Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles H4895, Talk me into it....

LGS today, 8lb jug looking at me.....Do I need to go back tomorrow?

So far I'm a Benchmark guy, would love to try AR comp if I could find it,

50g, 69g and also about to start playing with 77's......1-7 twist...

I'm just not familiar with this powder, H series which should be temp insensitive,

How does it meter?

Grab it, or just be patient?

If it was local to me, I would be there before you to grab it up. Works great in my 308s.

I would have grabbed it right away, good stuff, the H esp. meters nicer, but i would buy either one.
One is better than none. If the shortage ends you would still use it.

But I don't own a .308!

Looking for input for 5.56.

H4895 with 69 Sierra’s is the cats ass! Works fine with 77’s as well. I was using 23.5grs with the 69 Sierra’s.

I have never had luck with 4895 in our tubes. Always reached pressure before any top speed. Although it was accurate, it was slow as all get out. Both versions. I/H. And since AA is off my list...

Good luck though and if I was in the need for powder, a slow load is better than no load

I use a basic load of 25.6 gr of 4895 and a 55 gr. Soft point...Ive cycled it through Ans and Ruger Ranch Rifles...and of course bolt guns. It works in all of them.

Extruded stick powder?

Meters so-so?

Sticks are shorter than 3031 or 4064. So for .308 I throw charges.

H-4895 is also an "extreme" (ie., "temp-insensitive") powder, if that matters.

Don't see how you can go wrong with it.

It may be for you, but doesnt meter as well as other powders. Not saying I dont use it and drop right from the powder measure and go, but its not nearly as consistent as AR comp and the like. I've been using it in the 6x45 and it works fine, but then again powders like TAC, and AA2015 work better. I 'd buy it, if it was a good deal. Great powder in the 22-250

What rost495 said in spades.................it is very doubtful that you will ever reach book listed loads.

And it has a very sharp, quick recoil impulse in an AR that I really don't like.

They only way I will ever use it in an AR is if it's the last powder left on the shelf.

MM

220 for 8lbs, I might go grab it, but really wanting/rather to find 8lbs of AR comp.

I have not seen any AR Comp anywhere, even with the search robots that I use for a vey long time.

Most other stuff comes up, more less regularly & goes in minutes, but no AR-Comp.

Other good powders that work reasonably well, more or less in preference order for me are 8208-XBR, VV-540, VV133, 135 (with 55-62 gr bullets), VV-140, 2000-MR, CFE-223, Benchmark, RL-15, Varget, Shooters World AR Plus, Tactical & Match Rifle.

MM

Varget is suddenly available,,,, 1 lbers.......

opposite direction......

I have Benchmark on hand, I'm not in dire straights yet......

what to do......

Varget & RL-15 are not as user friendly to feed through a powder feeder as most of the others are, but they both shoot well.

They are also a little slower than what you can get with some of the others as well.............2700 with an 18" barrel & 77 grainers is a little out of reach with both; if you push it that far, you will be into high pressure territory.

MM

I would rather have H-4895 for 223's. If I had 8 LB's of it I'd be a happy camper for a spell. 223's , 30-30's, 308's. I'll take it.
Some mentioned speed, that's a fact, 4895's have never been on top of the heap as far as speed, but that spot don't have to many powders in it anyway. Speed ain't everything, but poking nice little
groups in targets is a plus. Temp stable powder is important up here in the frozen tundra when you can get it. A couple hun for 8 lbs in todays market? I'd still Grab it even though you found something else.

I wish I could by a ton of it. Yes, I like it.

I use this load for 65gr Sierra GK's, have taken many whitetails with this load, shoots very nice groups, and good down to -20.

grabbed some Varget, nothing saying I cant still go grab that H4895!

There's powder in this area, but no primers.......

We have nothing here. Not even shotgun shells.

I'd buy H4895 over Varget as well..

I use a lot of H-4895, I wish I had it!

grabbed the Varget, and so far not to impressed, Seems the gossip on the 'net is somewhat true,

using my RCBS uni-throw, I'm getting a variance of almost 2 grains,

22.5g all the way up to 24.7g........

Not cool.........

even if the accuracy is there, Not feeling the love so far.

A Lee Perfect will do a little better. It is good enough that, if you throw away the powder bridges and redump them, you get ammo that's good enough to hold less than 1 MOA elevation at 600 yards.

I don't ever weigh charges anymore because dumped charges are good enough to shoot a 20-shot clean with at least 15 Xs on an MR target.

Deleted................double post.

Uniflows are pretty schitty powder feeders, IMO.

I use a Redding 3BR & easily get +/- about a quarter grain variance with Varget.

Ditching my Uniflow many years ago was one of the best reloading moves I ever made, especially for smaller rifle rounds & pistol rounds.

Technique with those powders also becomes more important to get good consistency as well.

As I said earlier in a post, neither Varget or RL-15 feed like many of the other powders discussed, no matter what feeder you use. Many of the others flow like shot & have virtually no variation.

MM

Yes you did mention that, It caught my attention,

And the uni-flow might be schitty according to some, But I've never seen this variance with any of the other powders I use.....

Benchmark for the win.

H4895 is one of my favorites for the .223/5.56.
The Zediker load of 24.5 grains with the 69 gr. SMK moves right at 2,800 fps and shoots nice small groups in my 18" 8 twist barrel.
With the 77 SMK I shoot 24.0 grains.
I weigh my charges with the larger stick powders in the .223.
H4895 out shot Benchmark for accuracy in my testing.

How would you rate the metering abilities of H4895 to Varget? Through a RCBS uni-flow.......

Nothing wrong with Benchmark, but it's better with lighter bullets than the heavy's.

Varget is good too just takes some work. It is accurate with all bullets.

Here's a video on Varget from a long series of powder trials designed to attempt to duplicate Mk 262 ammo.

If you search through the entire series, you'll find confirmation of a lot of the various comments in this thread.

Just for schitts & giggles, I've also attached one on H4895 & RL-15.

Note his comment carefully when he says that he will not reach the velocity goal at acceptable pressure with H4895 because he's already reached that velocity but only with loads that have too much pressure to be acceptable, & as compared to other powders.

Enjoy.

MM

Varget

H4895 & RL-15

I can't speak for NVhntr, but H4985 will meter better in anything than does Varget.

MM

I don't have a Uni-Flow so I can't comment on that.
I have a Lee Perfect and a Harrell's Precision and I wasn't happy with the results of either one with frequent powder bridging.
I'll just struggle on with my RCBS 1500 ChargeMaster, I'm retired, I don't get in a hurry anymore.
The granules of H4895 are slightly smaller than Varget but I didn't see much difference in the results of metering.

Varget has some uses, but I've always found H4895 more versatile in the .223 and .308. H4895 is also very good in reduced cast bullet rifle loads.

I have one lb of H4895 and plan on loading some 62 grain FMJ's. It is about the slowest powder I will use for .223. IMR 4895 burns too slow. I prefer 8208 or AA2460 but beggars cant be choosy.
kwg

Back in the bad old days I used 50gr sierras and a near max load of h4895 . I'd drop a charge and trickle up to weight they were out and out tight shooting in my m700 vs
Compared to using 748 , h335, tac, cfe 223 and others it was like trying to run Lincoln logs thru a Uniflow. Just to many better flowing powders for mass loading than to bog your self down with it dropped thru a Uniflow. In a electronic scale measure like a Chargemaster it would be ok. Just my experience. Mb

I like my Redding BR-30 better, but I also have a Uniflow and can't imagine what I'd have to do to make it give a spread as bad as two grains.

I adjusted my technique tonight has I went, Seems to be a bit of a learning curve with stick powders,

Varget is still no Benchmark, but I'm now within a half grain or so, each throw, sometimes even better,

If you feel yourself cutting a grain/s, be suspect of that charge,

Otherwise couple of turns on the trickler and good to go.....

Sunday will tell if the extra effort is worth it..

Yep, I've said that many times. One of the reasons I said I would have bought the H4895 over Varget. Much better powders out there these days than Varget anyway.. At least a lot of them will meter through your powder measure better and produce better accuracy and velocity. Oh, I can see some guys getting their panties in a wad over that statement.

Switch from Varget to Shooters World Precision

Here’s why

Had not been to a local match in years. Forgot we went to visit a month or so ago. Buddy blew a primer out with 4895...I asked him... man you know better... why... he laughed, said I was tempted to try it again...

20 inch tube 69 can be moved at 2950...that was what none of us liked, it was accurate, but it was never fast.

