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Hodgdon Varget and H4895: Versatile Rifle Powders By Gary Zinn I know, from perusing load data tables and personal experience, that Hodgdon Varget is a very versatile rifle powder. I thought it would be interesting to document how well it performs in the most popular rifle cartridges. Before starting this, though, I checked to confirm that I was not about to do something that was already covered in Guns & Shooting Online. What I rediscovered was an article by Lance Robson, titled Hodgdon's H4895, The Most Versatile Rifle Powder?. In the article, Robson notes that H4895 performs well in a wide range of cartridges, plus it has the unique property of being suitable for building significantly reduced loads. I recalled reading this article sometime in the past, but its significance had slipped my mind. What I decided to do is a double comparison study. I selected 10 of the most popular non-magnum rifle cartridges, from .224 to .308 caliber, with the intent of comparing load and ballistic data for Varget, H4895 and whatever powder gave the highest muzzle velocity with a specific bullet well suited to each cartridge. I used the on-line Hodgdon Reloading Data Center to obtain maximum powder charges and muzzle velocities for each load, and other on-line tools to calculate other ballistic data. Starting with the first cartridge, the .223 Remington, the top section of the table, below, shows standard load data, including the specific bullet, the powder and its maximum charge and the resulting muzzle velocity (MV). The variable labeled "f.p.s. per grain" is my own unconventional idea. I noticed that Varget and H4895 loads were often noticeably more efficient than other powders, in terms of muzzle velocity to powder charge ratio. The data in the f.p.s. per grain column documents this. The powder producing the top velocity is listed first under each caliber. It happens that Varget generates the highest MV of all powders listed in the Hodgdon reloading table with the 55 grain Speer soft point bullet. Note the row labeled "H4895 - Varget Ratio." The number here is what the label implies. For instance, the ratio number, 98.0, for the MV variable means that the maximum powder charge of H4895 generates 98% as much muzzle velocity compared to the maximum charge of Varget. .223 Remington, 55 gr. Speer SP Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain H4895 - Varget Ratio, 98.0% Looking at the numbers and ratios, I see no remarkable differences between Varget and H4895 in this case. Both are high performing loads in this cartridge/bullet combination. The MPBR numbers indicate that the 55 grain, .223 Remington load is a 230 yard varmint round. .22-250 Remington, 60 gr. Hornady V-Max Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain
Varget - Suprform Ratio, 93.7% Hodgdon Superformance powder is the top performer in the .22-250 Remington cartridge with a Hornady 60 grain V-max bullet. Varget and H4895 fall some five to seven percent below Superformance in MV. This is of no practical consequence, though, as there is still plenty of retained energy at 250 yards to alter the life state of any varmint. Bottom line: the .22-250 is very like the .223 Remington, except with about thirteen percent more reach, measured by MPBR. Note the f.p.s. per grain numbers, which show that H4895 and Varget are both noticeably more efficient at generating velocity from the powder charge than is Superformance. This is a pattern that is common from here onward. .243 Winchester, 75 gr. Hornady V-Max Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain Varget - Suprform Ratio, 97.1% I chose to stick with a varmint weight bullet in the .243 Winchester because I was interested in comparing it with the .223 and .22-250. I think the most interesting result is that the .243 with a 75 grain Hornady V-max bullet gets MPBRs very close to those of the .22-250. The only practical difference would be that the 75 grain .243 bullet, with a higher ballistic coefficient, would be somewhat less influenced by wind than the 60 grain .224 bullet. Superformance is the top powder for this load, but Varget and H4895 fall less than five percent short in MV. Note that Superformance generates about 16 f.p.s. less muzzle velocity per grain of powder than the other two. I chose not to work up a light big game load for the .243 Win. to save space in the article. Suffice to say that the .243, loaded with a good 95- or 100-grain bullet, is serviceable for game animals up to deer size, so the .243 Winchester is a legitimate dual-purpose cartridge. However, I am more comfortable with bigger bullets for deer-sized game. This brings us to the threshold of true big game cartridges, which in my mind starts with the .25-06 Remington. .25-06 Remington, 120 gr. Swift A-Frame Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain Varget - IMR 4831 Ratio, 89.9% The Hodgdon data site lists the 120 grain Swift A-Frame bullet as its heaviest load in the .25-06. This worked for me, because I was interested in what the cartridge can do when pushed to capacity. The answer is, quite a lot. The data show that this is a hot cartridge with the right powder. A maximum load of IMR 4831 will push the 120 grain bullet at over 3000 f.p.s., giving it enough oomph to yield a MPBR of 295 yards (+/- 3 in.), with retained energy of 1475 ft. lbs. I am impressed. IMR 4831 powder yields muzzle velocity values over ten percent greater than Varget and H4895. In fact, Varget and H4895 give the lowest MV values of