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Guys I've been doing some testing and must say things arent working out
The way I thought they would. My rifle is a rem 700 sps varmint 26" barrel 1 in 12" twist 308.
I skim bedded it with devcon in a B & C Medalist target tactical stock. Installed a Timney 510 Trigger set to 2.5 pounds. I also added a Gretan firing pin assembly after some light primer strikes resulting in misfires. Had no misfires since this addition but did have to alter the cocking ramp on the bolt to ease cocking effort. I simply polished and mated the contacting surfaces and changed the angle slightly. This made a huge difference.
Now to my questions. I managed to work up a very good load using 150 Accubonds, win cases, cci br2 , 46.6 grains of varget. Velocity avg. 2775. ES 6 SD 2. For several
three shot groups. Rl 15 at 46.5 grains with 150 sst average around 2780 but my
variation is much greater than with varget. My question is: doesnt this velocity seem
Awful low for these charges with a 26" tube? 51.5 grains of power pro will run 2840 but es and SD are all over the place with groups decent. I had some h4895 and decided to give it a try. 45.5 grains behind a 150 sst with 210m and win cases
Produced avg. Velocity of 2885 with es 13 and SD 7.group ok. No pressure signs whatsoever. Why am I getting so much more velocity from the h4895? From all my books and research, I would have thought one of the others would give better velocity. I plan to do a more extensive workup with the 4895 soon. I realize velocity isn't everything but 100 extra feet per sec with no more pressure and similar accuracy would be hard to pass up. I simply don't understand why my velocity with varget and rl15, even power pro 2000 mr are as low as they are from this length barrel. What could cause this? Big chamber? Long throat? Twist rate? Also, I back calculated my drop to verify the chronograph results and they confirmed the results. I'm very satisfied with the rifle. I've shot some very small groups with it. If it likes h 4895 then that's whAt I'll use. I'm simply confused by some of my findings and always eager to learn Something new. Any comments would be appreciated.

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You're running the H4895 full throttle, that's why you're getting the speed.

Is your rifle telling you to stop adding powder to the Varget load? I think you should have some headroom left. In my factory Remingtons I typically use a charge of 46 grains of Varget in WW brass under 165 grain bullets.

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Does seem slow to me. I've run 46gn Varget with a 165 AB for 2834. That's a 26" barrel Savage .308.

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A long throat in my factory rem vtr has it asking for at least an extra grain of powder no matter what brand the powder. Add in win cases and it needs another grain.
H4895 can run pretty hot sometimes especially near Max. A while back I tried identical wt charges of h4895 and i4895 in my 06 w/110s. The h4895 ran almost 2oo fps faster.

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Mathman, I've tried up to 47.5 varget with that load and start to see pressure signs. Also running out of case room. My velocity flattens out at 2800 so Im pretty sure everything is telling me it's time to back up. My SD and ES also show more variation. A load of 47.2 of rl15 does the same with velocity max around 2800. ES through the roof on this one. Power pro 2000 mr at 51.5 with a Nosler accubond runs 2875 but I'm getting slight ejector marks. Not to mention recoil and muzzle blast. This powder seems to come and go. Both with 165 and 150s. One day it groups well, at lower charges than the one mentioned above. The next day it's all over the place in groups and velocity. Temp seems to play a role in this. I'm going to back off on the h 4895 and do some experimenting I haven't shot enough of it to get a handle on it's accuracy. I'm just perplexed by the lower velocity of the other powders in this length barrel.

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Forgot to mention. With the max load of h4895, there is no noticeable increase in bolt stiffness, no ejector marks, primers are nice and round with no signs of flattening.

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Originally Posted by Turpentine
Forgot to mention. With the max load of h4895, there is no noticeable increase in bolt stiffness, no ejector marks, primers are nice and round with no signs of flattening.


I use a similar top charge of H4895 under 150 gr. Ballistic Tips as a regular deer load. It has been excellent for me.

