Varget ?

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Is Hodgdon Varget obsolete for rifle powder?
There is so many different podwers out now.
Your thoughts?

[baih777]

Varget is stlll available. Phillips had 8lbs this week.
Look at your reloading book. Plenty of other powders to use.

[shamrock12]

Varget actually has been getting more abundant at times … you just need to find them before they sell out. Two years ago they would be gone within minutes … now it’s usually gone within a day or two.

[Capybara]

IMHO Varget is still a great powder but massively overpriced when it is available. Brownells had 8lbers for $449 last week, that's just overinflated. I like it but there are plenty of other powders that can do what it does.

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

I have Varget. But is there others I should be using for rifle powder? Something better? I'm just getting back into reloading.

[baih777]

What calibers are you reloading ?

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Just .223/5.56

[therealnickb]

I’m just getting into this but… pretty sure my Lyman 50th manual listed varget as potentially the most accurate for 69gr .223.

Going from memory so I could be mistaken.

[G38xOC]

If loading for just plinking , i would save the varget and use somewhat cheaper and readily available powders like H335 , CFE223 .

[G-forceJunkie]

What caliber? What bullet weight? What is your inteded purpose, plinking ammo, sub moa precision rifle ammo, etc? Your question is a vague as "what shoes should I wear?" That said, Varget is still a fantastic powder for say .223 or .308 with heavy bullets.

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Plinking 62 to 77 grain bullets
Trying to get the best groups.

[Tommy Gun]

If anything, the pandemic forced diversity of powder selection.

Try: H335, W748, AA2230, AA2460, AA2520, Tac, BLC-2 to start.

[Mayor McRifle]

Originally Posted by rg_1111@yahoo.com

Is Hodgdon Varget obsolete for rifle powder?

Not at all. But people who didn’t stock up were forced to improvise with other powders, and many are sticking with alternatives to Varget because of cost and ready availability. We’ll see what happens when the shortage is over, but Varget is far from obsolete. Many reloaders still consider it to be the gold standard for rifle powders, and I’m one of them.

[therealnickb]

image.jpg
My memory was correct. Varget in bold and is as well for several other bullet weights.

[divingin]

Varget is a mid-range extruded rifle powder. Works very well in a lot of different cartridges. It won't be "obsolete" until it's either out of production or people stop loading it. It's a comparatively small kernel powder that meters pretty well, and is mid-range in temp sensitivity (from what I've seen anyway.) It was popular enough that it was unobtainium over the course of teh Covid shortages (partly due to not enough being imported from Australia, and partly due to people hoarding it.) It's getting back into the supply chain now.

That said, there are a ton of powders in the same burn rate range that work well in most, if not all, the cartridges Varget is popularly used for.

[baih777]

For 223. I use benchmark or h335.
Some people use BLC2.
Varget is nice.
But right now. H335 is easy to find and not marked up as high.

[kcstott]

Originally Posted by rg_1111@yahoo.com

Plinking 62 to 77 grain bullets
Trying to get the best groups.

Then you shouldn't be using varget.
H335, BLC2, Win 748, RL12, Power Pro2000 H380, Tac, 8208XBR

Varget. was designed for very precise metering. You're wasting good money on a highly desirable powder when a less popular powder would work just fine for plinking in a .223.

[shamrock12]

Originally Posted by kcstott

Then you shouldn't be using varget.
H335, BLC2, Win 748, RL12, Power Pro2000 H380, Tac, 8208XBR

Varget. was designed for very precise metering. You're wasting good money on a highly desirable powder when a less popular powder would work just fine for plinking in a .223.

Exactly, except I wouldn’t use 8202 XBR for plinking. Not to mention they’re even harder to find than Varget. It is another excellent powder for precision shooting.

Also, not sure why the OP would shoot 70s grains for plinking? They usually are match grade bullets in that weight.

[nvcnvc]

Varget is still the best for 308, 6mm BR and its variants, long range precision shooting...

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Shamrock12,
I bought a bunch of 70s grains real cheap.

[shamrock12]

Originally Posted by nvcnvc

Varget is still the best for 308, 6mm BR and its variants, long range precision shooting...

Kind of vaque there. Depends largely on the bullet weights, guns, etc. some have found other powders to perform better than Varget in those calibers.

[Fjold]

I still have some Varget, it's not as old some other powders that are still in use.

I have some Winchester Supreme 780, try to find some load data for that.

[NapalmCheese]

It's just as obsolete as H4895, you should probably stop using it and find something else because it doesn't work in any cartridge that has been developed in the last 5 years. You're going to need Staball at least.

[roostersgt]

I wish everyone would buy all the other powders and leave a few pounds of 4064 on the damn shelf once in awhile. I haven't seen it locally in over 3 years.