Sharing range results of 223

I thought I would share my results of my loads shot through my new Ruger AR 5.56 and Pro Chrono digital chronograph. Pay attention the the one shot with asterisks, with an explanation to follow. All rounds are once fired Lake City, FL resized, crimp removed with a RCBS pocket swage, trimmed to 1.750" and primed with CCI No. 41 primers.

First batch are all 55gr Hornady SP, CFE 223 and seated to 2.20"

26.0 grains
1 - 2604
2 - 2766
3 - 2743
4 - 2682
5 - 2754
AVG 2766
ES 162
SD 67

26.5 grains
1 - 2737
2 - 2849
3 - 2715
4 - 2588***
5 - 2849
AVG 2747
ES 261
SD 108

27.0 grains
1 - 2930
2 - 2772
3 - 2818
4 - 2911
5 - chrono failed to read
AVG 2889
ES 169
SD 77

*** This round shot very weird. Chambered with no problem. I pulled the trigger and heard the firing pin hit the primer. Then a split second of nothing. The round then fired, and this one shot I had fire come out of side of gun from bolt. Brass looked fine. Velocity was way down. Recoil definitely felt lighter. I have no idea what caused this, but I'm wondering if maybe the bolt was not completely in full battery.

The next batch is all 55gr Hornady FMFBT, CFE 223 and seated to 2.230"

25.0 grains
1 - 2520
2 - 2460
3 - 2534
4 - 2496
5 - 2624
AVG 2530
ES 164
SD 62

25.5 grains
1 - 2535
2 - 2588
3 - 2574
4 - 2574
5 - 2604
AVG 2573
ES 79
SD 29

26.0 grains
1 - 2726
2 - 2635
3 - 2737
4 - 2772
5 - 2772
AVG 2728
ES 131
SD 56

The last batch is all 55gr Hornady FMJBT, BLC2 and seated to 2.230"

25.0 grains
1 - 2619
2 - 2624
3 - 2578
4 - 2599
5 - 2588
AVG 2601
ES 46
SD 19

25.5 grains
1 - 2656
2 - 2617
3 - 2672
4 - 2629
5 - 2549
AVG 2636
ES 128
SD 52

26.0 grains
1 - 2754
2 - 2666
3 - 2715
4 - 2766
5 - 2766
AVG 2733
ES 100
SD 43

26.5 grains
1 - 2789
2 - 2693
3 - 2801
4 - 2699
5 - 2612
AVG 2730
ES 129
SD 38

27.0 grains
1 - 2812
2 - 2842
3 - 2801
4 - 2760
5 - 2861
AVG 2815
ES 101
SD 38

Accuracy with the CFE 223 was about the same with all loads. If I had to pick one, it would be 26.0. The BLC2 is a different story with 25.0 and 27.0 being very accurate, with the others not being awful. I will stick with the 25.0 grains, as I'm cheap and getting good accuracy and saving 2 grains per round is nice. I did notice the BLC2 was a little faster and a touch more accurate than the CFE 223 when loaded with the same bullet, seated to the same depth and same weight of powder. At this point I like BLC2 better than the CFE 223 in the 223 round. Both meter great as they look identical in size, both very small ball powders and would not hesitate to use both again. I still want to try varget and H335 and see how my rifle likes those. Hopefully I can pick up both this weekend and give them a "shot".

OR, I do clean every primer pocket just before putting the piece of brass into the RCBS pocket swage in my single stage Lee press. After cleaning I also blow through the hole to make sure it is clear and I can see through it.

The elapsed time after the firing pin made contact with the primer and the powder was ignited was just long enough for me to go "hmmmmm". My cheek was pressed against the butt stock, so when the fire shot out the ejection port, I was like wow, that was different. Recoil was a little softer, but I could see the hole in the target, so I knew the bullet came out. I checked the rifle, it looked fine, checked the brass and noticed it was a touch more sooty than others and primer was not quite as fired looking. All my other shots left the primer slightly flat as they look in my post a week ago. I also then noticed the drop of a couple of hundred feet per second on the chrono. All rounds after that worked perfect.

16" barrel, 1-8 twist.