Hodgdon Varget

[JoeJames]

My cousin gave me a 1 pound canister of Hodgdon Varget powder yesterday. He had done some trading and came up with it. Gave it to me since he doesn't reload. In the Hornaday manual it appears to be comparable to IMR 4895 as far as grain weight - velocity goes, and claims to be easier in a powder measure. I have never tried it before. Just wondering what y'all's take on it is? In rifle cartridges I am mostly reloading 223 and 308.

[Ozark mike]

Works in 45-70 rifles cant help with those rnds

[EMC45]

Works great in 223 and 308. Varget is what Hornady uses for their TAP ammo. (Talked to Hornady direct and they told me that, only difference is a flash supressant in their powder)

[dverna]

Ideal for .223 and .308. It is my "go to" powder.

[Hutch556]

Varget is a fantastic powder for both .223 and .308. It’s one of my go to powders whenever looking for accuracy.

[ryanmattes]

I use it almost exclusively for .223 and .308.

For .308 I like a Hndy 168g AMAX with 41 grains of Varget.

The .223 load below was for a bolt gun, for my AR I usually do a Hndy 55g VMAX with 26 grains of Varget.

Depending on your twist rate, you may want to vary weight and charge a bit.

Sorry about my handwriting, at least I can read it. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200914/6cf5d11c80ebb6cc4ce192e2ad58476b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200914/b27d235abc85ce69c16361e4b83e1ed0.jpg

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[JoeJames]

I use it almost exclusively for .223 and .308.

For .308 I like a Hndy 168g AMAX with 41 grains of Varget.

The .223 load below was for a bolt gun, for my AR I usually do a Hndy 55g VMAX with 26 grains of Varget.

Depending on your twist rate, you may want to vary weight and charge a bit.

Sorry about my handwriting, at least I can read it. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200914/6cf5d11c80ebb6cc4ce192e2ad58476b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200914/b27d235abc85ce69c16361e4b83e1ed0.jpg

Sent from my Pixel 3a using TapatalkThanks, I will try those loads. I have been loading the Spitzer 55 grain in my 223, and a 165 grain Sierra BTHP in my 308.

[tomme boy]

Varget was first marketed as a temp stabil substitute for imr4064. It works in 223 loads and works very well for heavy bullets in the 223

[ryanmattes]

Thanks, I will try those loads. I have been loading the Spitzer 55 grain in my 223, and a 165 grain Sierra BTHP in my 308.I don't have any 165g loads recorded, but I do have the 168g Sie BTHP with 42 grains Varget with pretty good results (~0.5 moa).

My lyman book says you can load Varget from 41 up to 46 safely at 165g, but 46 would be compressed, so I've never tried anything that hot. Recoil doesn't bother me, but I'm not a power junkie, I prefer to find the velocity my rifle likes the best, and that's usually not the hottest load possible.

The .223 55g spitzers should be the same as the vmax, somewhere around 26 grains ought to do the trick. Ladder up and down a half a grain and you'll find the sweet spot.


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[LinotypeIngot]

A 75 or 77gr bullet on top of 24.0-24.5gr of Varget works great for .223.

[bpatterson84]

I've had good results with it in 458WM as well.

[Texas by God]

Varget probably holds the record for becoming a “classic” powder in the shortest amount of time. I keep several pounds of it because it has worked splendidly in .223 on up to 30-06 with no problems.

[farmbif]

one of the most sought after and popular powders works well in an awful lot of rifle calibers. if there was just one powder you could get for widest range of calibers I think it is varget.

[Dukeconnor]

You'll love it.
Just don't love it too much.

It disappears once in awhile.

[mrbigsteel]

I like it for .223 Remington.

[303Guy]

From what I can gather, Varget has a fast ignition and medium burn rate. Hodgdon say it is easy igniting which supports that. I would imagine this translates into consistent ignition. Anyway, I've had good results with it.

[Chad5005]

i load it in 308 with great results 45.8gr under 165gr hornady interloc

[Kosh75287]

I think the Aussies made this powder for their military demands with .223 & .308. While I have no trouble believing that the powder is OPTIMIZED for these two rounds, it's hardly out of place in a great many others. It seems to work well for launching lighter projectiles in the various "overbore" rounds, while still exhibiting burning behaviour suitable to the venerable M1 rifles still in use. If I was constrained to one rifle powder and one pistol powder for the rest of my life, Varget would be in the top 3 choices. Unique would be my pistol powder choice.

My Mini-14, AR-15, CVech 8x57mm Mauser, L1-A1 and National Match M1A ALL run well on it.

[uscra112]

Even works for cast-bullet load pressures in a lot of cartridges. Your problem will be that you fall in love with it just as the supply dries up.

[303Guy]

Would you believe it even worked in my hornet? Admittedly, I did cheat a little. I duplexed it with H4227. Zero neck tension and 50gr bullet. It was accurate and pretty fast. How fast I don't know but it was flat shooting and worked well on small game. I've lost the data so I don't know the ratio but I'm not recommending it anyway.

I have used it in the Brit with cast and it seemed to work well, delivering sub-MOA. I didn't pursue that but I might do so now.

[jakharath]

Hodgdon loading data: http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

[1hole]

Varget is the best powder for both accuracy and velocity I've found for light bullets in my .22-250 and .243. I'm not even telling how fast Varget makes 36 gr. Barnes go in my old Browning .22-250 and it's sub MOA.

[Idaho Mule]

Would you believe it even worked in my hornet? Admittedly, I did cheat a little. I duplexed it with H4227. Zero neck tension and 50gr bullet. It was accurate and pretty fast. How fast I don't know but it was flat shooting and worked well on small game. I've lost the data so I don't know the ratio but I'm not recommending it anyway.

I have used it in the Brit with cast and it seemed to work well, delivering sub-MOA. I didn't pursue that but I might do so now.

My son and I like Varget in the 303 British as well. A proven load is 43 gr. with Speer 150 gr. HCSP and CCI200 primer. Not super fast at 2600 fps but we have killed several elk and a lot of white tail deer with that load. I also use Varget with cast at lower charge rates but have no kills to report, although accuracy is acceptable for hunting out to 150 yards or so.

[303Guy]

I must confess that I stopped using Varget simply because it is visually indistinguishable from H4350 which I use for my hunting load in my No4 two-groove. Very accurate 180gr load. I'm going back to using Varget because I know it works so well with both the 150gr 303 bullet and in my 25-303 and it showed good results with cast.

[kokomokid]

I have been using Precision by Shooters Choice as of late due to no one having Varget. Seems Varget is the go to powder in 6Dasher and simular.

[popper]

It's very crunchy in uniflo. Not much worse then 4895. best performance, trickle your loads.

[Rick R]

It's very crunchy in uniflo. Not much worse then 4895. best performance, trickle your loads.

I’ve had good luck with it in my Uniflo. But, I weigh each charge and dump any that don’t meet Rick-spec back in the hopper. For me it’s faster than trickling.

In my humble opinion, Varget is the Unique of rifle powders. I regularly use it in cartridges ranging from .223 to .458Lott. The only cartridge that I don’t get excellent results using Varget is my 7x57 Mauser which prefers H414/W760.

[Tripplebeards]

Works great for me in my 336...

https://i.imgur.com/uVbAZ73.jpg

It also shot a .4” group out of my AR10 243 the other day using varget and 55 grain Nosler ballistic tips with a MV a little over 4000 FPS. The AR10 243 shoots tighter groups with H4985 pushed a 100 FPS faster.

[rockrat]

I switched from Varget to Precision in my 22BR. Similar velocities and group size was actually a bit smaller

[pworley1]

You will like it in both of those.

[djohns28]

Varget is named so because it is a "Varmint/Target" powder. There are loads for nearly every rifle case using Varget and while it may not be the best at everything, it works well in most. Any of the BR cases, 6mm, 22 BR Remington, even the 6PPC use Varget. I heard that some of the bench rest cartridges were actually developed around Varget powder to maximize efficiency, minimize case size, and obviously, be accurate.

[303Guy]

I wondered where the name came from.

An interesting characteristic of Varget is that it apparently has a fast ignition rate, faster than any other powder in the same burn rate category.

[Tripplebeards]

I always say I learn new things every day. “Varget” varmint/target...I’m done now...my brain can take it easy for the rest of day...I doubt it.

[Jniedbalski]

I like and use varget in 223 and 308, works great. Only problem i am hording what little I have left. I can’t find any

[Tripplebeards]

I bought 3 pounds on the two months. I’m sure it will last me quite a while.

[uscra112]

Over ten years ago now I ran across an eight-pounder of Varget during one of the periodic Varget famines, and while I did still have 3 one-pounders in stock I thought: "Damn, I'd better buy this because maybe there isn't going to be any more."

As it has played out, I've never opened it, but knowing that it's there has improved my sleep immeasurably. And I can probably finance my final days in the rest home by selling it at the right moment.

[Texas by God]

If you pay the marked up price; it's pronounced "Varjay"....[emoji16]

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[jaysouth]

I have heard people in the Match target set, say the varget burns "hot". Barrel life is extended if they shift to 4064 or a ball powder. I can't say whether this is true or not. Varget gives me good results in .223 bolts and ARs. Shooters World precision rifle works just as well too.

[robg]

TAC is very close to varget and easier to find .meters very smoothly.