What happened to all the varget?

[Swamp Fox]

I’m down to my last pound of varget and can’t find anywhere that has any. What’s going on? I was looking before coronavirus, so I don’t think it’s that. Any recommendations for a good substitute? IMR 4064 seems close, but I haven’t looked to see how available it is.

[rintinglen]

We bought it all. I like WW-748 and use it in some of the same applications as Varget. However, there are several powders that have similar burn rates, E.G. BL C(2), CFE 223, H4895. Which will best serve your needs depends on what specific cartridges and bullet weights you are loading.

[sutherpride59]

Probably covid shipping issues, I’ve noticed off the wall stuff I enjoy is much less available. Try finding a can of regular cafe bustelo coffee on the shelf (cheap but way better than Folgers). Doesn’t help Varget is made in Australia and I always hear of this powder being hard to find.

[charlie b]

Yep, non-essential. Trucks are busy carrying toilet paper :)

[toallmy]

I gave up on Varget during the Obama administration and started using IMR 4064 in my bolt gun & CFE 223 in my black gun both are 223s . I'm quite happy with both after a little load development .

[dragon813gt]

Varget is usually the first powder to disappear. Even during normal times it’s spotty due to production runs. People tend to love it. Lots of other powders that work equally well.

[gwpercle]

I've read about it for years...never actually saw a container , only blurry photo's...like Big Foot !
Gary

[dakotashooter2]

What happened? The 6.5 and long range shooting fads. Happens every time some new gun fad comes out. Certain powders have increased demand till it burns out. Happened during the short fat magnum craze too.

[dverna]

I only have 24 lbs. Not enough, but I have other powders for plinking with. I do not use it in the AR’s but it is my go to powder for 5.56 and .308 bolt guns.

4064 is good alternative. But CFE 223 seems more available so that will be my AR powder.

BTW, things will likely get worse. Give serious consideration to putting up a good supply if you find something that works for you.

[oldsalt444]

In high power competition circles, BLC2 runs a close second to Varget as powders of choice. I heard a rumor about a plant burning down in Australia during their recent massive fires.

[RU shooter]

Reloader 15 for me has equaled or gave better accuracy than varget in the 223 and 308 especially in the 223 with heavier than 60 gr bullets

[44Blam]

It's been gone for a long time.
I'm hoarding the rest that I have for my .308.
I've given up on the short term and started loading H335 in my 45-70 with very good results.

[Reverend Recoil]

There are other good powders besides Varget. I prefer Reloader 15. I know of server other HPR shooters that get good accuracy with IMR 8208 XBR and H-4895.

[Budzilla 19]

Found 8-1 pound cans Saturday!! Didn't buy any, as I was after IMR 4895. Maybe I should have bought it! Did get 4 pounds of IMR 4895, though. It's out there as I was informed in a post I put up.

[Hanzy4200]

Like others said previously, Varget seems to be shopped hard at all times, regardless of crisis. Add that, and it's a ghost. I shop Powder Valley almost exclusively, and they are cleaned out of everything. I've still got a 4 pounder. I don't shoot it much.

[jonp]

I was just in an LGS and they had a couple of kegs of Varget. They were will in excess of $200 so that is probably why they are still on the shelf

[trapper9260]

I use IMR 4064 some times in place of Varget . You start with the Min load and work up on it to see what works, When the last thing that happened on powder , there was alot that is hard to find around here that IMR 4064 was always around here. That is why I stick with it easy to find it and see that I works with the data of Varget. I done it for a friend and there was only Varget data for what he want to load and he was worry I told him not to .We got the load up to where it need to with IMR and he was happy .Also you will see at times that for the data they will have both powders of Varget and IMR 4064 on the same bullet.

[Randy Bohannon]

I have been using Varget since it came around has been my preferred powder for .308 and .338-06 AI.I would buy 8 pounders every time I would see it subsequently I have a lifetime supply(30#’s). Like others I have discovered IMR 4064 has been a good replacement in the .308 and the best powder for my 30-06 and 168 gr bullets.

[vtech26]

Check out Shooters World Precision powder. Almost a duplicate of Varget.

https://thereloadersnetwork.com/2019/11/13/hodgdon-varget-vs-shooters-world-precision/

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[crackers]

Hazmat fees cause people to add in stuff they might not need right away. Common powder disappeared with the primers - again.

