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Posted: 11/23/2011 7:50:01 PM EDT
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hi all
was loading some 150gr 308 tonight. been waiting months to use varget powder. not sure that it is what i expected. has anyone noticed the following: 1. this powder stinks as in smells bad reminds me of phemalgahide (sp) 2. doesnt like to meter well in an rcbs uniflow powder measure just wondering if i was off base or not. thanks lojack |
| Varget is by far my favorite powder, it seems anything that I put on top of Varget is accurate. But Varget is know for its poor meterability. I solved this issue by getting a RCBS Chargemaster and now its not an issue. Good luck, it is worth the extra time it takes when loading Varget if you want rounds just as accurate in the dead of winter or middle of summer. As far as the smell goes it wasn't designed to be an air freshener. |
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Varget is known as a poor measuring powder.
You can buy a $250-300 powered trickler to throw charges if you want. Or use a powder that measures like ball powder and has the same accuracy and lack of temp sensitivity, like IMR-8208 XBR. The smell is what it is. Your choice. |
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I found a baffle helps with weight consistency in my uniflow with varget. And a firm stroke will chop any grains that get stuck. I run my pointer finger up the arm of the uniflow. It helps me to control how uniform each up/ down motion when throwing.
Varget is a great powder. I'm usin it with 55 and 62 grain bullet with good success. |
| I had great results with BLC-2. It meters well and works great. I switched to IMR 4064, which was a better powder for me, but, I always threw a light charge by a half grain, and weighed it, and trickled up anyway. When I started loading for the .223, I went with Varget, so I would have a common powder with the .308 and could stock up easier. It's been about perfect in the .223. I sold the .308 and went to 6.8, and the best powders were mostly extruded, so I decided to just by a Chargemaster to make everything easier. You can get really good results and a pretty good speed going if you do it right. Dispense the powder, fill the case, set the pan back down and mash the dispense button, and while it's dispensing, which takes about 10-15 seconds, load the bullet into the case. Repeat. I use a single stage for rifle anyway, and for the extra couple of seconds it takes to weigh every charge, it seems worth it to me since I'm assured it's the exact same every time, for accuracy and for safety. |
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Quoted:
get one of those $23 Lee perfect powder measures. They work well with varget. I bought one of these and use it exclusively with extruded powders. Spend the 20 bucks and you won't have any problems with throwing extruded powder. I also have a RCBS powder measure and when it cuts extruded powder, the charge weight veries. The lee works so well, I just throw extruded powder charges and don't need to weigh every charge or trickle like I used to. Makes fast work of loading 308 or garand loads. I even throw IMR 4064 in my garand loads. |
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Quoted:
hi all was loading some 150gr 308 tonight. been waiting months to use varget powder. not sure that it is what i expected. has anyone noticed the following: 1. this powder stinks as in smells bad reminds me of phemalgahide (sp) 2. doesnt like to meter well in an rcbs uniflow powder measure just wondering if i was off base or not. thanks lojack You're smelling the ammonia in the powder, which is typically attached as an oxidizer (ammonium perchlorate for example). Varget is renowned for its poor meterability. That's why I bought the chargemaster. I hand weigh every charge with Varget. I love the powder. It's very good stuff. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
get one of those $23 Lee perfect powder measures. They work well with varget. I bought one of these and use it exclusively with extruded powders. Spend the 20 bucks and you won't have any problems with throwing extruded powder. I also have a RCBS powder measure and when it cuts extruded powder, the charge weight veries. The lee works so well, I just throw extruded powder charges and don't need to weigh every charge or trickle like I used to. Makes fast work of loading 308 or garand loads. I even throw IMR 4064 in my garand loads. Another fan of the Lee PPM. I use IMR 3031 and Varget in it. |
| I'm sure the Harell will work. I've never heard anything bad about it. The Lee was what I used and it threw 4064 pretty good and varget as well. It wasn't perfect though, and would bind occasionally, and if I didn't tap it each throw it would start getting erratic. that's why I just started throwing low and trickled up. I figured if it wasn't automated I may as well get it right. |
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