4895 or Varget for garand

[omt223]

I have bought 5 lb of both 4895 and Varget. I need to load about 300 rds for my garand but am torn on which to use. Feel like I'd be more likely to come across more varget that 4895. Whatever isnt used for the garand will be used for my Tikka CTR.

 

[.gacton]

I plan to use IMR 4895. I have more Varget, but it will be going elsewhere. Now that I have some more primers to play with, I hope to start load development on my M1.

 

[OFtrash]

I use IMR 4895 in my Garand and M1A for CMP service rifle competition.

 

[omt223]

I use IMR 4895 in my Garand and M1A for CMP service rifle competition

I have used it plenty; I actually have some Win 748 and magnum primers so I think I am going to go that route

 

[Turpentine21]

Im sure both would work and am a huge fan of both powders as well as IMR 4064 which is very close to Varget. If I'm not mistaken you may in better shape with port pressure running 4895. Because of the slower burn Varget may put more pressure across the ports which can be detrimental. Of course some of that depends on the load. I may be getting m14 and Garand crossed up somewhat with my fading memory. The m-14 website used to have a lot of information regarding loading for the Garand and m14 with regard to keeping port pressures in their desirable window.

 

[omt223]

I actually have some Win 748 and magnum primers so I think I am going to go that route, thanks all!
Keeps from cutting into my small stash of either powder as well as non-magnum LR primers

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

H-4895 is really hard to find, but better for your use. Been looking for it for years.
Varget is available, but at a price.

 

[RegionRat]

I agree with CSTracker...

Varget is only a little slower than 4895 and since both work in the Garand, I think you can work it out based on what you can get.

https://hodgdon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/m1-grand-service-rifle-load-data.pdf

 

[Grizzman47]

Both will definitely work, but 4895 is generally considered an ideal M1 powder. I personally use Varget and IMR 4064.

I think I've only seen a couple pounds of H4895 and not a single pound of IMR 4064 on a shelf in several years, but Varget's been pretty easy to find.

 

[Turpentine21]

I have a very accurate reduced 30-06 load with 150s with imr 4895 at around 2650fps that I load for my son's 03-a3 and a friends Weatherby for his daughter to use on deer.

It seems like one of my manuals has an accuracy load for 30-06 and 4064. I run all 4 of these powders in various calibers.

 

[HSmithTX]

As long as you stick with service rifle data you should be OK. Do definitely stick with service rifle data and do not hot rod it or you risk a bent op rod or worse.

 

[RidgeTop]

I think 4895 was the military load.
Don't over do it and bend the operator rod.

 

[Turpentine21]

I did a little research just to see if my memory was somewhat intact. 47 grains of Imr 4895 with a 150 grain bullet is almost identical to the standard M2 ball 30-06 ammunition developed for the Garand. Imr 4895s pressure curve was found to be ideal for the Garands operating system.
Another recommended load on the Garand Forum was around 46 to 47 grains of Imr 4064 with a 150 or 155 grain bullet. Varget generally falls right in line with 4064 though I would likely start a little lower and work into it. 4064 was found to be slightly more accurate in many rifles.
Its not chamber pressure that will get you in trouble first with the Garand but port pressure. Slower burning powders run port pressure too high and can damage OP rods. Sticking with service rifle loads is mighty good advice. I don't even like to run the 03-A3 hard. There's plenty of power there in the lower end of the load range.

 

[762n40]

Here in WI reloading powder has been a real challange finding what your looking for at the local GS, but its recently been getting better, I see IMR 4895 once in awhile but have not seen H4895 in a couple years. Thats to bad because it works great in a broad range of calibers.