I have a 6mm Remington that has always been persnickety about what powder will work well in it. So far, the best powder I've found for it is IMR 4064. (My best load is 41 gr. of IMR 4064, 70 gr. Sierra match bullet, Federal 210 primer, Remington or Winchester brass. I've also tried the 90 gr. Berger moly coated bullet in this rifle, with good results.) When I tried Varget, it gave poorer accuracy than the 4064.

At one point, I tried to develop reduced loads for my .300 Weatherby that would give 30/06 velocities, with good accuracy. Varget gave the reduced velocity and good accuracy I sought, but left cases very dirty on the outside -- more so than I've ever seen before. IMR 3031, 4064, and 4320 did not produce such dirty cases, and they also gave the reduced velociites with good accuracy I was trying to get.

I tried Varget in a 375 H&H. With 270 gr bullets (Speer boattails) it gave OK results -- about the same accuracy and velocities I got with IMR 4064. With 300 gr bullets, it gave poor velocities at what Hodgdon lists as max loads -- the velocities were in the 2450 f.p.s. range.

All in all, I've not yet discovered any situation or load in which Varget seemed to me to offer any advantage over other powders, and it was sometimes worse. So, for now, I've given up on it.

What results have others of you had with this powder?

I have used Varget in a 308 Winchester with 168 grain Sierra match bullets. Very good results in an M-14. Less than 0.65 inch groups in one rifle and less than 0.45 inch groups in a second rifle. I also have had good results with Varget in a 458 Lott and 500 grain bullets.

For your 6mm Remington and 70 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips, I would recommend that you give Hodgdon H-414 a try. My experience with Winchester cases and Federal 210M primers shows that you should be able to achieve less than 0.50 inch accuracy with velocities over 3,600 fps out of a 26 inch barrel.

Good Hunting !

I have conducted some tests of Hodgdon's claimed temperature stability, and in all cases tested so far, found that their temperature stability claim is ABSOLUTE BUNK. In one case, the temperature coefficient for Hodgdon powder was twice that of another brand. Hodgdon simply stonewalls when I tell them they have a problem and are publishing false claims.

Last winter, I started another set of tests when we had some clear, cold weather. In the next few weeks, I'll shoot the same series again, when it's hot. This test covers several different brands and types of powder in 30-06, .308, 6.5x55, and .223 loads. Those results will be published here, with statistical confidence intervals on the results. I'm trying to find out if there ARE some cases where Hodgdon powders exhibit the claimed stability.

BTW, just to make sure that the chronograph is giving accurate results, I always put a few .223 military rounds across it as part of the test. The mil rounds are quite consistent and predictable, and ensure that the chrono readings are believable.

[This message has been edited by Sako308 (edited 06-04-2001).]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Pumba:
LE270,
For your 6mm Remington and 70 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips, I would recommend that you give Hodgdon H-414 a try. My experience with Winchester cases and Federal 210M primers shows that you should be able to achieve less than 0.50 inch accuracy with velocities over 3,600 fps out of a 26 inch barrel.

Good Hunting !

---

Pumba,

I tried H-414 in it, with poor results. I use 70 gr Sierra match bullets, not Nosler Ballistic Tips. Going by load charts in the Lyman reloading manual, it seemed that H-414 should give good results. But my tests didn't bear that out, at least in my rifle.

The only other power that gave me as good results as IMR 4064 in the 6mm in terms of accuracy is H-380. But it also gave me erratic ignition, with several millisecond hangfires sometimes. I have not tried H-335 or IMR 4895 in this rife.

I did try Varget in a .223 -- the results in terms of accuracy were not as good as those from 748 in this rifle. (A Remington 700 stainless laminated-stock Varmint Special.)

[This message has been edited by LE270 (edited 06-04-2001).]

------------------
Safety & Ethics,Accuracy, Velocity, Energy
Joe M

I wound up using IMR4895 across the course, and IMR4064 at 1000 yards in my 308 after trying everything under the sun.

Joe is right about listening to your rifle. The proof is in the shooting -- those rifles can't read!

Don

Varget fills the case more and provides lower working pressures. But it doesn't meter evenly like H335. Both produce accurate results. Can't tell if one is more accurate than the other.

Looking at H-BL-C2 because it produces higher velocities at lower pressures.

------------------
PowderBurns Black Powder / Muzzle Loading Forum:

www.hotboards.com/plus/plus.mirage?who=powderburns

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bill Leeper:
I have used Varget in the 35 whelen with good results, the 30/40 Krag with good results and the 30/06 with poor results. On the whole it is a decent medium powder which like all others works well in some rifles and not so well in others. Regards, Bill.

---

Bill,what Varget loads did you use in your Whelen?
Sambubba

Your load of 4064 behind a 70 grain bullet in your 6mm Remington sounds pretty conservative. I've had good luck in my .244 (same case, slower twist) with the surplus 4831 we discussed earlier with bullets as light as 65 grains.

I would suggest 4350, VV 160, or Reloader 19 as a good fit for your 6mm and 70 grain bullets.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
Your load of 4064 behind a 70 grain bullet in your 6mm Remington sounds pretty conservative. I've had good luck in my .244 (same case, slower twist) with the surplus 4831 we discussed earlier with bullets as light as 65 grains.

I would suggest 4350, VV 160, or Reloader 19 as a good fit for your 6mm and 70 grain bullets.

---

I tried 4350 (H and IMR), 4831 (H and IMR), H-414, H-380, Varget, Benchmark, and possibly a few others in this rifle. I didn't try RL 19. None of the other powders I tried gave me the accuracy I get with IMR4064. I agree that my load is a mild one, but I do see signs of the beginning of primer flattening with it, so I don't want to go hotter. I also get splitting of case necks after a number of reloadings.

[This message has been edited by LE270 (edited 06-12-2001).]