170g loadings from the Hodgdon manual/website.

I loaded 32.0, 32.5, 33.0, and 33.5 grains. The 33.5 is definitely compressed. I've never loaded anything with the powder compressed. I believe the max should be ~33.8 grains, so I stopped at 33.5. Should I be concerned about excessive pressure? I'm going to start w/ the 32.0 and then check for pressure signs (e.g. primers). The shank of this bullet, below the cannelure, is quite long, which I believe led to the compression. I haven't measured it against a Speer 150g or 170g FN bullet yet.

What are your thoughts?

Compressed powder charges are the norm in alot of reloading. You wan't have a problem at all unless you are cracking the heck out of the kernals. If the amount of powder is correct....the compressing of it doesn't make it more powerful.