H-380 or Better for 22-250 and .243

P

Propdoc

New member
I am on the verge of ordering some H-380 and thought I would check here to see if there might be a better choice. I have been using Varget since its inception but my stock is running out. I am shooting light bullets for squirrels, 50grn 22-250 and 70grn in the .243. The reason I am considering the H-380 is so that I will finally be able to use it for these calibers, the Varget simply did not work as it was too coarse. I am not familiar with any of the newer powders that may meter well.

Thanks,
PD
 
I've been using H380 in my 22-25, 243 and my 6.5X55 for many years. I like the way it flows through my measure and can't find any fault with it. I've tried other powders but always seem to go back to H380.
 
Welcome Propdoc,

H380 works well in the 22-250 and meters well. You'll see approximately the same velocities that you saw with Varget too. I have no experience with it in the .243 though.

Where in NorCal are you from? I'm originally from Redding, actually Cottonwood, but most people don't know where that is. I sure miss the squirrel shooting there though. I used to shoot at ground squirrels from my parents back deck. Lots of fun!
 
I found a load today for my Savage 12, 26" 1-12 twist bbl.
40gr VMax over 34.8gr H335, should be right around 3950fps. I'll use that load for whistle pigs and rock chucks, I have another load I use for coyotes.

HPIM3815.jpg
 
Welcome to the board Doc!

Any of the ball powders will meter well for you but they tend to be dirty when fired.
 
You might have to test various powders to see which work best in your 22-250. If H-380 doesn't shoot well, there are other powders that might. My current 22-250 shoots best with 32.6 grains of Benchmark with 55 grain bullets. It would not shoot well with H-380 at all. Varget came in a close second to Benchmark in my rifle. I know Varget doesn't meter well, so I use a beam balance scale and through light with the measure and trickle up to get the correct powder weight. IIRC, about 35 to 36 grains of Varget shot very well, with the 55 grain bullets.
As always, start low and work up with powder weights for safety reasons.
The Benchmark load shot 3 shots at 100 yards into a 1/4" group; not too shabby.

Martyn
 
As usual when this question is asked....There is no "better" or "best" powder for any cartridge(aside from physical properties).

I have a custom 243 Varmint gun that will shoot in the .2-.3 range with 70gr Sierras and H380. It's a great powder for the 243. Varget is also known as a great powder in the .243 but I've never personally tried it.

That's the fun of it, try 'em all /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Guys, thanks for the great info.

DocCoyote, I know exactly where Cottonwood is as I drive by it to work twice a day. I am the next city south of Cottonwood, Red Bluff and work in Redding. Small world, well maybe not as small with the Internet. I try to head up north a couple hours by the Oregon border a few times a year to play with the squirrels. Went to grab my jug a Varget and didnt realize it only has about 2 lbs if that left in it.

Martyn, Benchmark was one of the other powders I was considering, is it an extruded powder?

Nice forum, glad I found it!

PD
 
H-380 is temperature sensitive....I used to use it in a 22-250.

I recently tried some IMR3031, while it is not a ball powder, it meters fairly well. IMR 3031 is my go to powder for my 243.

I'm shooting 41 grains of IMR3031 pushing a 55 grain nosler ballistic tip at 3800 fps. The accuracy is a big improvement over varget and is slightly better than H380.
 
DocCoyote, I forgot to mention that I have a large number of relatives in Cottonwood. Are you familiar with the Spoons or Leady's? We have big get togethers there For Thankgiving and Easter.

PD
 
If your going to be shooting PDogs in summer I would go with 3031. I have better luck with it in the 243.

Extruded powders seem to be a lot less sensitive to heat than any of the ball powders I've used.
 
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