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I've run two .308's with both Vaget and Re-15 using various 150 gr. bullets.
A typical long range target load is 48 grs. of Varget and somebody's 155 gr. match bullet with WW cases. I've used 47 grs. of both Varget and Re-15 with several 150 gr. bullets. Maybe your cases aren't up to spec.
H4895 is one of the most accurate powders I've ever used in the .308. I've never run it full throttle with 150's, but I have with 125-130 gr. bullets. But either Varget or Re-15 will push them faster.
If your loads aren't consistant, you might try a hotter primer, CCI 250's WLR's, Fed 210's.
I'd recommend different brass as well. E

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H4895 is my best .308 powder with 150 gr. NBT's.

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Cases are new or once fired Winchester. Weight sorted to within 2 grains, full length sized, trimmed, flash hole deburred and chamfered. Primers are either gold medal 210m, or cci br2 the cci's so far have produced my best groups. I may try a hotter primer with the varget if the h4895 doesn't work out. Primers are really hard to find right now. I manage a sporting clays facility. Yesterday I called my distributor to ask about large rifle primers. They had none of any variety. Same for every powder I asked about. Absolutely no 22 long rifle bullets either. I guess I'll have to shoot what I have for now. It would be great if the h4895 panned out because that's what I use for my sons reduced .270 loads. I just would have thought I could have reached high 2800 low 2900 with varget or rl 15 with 150s. Guess I'll try them under some 165 grainers and see what happens and use the h4895 for 150s. I'll need to be stocked up when the depredation permit kicks in. The deer don't seem to want to let us harvest any soybeans the last few years.

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Varget usually does better with a mild primer in full throttle loads.

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I never full lenth size anything in the way of new brass. Until it's been fired a 2-3 times, or even more, I don't full lenth size them. If they chamber on the rifle you are shooting is a little on the large size, this can affect accuracy. E

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Originally Posted by Turpentine
Now to my questions. I managed to work up a very good load using 150 Accubonds, win cases, cci br2 , 46.6 grains of varget. Velocity avg. 2775. ES 6 SD 2. For several
three shot groups. Rl 15 at 46.5 grains with 150 sst average around 2780 but my
variation is much greater than with varget. My question is: doesnt this velocity seem
Awful low for these charges with a 26" tube? 51.5 grains of power pro will run 2840 but es and SD are all over the place with groups decent. I had some h4895 and decided to give it a try. 45.5 grains behind a 150 sst with 210m and win cases
Produced avg. Velocity of 2885 with es 13 and SD 7.group ok. No pressure signs whatsoever. Why am I getting so much more velocity from the h4895? From all my books and research, I would have thought one of the others would give better velocity. I plan to do a more extensive workup with the 4895 soon. I realize velocity isn't everything but 100 extra feet per sec with no more pressure and similar accuracy would be hard to pass up. I simply don't understand why my velocity with varget and rl15, even power pro 2000 mr are as low as they are from this length barrel. What could cause this? Big chamber? Long throat? Twist rate? Also, I back calculated my drop to verify the chronograph results and they confirmed the results. I'm very satisfied with the rifle. I've shot some very small groups with it. If it likes h 4895 then that's whAt I'll use. I'm simply confused by some of my findings and always eager to learn Something new. Any comments would be appreciated.


Don't understand you vel numbers either with a 26" barrel. A while back I had a TC Prohunter with a 28" barrel in 308, and with 48.0 gr RL-15 and 150 gr AB, it was good for a little over 3000 fps. Current 308 in a Rem 700 with a 23" tube is 100+ fps faster than you are seeing with 51.5 gr of 2000MR, 47.3 gr Varget is right around 2860 +/- in this gun. Double check your chrony, you should be getting better velocity. Ain't nuthin' wrong with H4895, mine really likes it with 130 gr TTSX.


"Blessed is the man whose wife is his best friend - especially if she likes to HUNT!"

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."

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