Sierra seems so conservative on there load data. I shoot 45gr of Varget for 165gr Sierra SBT Gameking with good accuracy. The tech support says thats too much. So I was shooting 150gr bullets Sierra Prohunter, and Sierra says 44 is the max, but the Nosler, Speer and Hodgedon, call for 48.5, 47, and 47gr in that order.

I usually load 47gr of Varget for 150gr Nosler Bullistic tips with good accuracy and no problems. Do you really think 150gr Sierra Prohunters have that much more pressure?

I already loaded up 10 at 46gr and 10 at 47gr and hate disassembling them.

Sierra seems more conservative than most. Among target shooters, the 168 Sierra match bullet with 46 grains of Varget is almost a standard load. With the 175 grainer, they use 45 grains. I have used the 46/168 load and pressure seems well below max in my rifles. Nearly everyone recommends CCI BR-2 primers with this load, and, of course, this is in commercial cases such as Winchester and Lapua.

Dunno, but what I heard was that Sierra, for whatever reason, doesn't like Varget. Like the other fellow said, the rough thumbrule is about 47gr for the 155 MK, 46 for the 168, and 45 for the 175gr SMK. The CCI BR2's seem to really perform w/ Varget, as do Winchester cases. Lapua cases and Fed GM primers shoot pretty well, but are a bit pricier.

Monte

Sierra and a bunch of Palma shooters have stated that Varget is not as consistent as it used to be and therefore the reduced loads.
I have switched to IMR4895 and have been pretty good accuracy and low velocity spread.

47.5 gn of Varget shoots best with a 150 GK in my Tikka. That's with Win brass and 210's. It is a hot load but with no pressure signs. As always, use at your own risk.

I've heard a rumour that the newest lots of Varget are a little slower, so you can put in a bit more. With that said, the load I use for target shooting is 45.7 grains of Varget with a 155-grain Lapua. I've heard of people using up to 47 grains, but my rifle happens to prefer 45.7.

Regarding Varget, I called Sierra about their data in the 4th Edition electronic version. I noticed that Varget almost matches IMR-4064 perfectly and wondered why Varget data stopped but 4064 went further (more powder, higher velocities). Their answer at the time was they had run out of Varget for the .308 tests and that the load info was not their max. loads, they just stopped testing there. This was a big difference from other manuals that will normally list starting load data and what they consider max. load data. How many other loads in the manual has Sierra simply quit testing on that are no where near max. loads?

You know guys, I love their tech support line, and due to that tech support line, I buy a their bullets. And due to the lack of with Hornady, I don't buy thiers. But thier data gets me in trouble alot.

For example a few years ago, they had data on the H1000 for 300RUM with 180gr bullets. They said to start at 86gr and work up to 93gr. Could not get good velocity or accuracy. So since then, with Hodgdon, Nosler, and others, I went up to 96gr, and found great accuracy at 94.5gr.

Then recently, its like they changed gears with Retumbo. 86.5 to 98gr with 200gr matchkings. With this load, my gun cooks and starts showing pressure signs at 97gr.

By the way, I find Varget to be very dirty. I think that is Sierras main gripe depending on who you talk too. After shooting it in my Medallion, I have the worst powder fouling I have ever seen. Takes me 4 cycles of Sweets to remove. Then finally get to the copper. Don't have that issue with 4064

Thanks guys for the info. I won't worry about disassembling until I try the 46gr at least.

[ 09-10-2003, 15:33: Message edited by: bigcountry ]

My last 308 ran with 46.5 gr's Varget behind 165 Nosler B-Tip's and 165 Barnes XLC's.

As I have stated in previous posts, I have never had a luck with Varget in a 308 with any bullet. Accuracy was medicore, and extreme spreads were in 40 to 50 fps range. This was in match prepped brass. I tried everything from changing primers to adusting neck tension on the bullet. IMR 4064 always performed better for me. For the last year I have used Vithavuori N540 with 150 class bullets with very good results. A lot of high power shooters around here have dropped Varget and went to N540 in their M 1A's and the AR 15.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight.......RiverRat