M14 Loads????

Varget will not hurt the brass but it sure will play havoc on the op-rod. It puts a little too much preasure at the port and drives the op-rod back faster than it should. If you have one of those little plastic recoil thingys for the op rod that combined with the faster more violent movement of the op-rod will cause it to fracture at the point where the roller bearing and the op-rod work together!

Scott

Well it shoots so good im going to keep shooting it like many other people do down south , i cannot find one report of someone damaging parts with Varget , I shot 200 rounds so far and i have no bad wear marks or any bent parts .. I have a spare op rod if i bend mine no worries .. its only a Norinco lol
 
Well good luck in your search, I e-mailed hodgdon myself a while back after reading some posts on CGN and they told me the 168g max bullet rule and medium-fast burning rates that saved your op rod from damage was a myth. I didn't know if I should trust a powder company with M1A advice so I spoke to a couple gunsmiths and they told me that the 180g bullet information is true and that you can do damage to the arm on the op-rod but you will probably be on your 3rd or 4th barrel by then, and it still wouldn't affect accuracy.

Take that for what it's worth, I stick with 150g because I bought a case of 1000 bullets when I believed the 180g bullet rule. By the time I shoot through them I won't want to start over with 180g bullets to check for accuracy, and there's no a huge difference between 150g and 180g vs deer.
 
I think that he is more a specialist than myself... From a Glen Zediker article :

"The M14 has issues with port pressure, and the only issue of influence is knowing the upper limit on burning rate, which is a 4064. I think 4064 is borderline but don’t think it will ever harm a rifle. Others purport to be right in the range but, VARGET®, for instance, is too slow despite what Hodgdon® says. Shoot some and it’s plain. It hurts
the rifle. IMR® 4895, Hodgdon® 4895, Accurate Arms® 2495 are, I think, the very best choices. These three are close to the same in burning rates, but I listed them from slowest to fastest. I like Hodgdon® the best and mostly because it meters very well. It also has the more temperature resistant coating akin to VARGET ™."

h ttp://www.zediker.com/articles/articles.html
 
There seems to be a split in M1/M14 loaders. Those who use Varget and those who will not. Whether it is suitable or not, there are people who get good results in these rifles. Then again in the US there are more spare parts too.

It is generally recommended to load between 147-173gr bullets for the M1/M14 using standard jacketed bullet loads.

A powder in the suitable burn rate range for the action of this type of semi auto gas rifle such as IMR 4895, H4895, AA 2495, BL C2, H335, Win 748, IMR 4064 (and there are others).
 
What would be a good combo to use in both the M14 and Garand. I just started reloading and have both rifles eating the same pills(308) if anyone could help? Thanks guys
 
If you are on a budget like moi, and you use only ONE powder for .223, .22-250, .243, .260, and .308 loads, then I will point you to Higginson Powders' WC735. No kidding... that's the only powder I use for all these calibers. Oh yah, I should also mention .30-30 loads! :D

You just gotta buy your powder in 7 lb bags to benefit from the 'economies of scale' deals! :)

:cheers:

Barney
 
You just gotta buy your powder in 7 lb bags to benefit from the 'economies of scale' deals! :)

hyuk

IMR® 4895, Hodgdon® 4895, Accurate Arms® 2495 are, I think, the very best choices. These three are close to the same in burning rates, but I listed them from slowest to fastest. I like Hodgdon® the best and mostly because it meters very well. It also has the more temperature resistant coating akin to VARGET ™."

H4895 is more temperature resistant than Varget? I thought they were about the same. The only gripe I have with h4895 is the price, it always seems to cost more than other extreme powders (at least where I shop).

One thing I'd like to add, if you're looking to make NATO spec replicas you will need IMR4064. This powder replicates the 147g FMJ 2750fps very well, you can see for yourself in the Cartridges of the World book.
 
I am using 48.6 gr varget with 130 gr Speer hollow point. Awesome results! And I have fired over 500 rounds without a glitch. If I could upload some
pics from my I phone i would show you my targets .
 
What favorite load do you have using WC735 in the 308?

I think the powder is similar to 355 and 322, I was going to pick some up. I believe it to be a milsurp ball. If it burns and scales like ballc2 or 4064 it would be a good alternative, because that stuff is like $30+ / lb
 
41gr wc735 150gr SMK 2650fps

41gr wc735 147gr surplus trace 2850

Winchester Large Rifle primer

Seated to just feed from mag

The tracer is longer then the 150smk

No loads were crimped

The tracer showed first stage of primer cratering very mild raised halo and extractor wipe on case head...

Back these loads off 1 full grain and work them up from there but 40gr with a 150gr bullet should be a good starting point.

Loads were tested for velocity and pressure only because nobody wants to post wc735 info here it seems.
 
If you are on a budget like moi, and you use only ONE powder for .223, .22-250, .243, .260, and .308 loads, then I will point you to Higginson Powders' WC735. No kidding... that's the only powder I use for all these calibers. Oh yah, I should also mention .30-30 loads! :D

You just gotta buy your powder in 7 lb bags to benefit from the 'economies of scale' deals! :)

:cheers:

Barney


I use this stuff (yeah I still got some from our last buying spree LOL) for the M14 and it's real good. Running 150gr FMJ's over top of 44.0 - 44.2 gr WC735. Was out at a buddy's farm shooting clays we had on the side of a hill from 100-150 yards with a scout scope. First round hits every time. So that's a 4 inch target from over 100 yards using a 3X scope. And it was freezing and windy too... LOL

Personally, I don't like WC735 in my AR.. never seems to work right for me, but, I do think that's more than likely because I haven't messed with it enough for my uppers.
 
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