the thirteen powders listed for the .25-06 with 120 grain bullet. Four other powders besides IMR 4831 get MVs over 3000 f.p.s. Given this, I cannot consider Varget and H4895 to be preferred powders for the .25-06. .260 Remington, 120 gr. Speer SP Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain Varget - H414 Ratio, 96.9% To represent the 6.5mm/.264 caliber I chose the .260 Remington, because I own a .260. Thus, I have experience loading for it and hunting with it. A 120 grain bullet is my favorite and Varget is one of the powders I use. H414 is the top powder, but Varget and H4895 are not very far behind with a 120 grain bullet. The thing that is most remarkable about the .260 Rem. data is how similar it is to the .25-06/120 grain data. Muzzle velocity and energy, MPBR and retained energy are all very close between the two cartridges with the best loads. Is there anything that distinguishes these two cartridges from each other? Yes, they face in opposite directions. A 120 grain bullet maxes out the capacity of the .25-06, but the .260 can handle bullets up to 160 grains. The .260 is a superior big game cartridge. Conversely, the .25-06 can be loaded very fast with varmint weight bullets, while the .260 does not serve as well in that arena. .270 Winchester, 130 gr. Hornady SP Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain Varget - IMR 4451 Ratio, 94.9% The only American rifle cartridge that is more iconic than the .270 Winchester is its parent, the .30-06 Springfield. The .270 owes its status to its effectiveness as a big game cartridge, while the .30-06 proved itself in both military and sporting applications. The ballistics of both cartridges clearly show why they have been so successful. The classic .270 Win. load is a 130 grain bullet at about 3100 f.p.s. As the table above shows, IMR 4451 powder will push the 130 grain Hornady spire point bullet at 3089 f.p.s., giving it a MPBR of 299 yards, with almost 1700 ft. lbs. of retained energy at that distance. Is it any wonder that Jack O\'92Connor, a dedicated mountain sheep and open country deer hunter, loved the .270? Varget and H4895 give muzzle velocities within about five percent of the IMR 4451 load. All three loads are potent. The .270 Win. can be loaded with bullets between 90 and 180 grains, but the sweet spot for the cartridge is bullet weights from 130 to 150 grains. I cannot think of a good reason to routinely use a bullet outside of this weight range in the .270. 7mm-08 Remington, 140 gr. Swift A-Frame Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain Varget - H4350 Ratio, 98.3% The 7mm-08 Remington is one of the fine spinoffs from the .308 Winchester case. It makes sense that there should be a .284 cartridge based on the .308 case, the only surprise being that Remington, not Winchester, finally commercialized the popular 7mm-08 wildcat. This is a compact, versatile and capable cartridge that is ballistically nearly identical to the 7x57mm Mauser. The 7mm-08 is at its best with 130 to 150 grain bullets, with 140 grains perhaps being optimal. The table clearly shows what the cartridge can do with a 140 grain bullet. The most interesting thing to me is that the 7mm-08 performs so consistently with all three of the powders listed. This indicates a case capacity to bore size balance that makes it easy to build good loads. A friend at my local wildlife club is a life long rifle nut and a very experienced, well-traveled big game hunter. He has shot virtually every caliber of rifle that exists and has hunted with many of them. His pet deer cartridge is a 7mm-08, loaded with 140 grain bullets. Before moving on to the .308 bore cartridges, I want to make a point about the .260 Rem., 270 Win. and 7mm-08 Rem. as a group, along with the 7x57 Mauser, .280 Remington and 6.5x55 SE. These cartridges are at their best when fed bullets that overlap in weight and they throw them at similar velocity and energy levels, to similar MPBRs. Accordingly, if you have a rifle in one of these calibers, you probably do not need the others. I said need, but of course want is a different issue! .30-30 Winchester, 160 gr. Hornady FTX Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain Varget - LVR Ratio, 93.6% The .30-30 Winchester continues to do what it has done since its introduction in 1895, which is to dispatch Class 2 animals with quiet effectiveness. The cartridge has always been capable when loaded with 150 to 170 grain bullets, but it got a boost in performance when Hornady and Hodgdon teamed up to develop a modern bullet/powder package for it. The Hornady 160 grain FTX soft-tipped spitzer bullet, with Hodgdon LeverEvolution powder, gives the .30-30 a MPBR range of 230 yards and retained energy over 1200 ft. lbs. at that range. With Varget powder, the FTX bullet gets a 14 yard shorter MPBR and eight percent less energy retention; with H4895, MPBR is 17 yards shorter with eleven percent less energy. These comparisons basically show the effect of the tuned LVR powder on the performance of the 160 grain FTX bullet. Data for the same three powders loaded under conventional 150 and 170 grain flat nose bullets reveal the following comparisons with the 160 grain FTX loadings. The three powders loaded under 150 grain Flat Point bullets yield virtually identical MPBRs to the 160 grain loads, but an average of 17% less energy at MPBR. With 170 grain FP bullets, the MPBRs are about 14 yards shorter than with 160 grain FTX bullets, while retained energy levels average 24% less. The FTX bullet / LVR powder combination