Varget Lot Inconsistency

Buckmastr

Buckmastr

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
BANNED
Rating - 100%
378   0   4
Location
Alberta
Just turned over into a new lot of Varget powder. Noticed it wasn't even the same color anymore. Loaded 8 rounds with the new lot as the old lot ended. Shot it through a consistent Model 70 Police rifle, 22" barrel.
Im going to repeat with a few other 308's. Looks a bit slower so maybe add a half grain going forward.
Otherwise im starting over which will be painful.
Any others notice this severe change in lot to lot accuracy?

dJwAZbIl.jpg
 
Actually, I have had to make adjustments several times with my Varget loads.
Small lot-to-lot variances are common with this powder, for some reason. Dave.
 
That’s quite the change. I only have 1 pound cans purchased over the last few years. I will keep this in mind when I switch cans. So far I haven’t noticed a drastic change but this will be where I start my troubleshooting
 
Lot to lot variances will show up as velocity differences.

So if you have a good load then change lots of powders (new jug) run 5 shots across chronograph to see if the velocity differs from a known good load.

If it does, adjust powder charge accordingly.

A LabRadar and Quickload makes short work of this, gets you back in tune quickly.

Or you can guess. If so a grain one way or the other usually does it , mostly less though.
 
There are 3 Aussie powders that end up being Varget in NA....

So yes, it can vary from lot to lot and look different.

The Aussie National Team sure had fun when they got here for the worlds in 2013, bought Varget and had to retune ALL their rifles... cause it was completely different to what they had in Aus...

As with any NEW component or lot, start low and work up.... assume it is changed.

And you will likely be correct.

Jerry
 
Thanks for the replies
You get sold on the temp stable part of Hodgdon powder even though the lot to lot is no where near consistent.
What powders in this burn rate are more lot to lot consistent?
 
Buckmastr said:
Thanks for the replies
You get sold on the temp stable part of Hodgdon powder even though the lot to lot is no where near consistent.
What powders in this burn rate are more lot to lot consistent?
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter the make. Any time you change lot numbers you should expect some slight changes. It is nice when there isn't any change but in no way should you expect this to occur on a regular basis. Buy it in bulk quantities so you don't have to chase around reworking the load every time you open a new jug with different lot numbers. Buying bulk is generally a lot cheaper per pound as well.
 
It's only 30 fps slower, I'm surprised it's puking up the rounds like it is. Groups look like the scope is broken!
 
Buckmastr said:
Thanks for the replies
You get sold on the temp stable part of Hodgdon powder even though the lot to lot is no where near consistent.
What powders in this burn rate are more lot to lot consistent?
Click to expand...

This really depends on how often you buy powder and from whom. The last year, there must have been a great big block of bulk powder get into Canada. I have purchase and gone almost through 4kegs and the burn rates were very similar (within 0.2gr) but differing lot numbers.

BUT I always assume the powder, any powder or component for that matter, is different when I change lots and adjust accordingly.

Jerry
 
BCBRAD said:
I'm finding that the better the loads, the better the bedding, the better the barrels the worse the scopes seem to be and price doesn't seem to matter too much.
Click to expand...

What brands of scopes are you using? For my accurate long range rifles I try to stick to scopes that cost $1000+, I've never had any problems from Sightron, Nightforce, Trijicon, and kinda surprisingly Burris has impressed me lately with their Veracity series.
There are plenty of other good brands out there but I stay away from Bushnell and Vortex for my long range rifles. They are nice and have lots of features for the money but the best thing about them is the warranty. The warranty is also the worst thing about them as well because you'll probably end up using it. The Razor series from Vortex seem to be very good but for the price I'd take a Nightforce over a Vortex every day of the week.

YMMV
 
Lot - to - lot inconsistency is the reason why I buy a favored powder in larger quantities, or, if I can
only get 1 lb containers, I buy 8 or more and mix them all together thoroughly. Then I have enough of
it with a common burn rate to keep me shooting for a while without adjusting my load data. Dave.
 
Ganderite said:
If you are a competitor, an easy solution is to buy several jugs at once, all the same lot #. It come 4 jugs to the case.
Click to expand...

That works well but for some people its to cost prohibitive.

I purchase powder in the same manner you do. However, I also blend all of my powders from all of the cans/jugs, even if they're from the same lot.

NO I DON'T BLEND different manufacturers or different powder NUMBERS/Name. Not as a common practice anyway.

Blending the same lots and different lots of the same manufacturer's powder will ensure extremely consistent loading/velocities etc. I have an 8 pound jug of IMR 7828SC that has 5 different lots blended. It's about half full right now and I will add the other four cans I picked up at the Lumby Gun Show last weekend. That jug has been replenished for close to 6 years now, on several occasions and the loads haven't needed any tweaking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom