H-Varget vs H4895

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majormarine

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Hi guys, can someone tell me what is the difference between H-Varget vs H4895? which one is better than the other?

i have the intention to reload 8mm mauser, 303 brit, 7.62x54r and 308 win, and i did a bit of research on them. all the information i gather so far points to H4895.

until recently, i heard of this H-Varget that my friends recommended and they told me it is more stable.

any comment will be grealty appreciated!

thx!
 
I just bought some H4895 to test in .308 and .223 since Varget is always sold out and this powder has good write-ups and is somewhat similar to Varget in some ways.

I thought they shot great, although I have to play with my load in .308 a bit to get the spent cases to eject properly. I was using a light load anyways, so can go up quite a bit more.

They both got good groups in both calibers and measured easy since it's similar to Varget in shape, too.

Not supposed to be affected by temperature as much as IMR4895 so that's why I chose it for a trial.

Since my 1lb test packet was a success, it's time to pick up an 8lb package or two. I also plan to use this in 7.62x39 and 8mm Mauser since there is load info available for it, too. Maybe even 30-30.

I just hope others don't use this as a substitute for Varget and then supplies will get short of this powder, too.
 
H4895 & Varget are both great powders. Like someone else already said, buy a pound of both and see what works best for you. I also have trouble getting Varget.

George
 
Just got my hands on some Varget and shot it yesterday out of my Tikka .223 to compare with my handloads using H335 which have been working really well for me. I usually shoot Sierra 60 gr HP bullets and Varget is listed as the best hunting powder for that bullet in my loading book (26.7 grains of Varget)
I measured out the 26.7 and poured it in a case, but didn't press in the bullet because the powder was so high in the case I didn't see how the bullet would be able to go in and not compact the powder (compacted loads scare me). Instead I backed it off to 25.9 grains and pressed in the bullet.
I also loaded up 25.3 grains of H335 behind the same bullet and went off to the range to compare.
I started with the H335 load and put the first two shots in the same hole! First time ever I've done that. I flinched on the third shot (was still beaming about the first two shots I guess) and it hit about 1" high of the single first hole.
The Varget was a let down! All three shots were tightly grouped at about 1/4", but no oblong hole like the H335 produced sadly.
Next up, I'll be trying the Varget in my M1 Garand as I read an article that said it's good for that too.
I have loaded H4895 in my .223 as well, and it shoots very well, slightly less accurate than the Varget did this time around.
 
glang1 said:
H4895 & Varget are both great powders. Like someone else already said, buy a pound of both and see what works best for you. I also have trouble getting Varget.

George
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Buy your Varget 7 lbs at a time form Higginson Powders. He usually has it in stock and it is loads cheaper than by the can.
 
proonur said:
Just got my hands on some Varget and shot it yesterday out of my Tikka .223 to compare with my handloads using H335 which have been working really well for me. I usually shoot Sierra 60 gr HP bullets and Varget is listed as the best hunting powder for that bullet in my loading book (26.7 grains of Varget)
I measured out the 26.7 and poured it in a case, but didn't press in the bullet because the powder was so high in the case I didn't see how the bullet would be able to go in and not compact the powder (compacted loads scare me). Instead I backed it off to 25.9 grains and pressed in the bullet.
I also loaded up 25.3 grains of H335 behind the same bullet and went off to the range to compare.
I started with the H335 load and put the first two shots in the same hole! First time ever I've done that. I flinched on the third shot (was still beaming about the first two shots I guess) and it hit about 1" high of the single first hole.
The Varget was a let down! All three shots were tightly grouped at about 1/4", but no oblong hole like the H335 produced sadly.
Next up, I'll be trying the Varget in my M1 Garand as I read an article that said it's good for that too.
I have loaded H4895 in my .223 as well, and it shoots very well, slightly less accurate than the Varget did this time around.
Click to expand...

Your not judging the Varget fairly if you compare it to a one time, two shot touching "group". Your 335 group was 1", your Varget group was 1/4", so what? You need a few more groups, preferably 5 shot groups, before you can draw any meaningful conclusions.
 
Oh maybe I didn't mention that 1/4" group would normally please me very much and that I'm very much NOT finished tinkering with the Varget in my .223 reloads. There will be several other comparison shootings between the two powders, because I do believe Varget will give me the better groupings in the end. I was just surprised with the first trial results that's all. You have to admit, shooting two bullets in the same hole is really impressive with an untested load! That's the only reason I felt let down by the Varget load.

Your not judging the Varget fairly if you compare it to a one time, two shot touching "group". Your 335 group was 1", your Varget group was 1/4", so what? You need a few more groups, preferably 5 shot groups, before you can draw any meaningful conclusions.
Click to expand...
 
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