Hornady .224 75gr HPBT and Varget

[capreppy]

24" DPMS 1-8 Twist .223 Remington bull barrel

Looking for suggested range of powder charges for a Hornady .224 75gr HPBT using Varget.

For reference, I am using 25.6gr of to push Sierra .224 69gr HPBT. This is not a max load, but it is compressed. I will be loading to mag length of 2.260.

Trying to limit my range of charges so I don't waste too much powder in search of the charge.

Thanks in advance

 

[rcmodel]

My Hornady #6 manual says:

19.4 Starting load.
23.5 MAX load.

rc

 

[capreppy]

My Hornady #8 says the same thing.

It also says 22.7 to 24.9 (MAX) for the 69gr HPBT. I had to go significantly over that to get the Sierra 69gr HPBT to where I want it.

I did check my manuals for an appropriate powder charge, but I'm seeing a lot of other threads where they are significantly over MAX.

Hornady #8 (19.4 to 23.5 MAX)
Hodgdon's Website (21 to 23.7 MAX)
Sierra's PDF (this is for the 77gr SMK, but close enough to start with: 22.6 to 23.9 MAX)

 

[rcmodel]

I had to go significantly over that to get to where I want it.

Where do you want it?

How are you measuring it?

And how long is your barrel compared to the ones used in the manuals?

rc

 

[capreppy]

Where I want it: best groups possible (1/2 MOA in my case).

Hornady manual uses a 20" 1-9 Twist. I'm using a 24" 1-8 Twist.

 

[chrome_austex]

I'm probably going to get flamed for this but that Hornady manual sucks. It seems overly conservative on every load I've looked up. I find the Lee manual much more useful.

Anyway, I run 25.0gr of Varget in LC 07/08 brass with an OAL of 2.255 for the 75gr Hornady bthp with CCI benchrest small rifle primers for ~2700fps out of my 20" 1/8 twist AR. This is a compressed load.

IIRC (actually, I just checked) Hodgton's website lists 22.5 starting and 25.0 max for Varget, OAL 2.25, and a 75gr VLD bullet.

As always, start low and work it up.

 

[capreppy]

The Hornady 75gr HPBT is actually closer to the Sierra 77gr HPBT (MatchKing). The start and max per Hodgdon's website (see post #3) is 21 to 23.7 (MAX and compressed).

But like you, I have seen others (a lot actually) that are running 25.0gr Varget with the Sierra 77gr MK.

I know that I had to really push the 69gr SMK with 25.6gr Varget to get my groups to 1/2 MOA out of my rifle (some early signs of pressure, but definitely not excessive).

 

[Stack]

My 1 in 8 Larue (20 inch) will handle the 25 gr-75 grain loads well. My carbine will NOT. Carbine gas system is just too close to the fire without an adj gas block to slow it down a bit.
Even running a wolf spring and H2 buffer the bolt opens early.

 

[jelenko]

FWIW, accuracy loads are usually not found at the extremes of the loading range.

As an example, 23.0gr of 2460 behind a Hornady 75 gr HPBT in my current barrel is producing groups ~ 1/2 the size of ones at 23.5 gr. At 23.0 they are .5" to .8". At 23.5 they are 1" to 1.3".

Before pushing beyond the max to find an accurate load, try the whole recommended loading range - in 0.5gr increments. Once you find candidates from that, you can try going 0.2 gr increments on either side.

HTH.

 

[Stack]

I agree with jalenko although 25 grains of Varget is not above the max for a Hornady 75 grain HPBT. I seem, for no good reason to find my most accurate loadings near 1/2 grain above or below book max after playing a bit with COL where possible. This is of course in no way a recommendation to exceed a listed maximum load.