SmallCaliberCentral

My predator load is currently made with Varget and Berger 40 grain BTHP's.

My rifle is very light and has a fairly short Douglas 11 twist barrel on it. I will be trying some 34 grain CRT bullets soon to try to flatten the trajectory, and they will be used strictly for predator calling. The temps can vary from -10°F to 70°F over the course of a season.

What powders have you found to be the least affected by temp variance?

IMR 8208 XBR should work although I think the Varget runs the same temp. gamut.

Varget has always known to be very temp insensitive. XBR is developing the same reputation, maybe even better, but I've not heard anyone who'd tried both in the same load remark to it. I doubt the difference would be worth your effort working up a new load.

Unless it's a rainy Wednesday and you got nothing better to do.

Varget seems a little dirty and is like trickling firewood.

Is 8208 clean and cropped short?

cornstalker wrote:Varget seems a little dirty and is like trickling firewood.

Is 8208 clean and cropped short?

I've loaded both.IMR 8208 is much cleaner and pours great.Grains are cube shaped.Temp sensstivity is non existant,for all practical use.You'll like it in the 204r,and other cartridges.

Have to agree with Joe O. Varget is a great powder with lots of history, but 8208 is performing better for me than Varget, Benchmark or IMR 4895. It's one of Hodgdon's Extreme powders with very short sticks. It gives more velocity for the same or heavier weight charge than with Varget, depending on bullet weight.

Varget like fire wood! Try IMR 4064. Or in the old days I used surplus Hodgdon 4831 periodically acquired in 2 1/2 gal. steel gas cans - cheap to shoot but difficult to measure.

For my small rifles I first used H4895, then Varget, and now IMR 8208 XBR. I will probably stay with Varget with the .308 Win but am changing over to IMR 8208 in my smaller rifles including the .22-250. Just like as stated in a previous post - goes thru the powder measure well, clean burning and appears to be temp insensitive, and hopefully consistent lot to lot. It also fills the case just right and is more suitable in the .223 than Varget. I get more use with 8208 and for me it is worth the effort.

Varget goes through my powder measure well but IMR 8208 feels like a ball powder. I plan to use it in the .204 Ruger

Try IMR 4064.

Got some. It's more like canning green beans than filling a case....



The answer seems to be clear.

I am surprised at one thing though. I think this is the longest I have seen a thread go without 10x popping up.

cornstalker wrote:...I am surprised at one thing though. I think this is the longest I have seen a thread go without 10x popping up.

RL-10X is extremely temp sensitive, so there was no need to interject it into this thread. And it is bad netiquette to ASSUME you know better than the OP what his question should have been and so fashion your answer around your re-formulation of the OP's original question. I think good manners distates you only earn the right to second-guess the OP after you've first done him the courtesy of giving his question, as screwed up as it might be, a straight-up answer.

even with the extreme powders,as I use h4895 with 40gr v_max,I found that a load I developed in early spring,made for a bit of a sticky bolt this past," hotter then normal July summer",particularly when I left my rifle and cartridges in my truck BAKING in the hot sun one afternoon,went for a drive seen a yote with in 10 minutes, pulled the trigger and completely missed,and needed a lot of force to open the bolt,Now my load is near max and I have read that extreme powders, max loads and extreme temperature can effect pressures.I have just recently reduced load by 0.3gr,slowed my muzzle velocity by 100fps but still shooting excellent
just my .02 cents from my past expierence...

Fred_C_Dobbs wrote:

cornstalker wrote:...I am surprised at one thing though. I think this is the longest I have seen a thread go without 10x popping up.

RL-10X is extremely temp sensitive, so there was no need to interject it into this thread. And it is bad netiquette to ASSUME you know better than the OP what his question should have been and so fashion your answer around your re-formulation of the OP's original question. I think good manners distates you only earn the right to second-guess the OP after you've first done him the courtesy of giving his question, as screwed up as it might be, a straight-up answer.

That's what I was wondering. I think.......

I'll be trying some 8208 under the 34 grain CRT's, methinks.

Everyone still using magnum primers with the 8208?

Nope. I use Rem 7 1/2 BR.

I've got 8208XBR that I use in my 6.5 Lapua. I'll have to give it a try in the 204 too.

Tom

FredCDobbs-
Was you just joshing or was you serious? Furthermore I'm not quite sure what OP means. If you were serious I don't remember ever learning that particular netiquette, where do a person go to learn that sort o stuff to that level of interpretation? I figured that feller was just making a honest observation. Maybe I was supposed to read between the lines or something?
JRWoitalla

Anyone have any load data for 40gn vmax or 32 gn vmax and 8208? I go through pretty extreme temp swings from summer pd hunting to winter 'yote hunting so little temp sensitivity would be great.