So I’ve been using 4064 for 8 years for all my 308 loading. It seems difficult to meter so I’ve just developed a habit of setting the powder dispenser to drop .2-.3 less than needed, weighing each charge and trickling in what is needed to get an exact load.
I recently bought a pound of varget “just because” I was about to try a new bullet (178eldm) and as I was searching for a starting point, I found a ton of load data with it and figured why not.
Well I finished up my load work up today and ended up at 43.2gr, COAL 2.860, it’s .025 off the lands, 2720 average, no pressure signs, no issues (doesn’t have the best ES/SD of everything I tried oddly enough but it grouped better than anything I loaded all the way down to 40.5 shooting it to 300 yards, this load printed .75 and .80 MOA at that range back to back so I went with it.
Here’s where it went different though. Varget meters so well each throw is within .05g of the other from the dispenser being full to damn near empty so I went ahead and for the first time in god knows how long, loaded without weighing every charge. I’d check every 25 with 3 drops and it was dead on every time.
The difference is, when you load each piece ofbrass through a funnel, it’s a long drop and the powder settles well and I’m nowhere near compressed. Going straight from the dispenser however isn’t the same and I just loaded 150 rounds and they’re all compressed.
personally I don’t think it makes a difference, the charge is the same, bullet the same, brass the same, nothing is different, just a shorter drop so less settling.
Will it make a difference in pressure though? I’ve been reloading for years, probably 100k shotgun and pistol rounds from IDPA and trap and god knows how many rifle rounds but I’ve never come across this. What say ye?
I recently bought a pound of varget “just because” I was about to try a new bullet (178eldm) and as I was searching for a starting point, I found a ton of load data with it and figured why not.
Well I finished up my load work up today and ended up at 43.2gr, COAL 2.860, it’s .025 off the lands, 2720 average, no pressure signs, no issues (doesn’t have the best ES/SD of everything I tried oddly enough but it grouped better than anything I loaded all the way down to 40.5 shooting it to 300 yards, this load printed .75 and .80 MOA at that range back to back so I went with it.
Here’s where it went different though. Varget meters so well each throw is within .05g of the other from the dispenser being full to damn near empty so I went ahead and for the first time in god knows how long, loaded without weighing every charge. I’d check every 25 with 3 drops and it was dead on every time.
The difference is, when you load each piece ofbrass through a funnel, it’s a long drop and the powder settles well and I’m nowhere near compressed. Going straight from the dispenser however isn’t the same and I just loaded 150 rounds and they’re all compressed.
personally I don’t think it makes a difference, the charge is the same, bullet the same, brass the same, nothing is different, just a shorter drop so less settling.
Will it make a difference in pressure though? I’ve been reloading for years, probably 100k shotgun and pistol rounds from IDPA and trap and god knows how many rifle rounds but I’ve never come across this. What say ye?
