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I had about 5 lbs of varget on hand and developed a killer 308 load using 168 AMAX, 44.5 gr Varget, federal primers, LC brass full length sized, swaged on my Dillon superswager, bullets seated with my forster die and just a very slight hint of a crimp to prevent setback in a semi auto. My armalite AR 10 20" shoots these loads well under MOA.

Well, I'm almost out of varget but have jugs of H335, which I use for .223. I know I know, I will need to do load development but I'm wondering if anyone here has experience using H335 with 168 AMAX for 308 and, if so, what your experience may be?

Thanks.
 
H335 was built for the 308.
Despite what most people think they know, H335 wasn't developed for the 223.
WC846 which is a VERY(@ 1937 patent) old powder, built for the 7.62 Nato. That powder was also used in the 5.56Nato.

The "problem" with gas tube blockage people like to sqwak about, took MANY hundreds of thousands of rounds, and two years of endurance testing by Frankfort arsenal. They found that if the powder was near it's allowable maximum CaCO level of 1%. Around 1969 they lowered the spec of lots going to 5.56 ammo to a maximum of .25%. Then the following year decided to call any powder near the low end WC844, and all else stayed WC846.

But the formula is the same, just how the cookie comes out in the end.
When Hodgdon started selling surplus powder, they called
WC846 = Bl-c. Bl-c(2) just means non-surplus.
WC844 = H335

  • Similarly WC748 = Win 748. Which comes from that 846 family, but with some Tin/bismuth compounds... You know, the same compounds that the French discover were copper cleaners @1900. That have been, in larger quantities, in WC842 for over a decade. Hodgdon calls that powder CFE223.
 
I want to report on my results. I've run about 50 rounds of 168 amax in lapua brass with H335 and I have settled on a load using 41.5 grs that is going right around 5/8 MOA average at 100 yards through my Tikka sporter off a bipod with a bag in the rear. On my ladder loads, everything from 40.9 to 42.0 was consistently outstanding. To say I am thrilled is an understatement. This combination is definitely a winner and it runs quite well at 200 and 300 yards. I haven't shot the load at other distances but I expect it will be great.
 
I had about 5 lbs of varget on hand and developed a killer 308 load using 168 AMAX

If you order online, do you mind if I ask you where you find the 168 grain A-Max bullets? I've found a few sources, but it's always nice to have several sources so one can find them in stock when needed?
 
Midway is the cheapest, but I've found them at Cabela's, Selway Armory and of course, the most expensive by far direct from Hornady. The more sources one has, the more likely one is to find it in stock.
 
H335 was built for the 308.
Despite what most people think they know, H335 wasn't developed for the 223.
WC846 which is a VERY(@ 1937 patent) old powder, built for the 7.62 Nato. That powder was also used in the 5.56Nato.

The "problem" with gas tube blockage people like to sqwak about, took MANY hundreds of thousands of rounds, and two years of endurance testing by Frankfort arsenal. They found that if the powder was near it's allowable maximum CaCO level of 1%. Around 1969 they lowered the spec of lots going to 5.56 ammo to a maximum of .25%. Then the following year decided to call any powder near the low end WC844, and all else stayed WC846.

But the formula is the same, just how the cookie comes out in the end.
When Hodgdon started selling surplus powder, they called
WC846 = Bl-c. Bl-c(2) just means non-surplus.
WC844 = H335

  • Similarly WC748 = Win 748. Which comes from that 846 family, but with some Tin/bismuth compounds... You know, the same compounds that the French discover were copper cleaners @1900. That have been, in larger quantities, in WC842 for over a decade. Hodgdon calls that powder CFE223.

That's crazy, they developed a powder for a cartridge they wouldn't invent for nearly another 20 years? Talk about foresight!

Original spec on .30-06 was IMR4895, original spec for MkVII .303 was IMR3031. It wasn't until after WW2 that there was serious interest in ball powders that could be made by recycling artillery powder by remilling it.

Other than that, you're largely correct.
 
There was serious work being done with ball powder before WWII, there just wasn't large scale adoption until after the war; as is evident by the number of patents prior to the war.
 

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