...do you reduce your load and work back up? How much do you reduce from your previously tested load?
In this case, I'm opening up a new jug of h4350. Previous load was 42.4gr under 143eldx in 6.5CM. I loaded up 5 rounds each of 42.1, 42.4, 42.7. Wondering if I should drop down to 41.8 as well, but I've heard 4350 is generally consistent lot to lot.

H4350 I have found can vary from lot to lot, sometimes A LOT!! What your exact powder charge will change to you will have to check that. But if you can find the same speed, you should be good. It should be within .5 grain or less of your previous load.

I was loading my personal 6.5x47 L ammo for a match late one night. I ran out of my main H4350, and went to a new lot. I knew better, but I HAD to load the ammo (about 50 rounds). Those 50 rounds had gained about 80-100 fps with the same powder charge. It was showing slight pressure signs and didn't shoot well, either. I didn't use much of the ammo except for some close in shots with generous targets. I had to drop it .4 grains to get back where I was.

So it depends on the lot variations of what you are using. I've seen it be the exact same, and I've seen it drastically change. (I did some new powder lot tests on H1000 recently for a customers' 300 WM on a large order, and the new powder lot didn't change a thing. Same velocity and really good accuracy.) So, it depends. But I do find VARGET and H4350 can have the biggest lot to lot variations. I've seen H1000 and Retumbo be fairly consistent from lot to lot.

What I do is probably not the best way to go about it but it works for me. I drop my charge weigh by 5% and load 1 each in 1% incremental increases and shoot them through a chronograph and work up to the velocity of the load with the previous jug of powder. After that I go ahead and load enough of what produced the same velocity and shoot a group. Sometimes a new lot of powder matched the old one dead nuts. Sometimes it needs to be tweaked a smidge.

That hurts... a lot.

I have ran into a few old handloaders that swear at Varget/H4350 instead of by it
They won’t use it due to bad experiences of lot changes from back when it was first introduced.
I think it’s a little better now but but always wise to trust but verify.

I had about 250 rounds left on a barrel before I was going to pull it and it was a decent barrel. Ran out of Varget, switched lots and that gun was JUNK afterwards. I did end up finding a lot it would shoot again but I bet I wasted almost 100 rds determining it wouldn't shoot that new lot and then switching to a third lot. I was shocked and had I not seen it I wouldn't believe it. I could hit the same velocity and everything it just would not shoot it. Coincidently, my next barrel loved that crappy lot.

There is so much going on during the burn of that powder we still don't understand it's amazing...

Shot my test loads yesterday. My old load of 42.4 looked awful.


.3 grains more at 42.7 shot great (200 yards)



The real PIA when you're using a MIL scope is you have to measure your groups in millimeters and then convert to inches to figure your MOA. 22mm is .86 inches, so that's .43 MOA at 200 yards. That's just a bit better than my previous load.

Can't you just measure in inches and cut out the measuring in mm step?

well, duh…it is metric

Glad you found it and are back shooting well!

I probably should be shooting meters, not yards too. I'm pretty sure I'd improve my groups just a bit if I switched to 200 meter groups.

The button that changes my calipers from mm to in is broken, so I can only measure in mm. I was just trolling the MOA shooters with my post.