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Hornady 174 gr RN with Varget and 2520 |
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slowindown 
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Joined: January 16 2024 Location: MS, USA Status: Offline Points: 108 |
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 Topic: Hornady 174 gr RN with Varget and 2520Posted: January 18 2024 at 3:27pm |
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Among others, I would like to work up a load for Hornady 174 grain RN projectiles with both Varget and Accurate 2520. I have some once fired hxp brass, which I will first have to full length size. I also have some new PPU brass on the way (I also have some once fired S&B I will probably load once and discard - I've read negative things about reloading them and when I prepped some, the primer pockets where a troublesome to run my lyman uniformer in). I will be using cci 200 primers. I have the reloading guides from the Hodgdon website, the Hornady App. and the relevant page from the Lyman 49th Reloading Handbook. I'll start with 2520. The app gives 30.7grn (2000 fps), 32.7 (2100), 34.8 (2200), 36.9 (2300) and max 39.0 (2400 fps) - for both hornady's 174 grn RN (flat base) and their 174 grn fmj-bt However, Hodgdon list a starting load of 38.0grn for 2347 fps and a max of 41.1 for 2,505. This is for the RN. They provide different (roughly 2 grain) loads for the Sierra 174 grn hpbt. There seems to me, a fairly novice reloader, significant differences there. Lyman doesn't list 2520. Varget shows greater discrepancy across sources. App: 31.6 (2000 fps) 33.5 (2100) 35.3 (2200) 37.2 (2300) max 39.1 (2400) Hodgdon 36.2 (2304 fps) to max 39.0 (2457 fps) Lyman 38.0 (1993 fps) to 42.0 (2333) As such, I'm pretty confused about where I should start so I'm seeking experienced info. Any pet loads with these powders and projectile? |
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Sapper740
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Joined: July 15 2021 Location: Texas Status: Offline Points: 1737 |
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Posted: January 19 2024 at 1:40am |
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Before you expend much time and effort, have you miked your Hornady bullets? I found the Hornady bullets I handloaded couldn't match the accuracy of my Sierra or LeHigh loads. When I miked the Hornady bullets they were .001" to .0015" smaller than the sizes listed on the boxes. Having said that, I found a sweet spot for more than one of my rifles with 40 gr. of Varget and the 174 gr. SMK or 180gr. LeHigh which is unfortunately out of production. I back off my loads when loading equivalent weight bullets that are flat base RN due to greater bearing surface and less gas escaping past the boat-tail. I use the Hodgdon reloading data on their website and they recommend a max load of 39 gr of Varget with the Hornady 174 gr. RN but 42 gr. with the 174 gr. SMK. Several other reloaders on other sites have found this same 'sweet spot' too. In any event, I highly recommend starting with the lowest load in the book and work up in 1/2 gr. increments.
See the Varget loads here: https://hodgdonreloading.com/rldc/
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britrifles
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Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404 |
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Posted: January 19 2024 at 4:34am |
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I’ve shot thousands of SMKs over 40.0 grains of Varget, probably more than 8,000. It’s been a very accurate load in my four No. 4 rifles. Won many matches with this load. I also use this powder in my No. 4 7.62 conversions. But, the bore has to be in good condition, boattail bullets generally don’t do well in barrels that have had the throat burned out with cordite Mk 7 ammunition. Rifles that have been in military service in the U.K. are the most susceptible to this since they almost exclusively used cordite in the Mk 7 ball loads. Canada generally used Mk 7z nitrocellulose powder which burned much cooler and resulted in much less throat errosion.
The Hornady 174 gr RN is .312 in diameter and a flat base bullet. It has considerably more bearing surface area in the bore than the 174 SMK. Velocities will be lower at the same pressure. It may shoot well, I’ve not tried that bullet myself. Note the max cartridge length with this bullet, 2.945 inches which is shorter than the typical 3.075 max length for Spitzer shaped bullets. The round nose profile may jam this bullet into the lands if you exceed the max cartridge length shown, that can raise pressures significantly. The lower max charge of Varget with the Hornady 174 RN bullet compared to the 174 SMK is a result of these two differences. There is indeed a lot of variation in published load data. I generally follow the powder manufactures data, particularly if they list the specific bullet you are loading and it includes pressure data (i.e Hodgdon data). Hodgdon obtains its data direct from the powder manufacture. Varget is the Hodgdon name for ADI AR2208, if you look up ADI AR2208 online data, you will see it is identical to Varget. Look at the bore of your rifle from the breech end. If the rifling is sharp and well defined right at the throat (just forward of the chamber) count yourself lucky. If you see a half inch or more with no rifling, you will probably be better off trying a flat base bullet with a relatively fast burning powder like IMR 3031. Be cautions with AA 2520. This is a double base ball powder that burns hot and produces high velocities. If loaded close to max chamber pressure it can quickly burn the throat out of the barrel. Keep to low to mid range loads with this powder. I’ve not used it in the LE, but used it in my AR-15 loads for a few years and it burned the throat out in only 1500 rounds on two barrels. |
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britrifles
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Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Georgia, USA Status: Offline Points: 8404 |
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Posted: January 19 2024 at 5:11am |
Good advice here ^^^^ If I was going to load the Hornady 174 gr RN bullet with Varget I would use the Hodgdon online data for this bullet, start at the minimum charge and work up to max, 36.0 to 39.0 grains in 0.5 grain steps. I would initially load 10 rounds at each 0.5 grain increment and monitor for pressure signs (difficult extraction and flattened primers). If you see no accuracy improvement as you work up, use the minimum charge in your loads. More than likely, you will see best accuracy between mid range and max. The best 10 shot groups I got off the bench with a scope were very close to or at max, but mid range was almost as good and max was of no advantage in position shooting and will give a longer barrel life and less overall stress on the rifle. The lowest load with acceptable accuracy is what you want. Load development for match shooting takes a bit more effort than this, you won’t necessarily know the most accurate load with only one ten shot group. I kept records of hundreds of 10 shot groups of various powders and charge weights to have confidence that 40.0 grains of Varget gave me best accuracy with the 174 SMK. |
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slowindown
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Joined: January 16 2024 Location: MS, USA Status: Offline Points: 108 |
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Posted: January 19 2024 at 6:53am |
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Thanks for the information and pointers.
I have the 2520 because I’ve been loading mostly 77gr 223 with it but saw the 303 Brit load data.
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Sapper740 wrote: