marksman79 Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 Hi all. So as the title says, i had the brass all ready to go today only to find at the last minute they didn't have bullet in store that i wanted.So i changed the head from a 55 grain Hornady V max to a 50 grain Hornady V max. When i look up the load in my Hornady manual i can't seem to see the VARGET powder there for the 50 grain bullet. It is listed for the 55 grain bullet. I then thought well lets go off the Hodgdon tub and the data says .223 at 27.5 grains of powder. That powder measurement is listed as the maxium charge and not to be exceed, am i correct saying this? I have now made one round with 26.5 grains of that powder but i'm a little vary of firing it as this is still early days for me and reloading. Can i use the Hodgdon site for data if the powder is not listed in the VARGET powder is not in the manual? The WIN748 powder in the Hornady manual almost mirrors the VARGET powder accross the board so i think 26.5 grains will be safe. If you can help a newbie out here then please do. I have my concerns at the end of the day and safety should always be paramount. Many thanks for reading, Carl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeker Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 (edited) Have you checked Hodgdon.com for loads? ... I prefer the powder manufacturers data to that of the bullet makers .. always seems more realistic. Win 748 is not varget ... mix'n'match is not a good path to start on! Have you got one of the good basic reloading manuals on 'how to .. '? Edited October 30, 2010 by seeker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Logic Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 27.5 varget under anything 55gr and downwards is fine, it's also how much fits in a case. Hodgdon's website will give you the info you need anyway. For the 50gr, try Benchmark, Vit N130, N133, Aa2230 or RL-10X. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyefor Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 PM garyB on here. He loads 26.5gr Varget under 55gr heads for .223 and has had excellent results. IIRC 27.5 is the maximum recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 I think he used 26 grains as 26.5 doesn't fit in lapua cases, my .223 I have used 26.5 and its fine from memory you are right and its between 24.5 and 27.5 Just go to hogdon online and it will give you the specs but to me it sounds absolutely fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 If the tub says 27.5 max then cut it by 10% (may as well call it 25 grains start load) and start at that. You should safely be able to go up to the max but taking others word for it that the listed max is ok in your gun is a bad move I feel. Make up some rounds stepping up .5 of a grain at a time and keep working up from the bottom. If you get sticky bolt lift or start to see signs of the machining on the bolt face stamping on the head of the case then back off to the previous weight and load a few at that. You then know your maximum load and can fiddle with it finely from there if you need to make it more accurate etc. Chamber dimensions vary slightly as do case capacities. Starting high is fine nine times out of ten but it's not worth the risk when it's so easy to work up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 I don`t load .223, however my manuals say it is OK. Speer give start loads of 25.5gn and max of 27.5gn and a compressed load (Don`t worry about that either, I use comp loads for my 222 all the time, as long as all the powder fits into the case) Lee give 26.5gn comp start and max 27.5gn comp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 I think he used 26 grains as 26.5 doesn't fit in lapua cases, my .223 I have used 26.5 and its fine from memory you are right and its between 24.5 and 27.5 Just go to hogdon online and it will give you the specs but to me it sounds absolutely fine Indeed he does... (or did!) 26.0 grain of Varget with a 55grn head, I used to load 26.5grn but when I switched to Lapua Brass I found it was compressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njc110381 Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 If the manual says it's ok then it's ok. I didn't even think to look in mine! As a general rule though if you only have max load information then backing off 10% is the way to go. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie g Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 h355 looks very good for the 223 so does vit 13o and nit 133 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 There are some great powders for 223 - mine also used to like H322 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macca Posted November 16, 2010 Report Share Posted November 16, 2010 Varget is made in Australia by ADI. Over here it is called AR2208. Many ADI powders are rebadged and sold overseas ie your benchmark is our Benchmark II. You can get the info you want for any load using Varget from this link. http://www.adi-powders.com.au/handloaders-guide/ Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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