[LenH]

I was told by a bench rest guy that Varget was the bees knees of powder. I tried a pound of it and really didn't see what all the fuss was about.
A friend told me to try RL-15 it was easier to find and it shot just as good in a .308.

[Burnt Fingers]

The law changed on how much smokeless powder could be carried on one ship. That caused a problem as it severely cut how much could be shipped at one time.

It's also extremely popular. I was told by the reloading guy at the new Scheel's that he sold over 150 lbs of Varget in two days.

[Texas by God]

I have several lbs. of Varget that I will begin using when I run out of some other powders that I probably wont replace. It is a stellar powder IME.

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[David2011]

Just a guess. Are lots of reloaders staying at home and loading more than usual? Friends have also had problems finding primers and other powders.

[dverna]

Hazmat fees cause people to add in stuff they might not need right away.

That is almost impossible...LOL.

[Swamp Fox]

The bad part is I just got my 45/70 load where I want it with varget. I was going to try and use the same powder for a 300 savage I’m about to work up a load for. I like to share powders so I don’t have so many different ones to keep up with. Guess I’ll hold the varget for the 45/70 and see what else I can find for the savage.

[djryan13]

https://www.powdervalleyinc.com/product/hodgdon-varget/

8lb’s in stock at PV right now... likely gone by the time some of you read this.

[megasupermagnum]

I was told by a bench rest guy that Varget was the bees knees of powder. I tried a pound of it and really didn't see what all the fuss was about.
A friend told me to try RL-15 it was easier to find and it shot just as good in a .308.

I never found it to be magic either. Varget is smack dab in the middle one of the most saturated types of smokeless powder there is. If you can't find Varget, there are 20 others that can work just as well. I believe it was IMR 4064 that Varget is based off of.

By the way, Varget is in stock at powder valley.

[Texas by God]

I’ve shot a lot of 4064 and RL15 but Varget has given me better accuracy in several cartridges.
Wasn’t it simple when we only had about 20 rifle powders across all makers????

[dragon813gt]

Wasn’t it simple when we only had about 20 rifle powders across all makers????
You can still make it simple. I regret stepping away from buying W231, W296 and W748 exclusively. Was always able to find an accurate load for any of the cartridges I loaded for. And it made stocking powder a lot easier. Anyone can choose to pick a powder and make it work. It’s just a matter of time and how much effort you want to put into it.

[Hickory]

A lot of reloaders across America got a $1200 check from the government, a prudent man would use some of that windfall to buy powder & primers.
This would cause a shortage.

[44Blam]

The bad part is I just got my 45/70 load where I want it with varget. I was going to try and use the same powder for a 300 savage I’m about to work up a load for. I like to share powders so I don’t have so many different ones to keep up with. Guess I’ll hold the varget for the 45/70 and see what else I can find for the savage.

I recently had some good sucess with H335 in the 45-70.

[Burnt Fingers]

A lot of reloaders across America got a $1200 check from the government, a prudent man would use some of that windfall to buy powder & primers.
This would cause a shortage.

The shortages happened before the checks.

[dragon813gt]

The shortages happened before the checks.

I received an email from Powder Valley about long shipping delays maybe a week after the lockdown began. I’m sure Varget was one of the first to disappear.

[sigep1764]

W748 has been available at the usual places and is my rifle powder for 223 and 270 cast loads. Give a pound a try.

[greenjoytj]

Pre election jitters worrying about the the commies winning in November causing another round of hoarding. Couple that to to the Covid19 isolation boredom reloaders are using up the their two life times supply of powder & primers they hoarded in stock 12 years ago to make room for more.
And now there’s a run on 50 cal ammo cans they need for storing their reloaded cartridges.

[blue32]

I dont know about other cartridges but IMR-4166 could easily replace Varget in 223. It's even cut shorter so meters slightly better. There are a lot of new powders out now that are slowly but surely replacing my old standbys because they are better, have a wider application, and are usually not sold out.

[lotech]

This is more from a jacketed bullet perspective, but some of it may apply to cast loads as well. Varget is a good choice at times and is certainly worth trying, but I think some (maybe many) use Varget based solely upon recommendation from others. They likely have not tried and experimented with other powders of similar burn rates. I've found H4895 more versatile and it almost always provides at least slightly better accuracy than Varget. One exception has been with a favorite .220 Swift load using a 50 grain Sierra jacketed bullet; accuracy with Varget has been slightly better than with H4895. There is often a bit of a velocity advantage with Varget in comparison with H4895, but seldom is it of any real significance.