Varget question

mac266 · October 21, 2009, 08:22 PM

For those of you who have used Hodgdon's Varget powder (an extruded type powder), how well / consistently does it meter through a Dillon 550 powder measurer?

I've always had the best luck with ball powders but I want to give this one a try.

Dearhunter61 · October 21, 2009, 08:29 PM

sorry I do not have a clue...but it is one great powder and boy it works great out of my RCBS Powder dispense and scale!

dardascastbullets · October 21, 2009, 08:35 PM

Hi Mac!

I have used Varget in my Dillon 650 for years reloading tens of thousands of rounds of .308 for highpower competition. The precision of the powder measure using Varget is exemplary. I obtained results of +/- .2 grains consistently. Consistency is extremely important to obtain excellent results. The same motion and force has to be repeated over and over. This you will discover with lots of press time.

You will have great success using Varget in your Dillon as I did!

simple1 · October 22, 2009, 10:14 AM

mac -
I use varget in a 550 and have found it to meter very consistantly. I have yet to see any measurable varience when spot checking loads. That is with a beam scale - a good digital scale might show some.
No crunching, spilling, or any other problems.

BUT - this was after I polished the hopper and powder bar with a Dremel buffing pad and polishing compound. It only takes about 15 minutes to get it to a near mirror finish and makes a huge difference.

edward5759 · October 22, 2009, 03:39 PM

I polished the funnel and powder bar.
the loads went from +-.5 to right on.
varget is a powder almost like trying to meter 4064.
hope it helped.
Ed

James R. Burke · October 22, 2009, 05:43 PM

Same as Deerhunter61. It is a very good powder and meters great out of my RCBS. Sorry I can't help past that.

rrp · October 23, 2009, 12:49 PM

I use Varget in a few of my loads. I have an rcbs uniflow, but it does cut some granuals, and doesn't drop as uniformly as I like, so I trickle the last few grains. I have since bought the rcbs chargemaster and use it most of the time. Varget is a great powder, so it is worth it to take the extra time to be accurate.

ForneyRider · October 24, 2009, 12:25 PM

All the Varget, I have used, looks like it was cut with a dull knife. It snags on everything. Benchmark is beautiful. It is small and smooth. The Varget snagged on Lee Perfect Powder and Auto-Disk, but was acceptable for hunting, plinking. I took some of the loads apart and was .6gr off at times.

October 21, 2009, 08:22 PM	#1
mac266 Member Join Date: November 20, 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 30	Varget question For those of you who have used Hodgdon's Varget powder (an extruded type powder), how well / consistently does it meter through a Dillon 550 powder measurer? I've always had the best luck with ball powders but I want to give this one a try.

October 21, 2009, 08:35 PM	#3
dardascastbullets Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2008 Location: Essexville, MI Posts: 164	Hi Mac! I have used Varget in my Dillon 650 for years reloading tens of thousands of rounds of .308 for highpower competition. The precision of the powder measure using Varget is exemplary. I obtained results of +/- .2 grains consistently. Consistency is extremely important to obtain excellent results. The same motion and force has to be repeated over and over. This you will discover with lots of press time. You will have great success using Varget in your Dillon as I did! __________________ Matt Dardas

October 22, 2009, 03:39 PM	#5
edward5759 Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ. 30 miles from water, two feet from Hell. Posts: 355	simple1 is right I polished the funnel and powder bar. the loads went from +-.5 to right on. varget is a powder almost like trying to meter 4064. hope it helped. Ed

October 23, 2009, 12:49 PM	#7
rrp Senior Member Join Date: February 18, 2006 Location: west central Wi Posts: 300	varget I use Varget in a few of my loads. I have an rcbs uniflow, but it does cut some granuals, and doesn't drop as uniformly as I like, so I trickle the last few grains. I have since bought the rcbs chargemaster and use it most of the time. Varget is a great powder, so it is worth it to take the extra time to be accurate.

October 24, 2009, 12:25 PM	#8
ForneyRider Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2007 Location: Forney, TX Posts: 725	All the Varget, I have used, looks like it was cut with a dull knife. It snags on everything. Benchmark is beautiful. It is small and smooth. The Varget snagged on Lee Perfect Powder and Auto-Disk, but was acceptable for hunting, plinking. I took some of the loads apart and was .6gr off at times. __________________ When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.

October 21, 2009, 08:29 PM	#2
Dearhunter61 Senior Member Join Date: May 5, 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 518	sorry I do not have a clue...but it is one great powder and boy it works great out of my RCBS Powder dispense and scale!

October 22, 2009, 10:14 AM	#4
simple1 Junior Member Join Date: October 22, 2009 Posts: 3	mac - I use varget in a 550 and have found it to meter very consistantly. I have yet to see any measurable varience when spot checking loads. That is with a beam scale - a good digital scale might show some. No crunching, spilling, or any other problems. BUT - this was after I polished the hopper and powder bar with a Dremel buffing pad and polishing compound. It only takes about 15 minutes to get it to a near mirror finish and makes a huge difference.

October 22, 2009, 05:43 PM	#6
James R. Burke Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2009 Location: U.P. of Mich/Quinnesec Posts: 1,897	Same as Deerhunter61. It is a very good powder and meters great out of my RCBS. Sorry I can't help past that.