BTW for stick powders John Barsness suggestion of the cheap lee perfect powder measure still amazes me. Tosses 4350 and the like better than our expensive harrels.... by far. Better than uniflow. Better than BR30. Just a FWIW

rost, I'm confused...I tried sending you a pm....Turns out you have me on ignore?

But here you are.....

Whats up with that?

Thats a good suggestion. However, I was looking at one at a gunshow, recently, and can't get over how "cheap" the bastid looks.. Mostly plastic..

Anyone ever switch their RCBS powder cylinder from large to small?

Call RCBS for a price? Midway shows discountinued,

The large came with the unit, wondering if the small gives better results.

Used both same same.

Good luck buddy. One of the reasons I use powder more suited for the little 223 case. I have no issues with the RCBS Uni flow. Drop for 223, load 300/hour. Drop and weigh and trickle charges for larger cartridges. Anyone who weighs and trickles charges in small amounts, such as in the 223, need their heads examined. As a side note, mine drops H4895 well enough for plinking (slightly bigger than moa for 10 shots) loads for my 6x45, but in larger cases I will weigh it for more precise loads. I've noticed a huge difference in the 22-250.

It is cheap plastic. Last I thought they were 20 bucks or so. I've had one now since about 2015. I'm careful with it. And likely only a couple thousand rounds loaded with it. But its amazing. Almost like their priming tool. Cheap enough to have spares on hand. And truth told I try to avoid lee products mostly but sometimes they are all that are there etc....

I like SW powders, SW "match" is another good one for 62 gr + bullets. Trouble is they like everything else dried up lately. I use a lot of 4320 in these hard to find powder times and I love the stuff, small kernels, easy to run through my #55.Speed king? no but it flat out works.

Good info. Thanks rost..

Count me in on the H-4895 over Varget train. Although it has been years since I used H-4895,my notes showed very good accuracy and good flexibility in .223 as well as other cartridges. I have not had nearly as much success with Varget. Admittedly, my favorite powders for .223 are TAC, Benchmark, IMR-8208XBR, Accurate 2015 and 2230, pretty much in that order. I also like IMR-4064,but it meters even worse than Varget or H-4895 and is slower to boot! It has proven to be very accurate with 50and 55 gr bullets, enough so, that I will try some with the 69 and 77 gr bullets just to see how they do.

Either 4895 preferably H, is there with Unique as The powder.

If a guy had those two, there are very few rounds he can't load.

Probably never be the very best powder for the application,
But it's always useable.

But hell, who here wants the one gun, one load, one powder.

I'm getting ready to tilt the windmill with RG4895, an Aussie surplus version of 4895.

I'll start low and work up, but I have 4 lbs and if I find a load that works, a 1,000 rounds worth of powder.


26 grains under a 55 FMJ 5.56 will get me to a thousand rounds. That's reportedly the Aussie load with this powder.

(4 pounds * 7,000 grains per pound) / 26 grains per round = 1,076 rounds

Started playing with Varget, with the 77's I could start to hear crunching, as I was seating the bullet around 23.6 grains, stopped at that point,

23.6 grains only gave me around 2430 fps, with average accuracy..

I'm moving to the 69's now, their quite a bit shorter, should be able to get another grain or two of powder in there,

Velocity of 2430 aint what I'm looking for.

Load it up to 24.5gr with the 77s seated at 2.24" or even 2.23". A little crunch never hurt a thing.

The old NM load..

I know almost a year later. I was using this load for 100yd reduced XTC matches, our club holds. So no need to set any kind of speed records. On another note up here in Alaska I’m not too concerned about 90 degree days. Our avg temps for a match in the summer time are in the 70’s. I use H4895 in our 224 Valkyrie for midrange matches. I use accurate 2495 with 75gr ELD-M in my 223 service rifle for the long line. 200-300 I use 75gr hornady BTHP w/A2495.

for 223 and 4895 just say no. Its never done fast speeds and accuracy. Though at 2450 80s were shot into knots. Not that I'd know what to do with 2450...

Any time we got speed we got too much pressure.

Rounds other than 223 yes.

I keep H4895 handy for rainy days. But it will never see a 223

You are better off if he has you on ignore.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^

Except that I'd never say never, but it would be last resort.

Let me say again, loudly, what Jeff says above: "Any time we got speed we got too much pressure."

MM

I use 4895 in the 5.56, but IMR-4895. Velocities are better that H4895 and some bullets just like it.

