Varget vs Reloader 15 in 308 ??

M

miele

Guest
Following the advice from a later post I decided to give RL 15 a try
with the 175 MK :D
At 41 grs -not too bad at 100
42 grs - Excellent at 100 and around 1/2 inch at 200 yards
43 grs- Excellent at 100 and a little bit less than (.473) at 200 yards:eek:
Even at 43 grs the recoil was not bad at all.Since I was just getting
a pressure test for future loads I shot only 3 shot groups,no signs of
pressure at all.
Varget has been my go to powder for the 308 but now I may have to
rethink my loads with RL15:confused:with Varget I load 43 grs over
the 175 MK which seems to have greater recoil with same accuracy
as RL 15 . No chronograph yet (too lazy to buy one) !
Thanks
John
 
What recoil???

Recoil tells me nothing. With full loads I rate .308W and 30-06 as "no recoil", the 300WM as a little recoil, the 375HH about the same, the.450AI a recoil and the .460WM a fair bit of recoil.
How one can tell a recoil difference between one or two grains of powder is beyond me. Only Good on you if you can do so. Buy yourself a chrono. and you'll never regret it.

Shoot better
Peter
 
RL15 is a great powder, however it is affected by temp. more than varget :confused:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I prefer to shoot Varget when I can, but my .308 LOVES 43gr. of RL-15 and a 175 SMK lit by a 210-M. Velocity is around 2630fps out of my 700P. Pretty much a duplicate of the M-118LR round.
 
If you are concerned about recoil with the 308, go to the 155s. You should find accuracy somewhere between 45gr and 47gr of Varget. 155 SMKs shoot fantastic from my 308.:D
 
I worked up a load of 43.3 grains of RL15 and the 175 SMKs' with good accuracy, it was a little temp sensitive though. I eventually switched back to 42.5 H4895 and the CCIBR2's, great load in multiple temps.
 
Varget and RL-15 in the 308

In my Barnard 308 Palma prone gun, I get 63 fps more out of exactly the same load of RL-15 than I do Varget. In the prone, Varget has a "sharper" recoil than RL-15 -- not that it matters to me, but I can tell the difference.
In testing from the bench, both loads shoot little knots with Berger BTs.

H-4895 is not as fast as the RL-15 but this is a great powder. VV550 is also very good with the heavier bullets between 185 and 210.

FWIW,
Jim
 
Yep you are correct sir-
Varget seems to fire like a jolt,while RL15 feels more like a push:confused:
I have seen this before in my Garand using 4895 (jolt) and 4064 (push)
Not being recoil shy,I did notice this again during testing yesterday.
Accuracy with both powders is very good to excellent.
My range is only 200 yards for now and both powders are capable of
1/2 inch groups(3 shot) at 200 . I did notice that varget seems to be a little
cleaner than RL15 but not so that it is a problem.
Thanks
John
 
My .308 Win Ruger with factory barrel loves the RL15, so does my Shilen in 6mm.

By dose is 44.5 gr RL 15 with a 165 gr Accubond, Win brass, Fed primer.
 
Well it seems like RL15 get the most votes :confused:
Just thought Varget was the most popular for long range
in the 308:eek:
 
By and large, I think Varget still is the most popular (I use both, depending on the bullet and/or gun). A lot of people gripe about it, one thing or another, but probably 90% of the LR .308 shooters I know use Varget. They just don't post here on a Benchrest forum ;)
 
wnroscoe said:
I worked up a load of 43.3 grains of RL15 and the 175 SMKs' with good accuracy, it was a little temp sensitive though. I eventually switched back to 42.5 H4895 and the CCIBR2's, great load in multiple temps.
Click to expand...

"42.5 H4895 and the CCIBR2's" I'm gonna give this load a try and see how see does. I'm using 29.0grs of H4895 in my 6BR, would be nice to have one powder for both calibers.
Any advantages/disadvantages to using H4895 over the popular Varget powder?

Robert:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RL 15 is a double base powder, which usually makes it more sensitive to temperature, I found that RL 22 in 6.5 certainly was. Varget is one of the Extreme series of powders from Hodgdon, which are designed to be temp insensitive. In my limited experience, Varget is more consistent, although those occasional screamer groups from RL powders are hard to ignore.
 
Hmmmmm

rmorr01 said:
"42.5 H4895 and the CCIBR2's" I'm gonna give this load a try and see how see does. I'm using 29.0grs of H4895 in my 6BR, would be nice to have one powder for both calibers.
Any advantages/disadvantages to using H4895 over the popular Varget powder?

Robert:)
Click to expand...

Robert:

It is interesting that you wish to use the same powder in the .308 as you do in your 6BR. I have always been able to do exactly that. I get great results with Varget, RL15, H4895, N140, N150, 540 and 560 in both the 6BR and the .308.

Jim
 
Newbie Temp Question

Pardon my ignorance here but what exactly to y'all mean by temp sensitive? I am thinking room/storage temp. Then I thought about ambient temp outside at the range where it can get to be 95-100 degrees down here in Houston. Thanks in advance and don't laugh too hard.:confused:
 
They are talking about the burn rate of the powder at say 90 degrees vs. 35 degrees. Work up a load at 90 degrees and how does it shoot come hunting season at 35 degrees. Some powders there is a huge difference.:D
 
Temperature changes

Picture an all day long range match stating out at 0800 in the am with overcast sky and some what cool temps.4 to 6 hours later with the the Sun at full bore in a cloudless sky and an overall temerature increase of over 20 degrees Your vertical will be affected.Not a seasonall thing but a n hourly thing.Will:)
 
Will Durant said:
Picture an all day long range match stating out at 0800 in the am with overcast sky and some what cool temps.4 to 6 hours later with the the Sun at full bore in a cloudless sky and an overall temerature increase of over 20 degrees Your vertical will be affected.Not a seasonall thing but a n hourly thing.Will:)
Click to expand...
This is especially true at Rattlesnake range near the Tri-Cities in southcentral Washington.
Will, haven't seen you for a while. Are you still shooting prone matches?
 
To all that talk about temperature sensitivity. ALL POWDER is temperature sensitive. ALL POWDER!!!! Temperature is part of the function of burning. The hotter original temperature of anything that will burn will make it burn faster. That even goes for so called EXTREME POWDERS!!!! If you shoot H4831sc and re22 which are similar speed powders from their respective makers at 40 degrees and then shoot the same exact load of each at 95 degrees you will find that they both have a difference of 100fps between the two temperatures. There is NO powder that is NOT temperature sensitive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top