help settle this powder issue please

[nobodyspecial]

Ok, DPMS AP-4. (actually from a group buy here)It's going to be iron sights/Eotech so worrying about this load shooting .5 vs that load shooting .75 isn't relevent. (Well, ok, I'm not good enough to make it relevent) I want accuracy of course but I want consistency and something friendly to my weapon. It is this latter part that really has me confounded.

Lots of people like different powders but in gas systems I've heard more than a few say it can really matter due to pressure curve issues. An often mentioned case is Varget. To many .308 begins and ends with Varget regardless of platform. Others argue it's too slow and hard on the gas weapons. Such nuances are beyond my meager skills at this point so I need help. What powder(s)/loads can I expect to be accurate and be assured are not putting my weapon at risk? I live in one of those areas with quite a bit of seasonal change so being forgiving of temperature would likely be a plus. (H4895 perhaps?)

Bonus points if somebody has a load that switches well from shooting to hunting. (I'd imagine Matchking/Gameking would work well but never tried)

Thanks in advance for all input.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

What weight of bullet are you wanting to use?
Honestly though, R15, Varget or H4895 will work fine.

 

[nobodyspecial]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

Sorry, should have included that info. 150-170gr bullets. I would LOVE to find a powder and bullet that kept my AP-4 and my .308 hunting (bolt-action) happy. That'd make buying components in quantity a lot easier.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

My LR308 liked 178Amax pushed by 44.6 RL15, my bolt gets 155 Scenars pushed by 45.9 RL15, my M4gery likes 68gr BTHP pushed by 24.5 RL15, so guess what I would use if I were you?

 

[MitchAlsup]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

I use Varget in both 223 (24.6 gr with 69 gr SMK) and in 308 (47.8 gr with 155 Scenars). The 223 load is tuned to the gun and medium, the 308 load is tuned to my gun and is stiff.

 

[Shady_Jay]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

I use Reloader 15 in my 10T with 175SMKs

 

[Switchblade]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

H4895 is better for your semi auto guns. It burns slightly quicker than Varget and has a faster pulse so it's better in those shorter barrels

 

[bfoosh006]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

David Tubb Get one of these and don't look back...I've got one in all of my AR's, it does work. The recoil is damped. And the action stays locked longer.

And as for your powder question, I think most of the info out there for gas guns refers to the M14/M1A, Garand, and M1 Carbine. Those rifles are far fussier than the AR gas system. The gas system on an AR is less tempermental.

 

[Grump]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

Seems like the decades-old standard of any powder with a burn rate between IMR 3031 (yes, totally acceptable but won't get TOP velocities with 168-gr to 175-gr bullets) and IMR 4350 (slowest acceptable) isn't good enough? Or it's forgotten?

I find the opinions on Varget being "too slow" for gas guns interesting. It's right next to IMR 4064 (unquestionably acceptable) in some burn rate charts, and several "steps" FASTER than RL-15, which many people seem to love for the gas guns. See, for example, http://www.reloadammo.com/burnrate.htm (nice single column, from Hodgdon info), or http://www.imrpowder.com/burn-rate.html from IMR. In the IMR chart, Varget is a few steps "slower" than IMR 4064, two steps "slower" than RL-15, and one step "faster" than WW748. I've heard NO ONE claim that WW748 is "too slow" for gas guns.

IMO, the only way any powder in that section of the burn rate charts would be "too slow" is if the handloader is trying to get more velocity than is wise. Seems to me that the vented gas plug was developed for military teams who were going over "standard" loads using 190-gr bullets, and the practice continued when the Sierra 175 MK came along. If they're getting only 2-3 reloads out of their brass, that's a clue...especially if they are NOT short-sizing brass fired in long chambers.

 

[Two Shoes]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

Good luck getting the Tubb Carrier slowing/ reducing set up in a DPMS .308, I have never been able to..........Armalite, yep, not a DPMS.

 

[nobodyspecial]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

I figured I would lean toward caution and ordered some H4895 and RL-15, mostly the former. Besides, Cabelas has both in stock so I won't have to wait. At some point I'll have to get some Varget to try in my .308 bolt action.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[U2AV8R]

Re: help settle this powder issue please

Don't think you're going to be disappointed with either H4895 or Varget. The Hodgdon Extreme powders are the most thermally stable powders I've come across. Pressures stay the same, hot or cold, high pressure altitude or sea level.