Everyone has their preferences, but I've never been able to do anything, in either a bolt gun or an AR, with either version of 4895 that I couldn't do better with something else.

MM

Put a hat on, Texas Sun getting to you… 🤪 I tried all the powders everyone talks about for high power. Varget, RL15, 8208, H4895, and everything else in between. I never achieved any ground breaking velocities everyone talks about 2800-2900 fps. Only powder that gets me anywhere near 2750 range is AR-comp (18 inch barrel). I have messed with your all time favorite N540, like I mentioned to you yesterday I bought 4 more lbs of it. I will say again my H4895 load I use is for reduced yardage xtc matches. My 2495 load with 75gr ELD-M is close to 2800 i think 2785 if I remember right. But as of now if I had a choice it be A2495 or AR-Comp. N540 I need to mess with more.

I really don't think that velocities above 2800 in an 18" barrel with my standard bullet being 77 SMK's is possible at pressures that I want to be at with any of the powders discussed.

2750-2775 in an 18" barrel makes me happy if I can get decent accuracy form any given load.

On your recommendation, I'm going to try the AA 2495 as that seems to be available pretty regularly & at a decent price, given today's market.

I have not been able to get any VV 540 or 140 in quite a while, but have a fair amount of 540 on hand.

Alliant 2000-MR has also worked will for me & get high velocities, but takes a lot of powder to get there & I haven't seen any of that available in a long time either, nor AR-Comp. And all the Alliant stuf is crazy expensive.

MM

I was lucky a yr ago and scored an 8lb jug of AR comp. I’m using 24.8gr of 2495 w/75gr hornady bthp and this load shoots extremely well in 3 of my AR15’s. Same data can be used with 75gr eld-m seated at 2.495-2.500 yes single load.

My experience as well although I use 24.5 grs. with the 69 SMK for an average of 2,810 fps from an 18"/8 twist barrel. That load was one Glen Zedikar suggested in an article and it works very well for me.

24.0 grs. works well with the 77 SMK in that same barrel at 2,725 fps. (Over max, work up)

Not that I'm aware of. I can see all your posts. But I'll check and reset my stuff

I could see your posts fine, but it did say something about unignore user, not a clue, so I clicked that. Maybe its different on your end now?

There was a note about pressures. I've had mine run for pressure with N540. I don't recall the exact results but lets just say the 52 load and the 80 and 90 loads were done, and they were somewhere around 60 IIRC. Which doesn't bother me in the least.

That said to play with N540 your re going to have to get it hot. It doesn't like mild or medium loads.

Lets talk about pressure vs speed. Just so its out there. The only barrels I worried about a certain speed on were 20 inch tubes. And there was never a factory tube in that bunch. All custom like shilen, Krieger, Rock, Pac Nor, a couple of junk Douglas that never got to speed, and one blackstar.

Shot with state team shooters. And quite a few others that could verify the N540 stuff. One of the La Berge family of long range shooters too. In fact he is the one that told me to open the powder measure a bit more.

To the end I ran odd groove Pac Nor 6.5 twist tubes but ran LOTS of 7.7 and 7 twist Krieger etc...

Moly all bullets.

Only LC cases.

Ran only 77 SMK. 75 H bthp couldn't deal with the base pressure. 75 amax were fine but not fast. Some of the mag length 70ish bullets have a long bearing surface. IE they can't get to the speeds an 80 with less bearing surface could.

So some bullets simply won't run fast.

Can or did powders change. Sure its all possible.

We ran an Oehler 35P chrono at about 15 feet.

I don t' know if I can find an7 80 moly data and if I did it would all be JLK. 80 SMK never did all that great for us. 80 Bergers were ok but a bit slower than JLK with lower BC

I did pull some 90 loads apart to verify powder, that data is in Delta but was either 25.7 or 25.9. With a 90 JLK seated out long single load.

4895 produced fine accuracy mostly way back when. But it was sure slower than we wanted.

For general non match work that wouldn't bother me a bit.

Varget was ok for speeds, 2850 with 69s maybe close to 2900. RL15 never did much for me.

The above is simply for your info.

Dont' discount primers either, though we finally were down to more or less R7.5/CCI M41/450 and CCI BR4 and those did all we needed, but primers can double a group size or cut it in half and they can affect velocity also.

And recall all my data is 2005 or earlier data... I've no clue what happened since and thats almost 20 years... but according to the tiny knot I shot with a 90 ilk load in October the load still works.