gives a boost to the downrange performance of the .30-30 Winchester, most noticeably in retained energy at MPBR. This is due to the higher ballistic coefficient of the FTX bullet. .308 Winchester, 150 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain Varget - CFE223 Ratio, 98.7% The .308 Winchester is my first choice for a whitetail deer cartridge. I have owned a short action, 20-inch barrel Winchester Model 70 in this caliber for 30 years and have used it to take most of the deer I have harvested. The size, weight and handling characteristics of the rifle are ideal for my method of stalking whitetails in brush, woods and small fields. I began reloading the .308 Win. 16 years ago and have developed a pet load using 45.6 grains of Varget under a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet. This is the most accurate load I have found for my rifle and it gets the job done. Hodgdon CFE223 is a relatively new powder and I have not tried it in the .308 Win. As the table shows, Varget and H4895 fall only incrementally short of CFE223. Loading any of these powders with 150 grain bullets gives sound performance. The .308 Win. also shoots 165 grain bullets very well and 180 grain bullets adequately. However, the .308 was originally designed for 150 grain bullets and I feel this bullet weight is the ideal match for the .308 case. .30-06 Springfield, 180 gr. Sierra GameKing Powder - Max. grains - MV f.p.s. - f.p.s. per grain Varget - Suprform Ratio, 93.9% The marvelous .30-06 Springfield will shoot about any .308 diameter bullet efficiently, but the 180 grain bullet weight best shows the capability of the cartridge. A maximum load of Hodgdon Superformance powder pushes the 180 grain Sierra GameKing bullet at over 2800 f.p.s., with more than 3200 ft.lbs. of muzzle energy. The MPBR for this load is 282 yards, with over 2200 ft.lbs. of retained energy. That is enough wallop for all Class 2 and Class 3 critters. Varget and H4895 yield loads that fall six to seven percent short of the muzzle velocity from Superformance. The main effect of this is seen downrange, where MPBRs are shorter by 15 to 18 yards and retained energy levels are 13 to 15 percent less. Conclusions How versatile and efficient are Varget and H4895? This varies by cartridge and bullet weight, of course, but some summary points can be gleaned from the data. The most meaningful data, to me, is how the muzzle velocity numbers for Varget and H4895 average out relative to the powder that generates the highest muzzle velocity for each cartridge. Across nine of the cartridges and loads, the MV for Varget averaged 95.9% and the H4895 MV averaged 95.1% of the highest MVs. (Statistics for the .25-06 Remington were excluded in calculating these percentages; see next paragraph.) The only cartridge for which Varget and H4895 fell remarkably short of the top powder performance was the .25-06 Remington. MVs for Varget and H4895 fell 300 to 350 f.p.s. short of IMR 4831 and the other statistics went downhill from there. Varget and H4895 do not work well in the .25-06 with heavy-for-caliber bullets. Concerning the efficiencies of the powders, I want to revisit the f.p.s. per grain statistic. Varget and H4895 consistently had higher f.p.s. per grain numbers than the top powder for each cartridge/bullet listed, but does this really mean anything? It depends on whether one is loading only for maximum velocity, or is at least somewhat interested in cost economies from reloading, by making a pound of powder go further. Here are three examples from the tables. For the .243 Winchester, using Varget instead of Superformance will cost 102 f.p.s. of muzzle velocity, but the difference in powder charge weight will get 39 more rounds from a pound of Varget powder. In the 7mm-08 Remington, using H4895 instead of H4350 will lose 99 f.p.s. of MV, but 27 more rounds can be milked from a pound of powder. Turning to the .308 Winchester, substituting H4895 for CFE223 will gain 18 rounds from a pound of powder at the expense of 104 f.p.s. of MV. I have loaded a lot of Varget in .223 Remington, .260 Remington and .308 Winchester and I have a pet load using Varget in each cartridge. My experience with H4895 is more limited. I have used it to build reduced loads for my .308 Winchester and it works as advertised. More telling is my experience using it in 8x57mm Mauser. I have a vintage Mauser for which I wanted to work up some mild loads, but I had trouble with inconsistent performance when I went more than three to four percent below maximum loads for the first three powders I tried. Then, I tried H4895 and got consistent results, even with loads as much as ten percent below maximum. Problem solved. Hodgdon lists reduced loads, using H4895, for thirteen cartridges, ranging from .243 Winchester to .300 Winchester Magnum. Go to www.hodgdon.com and find the "Data" tab, then select "H4895 Reduced Rifle Loads." Hodgdon invites you to contact them via telephone or e-mail if you have additional questions about reduced loads. Varget and H4895 give similar and efficient performance over a wide range of cartridge/bullet combinations. Further, H4895 is proven to be safe and consistent in building moderately reduced loads, it you follow recommended guidelines and recipes. These two powders may be thought of as the crescent wrenches of rifle cartridge reloading. Data Sources
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Copyright 2015, 2016 by Gary Zinn and/or chuckhawks.com. All rights reserved.
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