Fav 223 powder/bullet combo

Varmint/target 223rem powder?

  • Varget

    Votes: 22 36.1%

  • BLC2

    Votes: 8 13.1%

  • Benchmark

    Votes: 10 16.4%

  • H335

    Votes: 27 44.3%

  • H322

    Votes: 3 4.9%

  • IMR4198

    Votes: 5 8.2%

  • IMR3031

    Votes: 6 9.8%

  • H4198

    Votes: 2 3.3%
  • Total voters
    61
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A

Axis II

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I am running a little low on powders and thinking about trying something new. I generally shoot 50-55gr V max, Nosler Varmegeddon BT, HP, SP. I am looking for accuracy but also good velocity to shoot a little flatter. I have tried H335 but only with 55gr v max and wasn't impressed, H322 and Benchmark seem to do well and I have IMR4198 on hand for 45-70govt if that will work. This is for a bolt gun used to shoot varmints and targets from 100-300yards. I plan on using 50gr v max exclusively for paper punching and 53-55gr Nosler Varmegeddon BT/HP and V max for varmints.

Also, I made a spread sheet with each powders velocity and CUP/PSI data and it got me wondering if I chose a powder with a lower PSI/CUP rating if it would give my barrel a little more life. Based on what I've compiled there is no rhyme or reason some powders have a higher velocity but a low CUP/PSI and some with lower FPS have a higher CUP/PSI.
 
BTW before anyone gets upset with me not checking the search engine i did but all the posts seem to be 10yrs old. :( I figured things might have changed a little bit since then.
 
My match loads are 75gr Hornady BTHP over Ramshot TAC, gets around 2700 from a 16" Criterion .223 Wylde and MOA or better if i really try...but i use TAC because it meters extremely consistently througj a powder bar in a Dillon RL650, and load by the hundreds.

Of the listed powders, i like Benchmark. I tried Varget a little with heavier heads, but it wasn't amazing for me. I really like it in my .308.
 
CFE223, works great in bullets up to 60 grains. If you go 69 or 75 grains, then Varget has worked well for me.
 
Ohio, depending on where you get your powder from, I like the Shooters World Tactical Rifle. I get it from Powder Valley, do not know if anyone else carries it. Right now, just using 55gr FMJ, but wanting to mix it up a bit here soon
 
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This is a hard question to answer because I use different bullets and powders for my .223 ammo shot in an AD style rifle and a bolt action rifle.

My most accurate combination in a bolt action rifle is a 55gr Sierra GameKing bullet #1390 over Varget in a PPU case. The 60gr Nosler Partition is a very close second in the same bolt action rifle. I'm using a CCI-400 primer but have tried a CCI BR-4 with no noticeable increase in accuracy. That combination results in sub-MOA ammo.

For a semi-auto I use mostly H335 and most any 55-60gr bullet.
 
My standard loading for 223/5.56 has been 20.3 grains of IMR-4198 under a Hornady 60 grain Spire Point bullet (soft point and hollow point used interchangeably).

In the past when IMR-4198 became difficult to obtain, I redeveloped the same load to give the same performance and point of impact using IMR-3031, and Winchester 748.

Please note that the 20.3 grain charge of IMR-4198 was a less than maximum load per Hornady #4 when the load was originally developed. Per later editions of the Hornady Handbook, it would be an above maximum loading.
 
TAC is my primary, with bullets from 40 gr. up through 69 gr. I used to use Accurate 2015 with 50 gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, butthead TAC meters better and shoots cleaner. Recently, I have been shooting some Hornady 62 gr HPBT's from Midsouth, and the results in 1 in 8" twist barrels have been gratifying, with either TAC or IMR-8208XBR, each with 24.5 gr.
 
How do you guys know what weight bullet for each powder? I see a lot of Varget with heavier bullets comments.

Tac.? that's a new one for me, never heard of it until now. I will be looking into this one.

I don't buy powder online but at a local gun shop so I'm limited to what they carry.
 
Heavier bullets tend to work better with slower-burning powders. You can find burn-rate charts online that will give you a rough estimation of how burn rates compare from one powder to the next, but they should always be taken with a grain of salt, because comparative burn rates can change from lot to lot, and depend on different case characteristics.
 
How do you guys compare Nosler Varmegeddon ballistic tip and the Hornady V max? I see the Nosler go on sale quite a bit but don't know enough about them to try them. BTW my rifle is 1-9 twist.

I just compared Nosler and Hornady and Nosler seems to beat Hornady for sectional density and ballistic coefficiency. Why so much cheaper and underated. I find it odd they are cheaper but with better ballistics and SD.
 
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All the ones mentioned.

And the super secrete powder. Accurate LT-32. I stumbled on to it when I couldn't get the ones listed above. And with 64 gr bullets and lighter, it is super accurate, low spreads and low std dev in slightly less than max listed loads. Not the top velocity. Shhh, don't tell anyone.
 
The Savage gets 27 grains of Varget under the little 40 grain V-Max
The AR gets 27 grains of BL C(2) under the Berry's or Hornady 55 grain FMJBT.
 
TAC and CFE two-twenty three for my rifles.

A very low twenty three and one half grains of TAC under a fifty grain Z-Max for my AR, nice and smooth.

And (undisclosed amount) of CFE two-twenty three under a seventy five grain bthp match. Fairly intense, but one hole at one hundred, from a Savage F/TR.

Also fifty six grains of CFE in a thirty aught six case, under a one hundred ten grain V-Max, also a one hole load. The holes are bigger though.:)

I have one pound of Varget to try out, but I haven't gotten to it yet. I am reluctant to fix that which is not broken.
 
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I've only been loading .223 for about 3-4 years, and H335 is all I've used. When I found a source I bought a lot so it could be a while before I try something else. I've used 3 or 4 55 gr bullets from Sierra, Nosler, and Hornady. Definitely want to try something heavier. Maybe a different powder for heavier bullets ?

-jeff
 
I only run an AR with a 20" barrel, stainless, Wylde. I used to use TAC but tested it in hot and cold weather and found that at 500 meters there was a substantial velocity change. Enough to drop my impact below an 8" target.

After some testing I settled on H4895 which shows no impact point change. I run 53 grain Vmax with 26.5 grains which gives a MV of 3440. The 53 Vmax is definitely taking a close look at.

The other load I use is 24.0 grains with a 75 grain Hornady ELD-M that yields a MV of 3000. Admittedly I still need to fine tune my ballistics on this load, but I'm confident that the MV won't change substantially.

At 500 meters the Vmax just tickles a steel plate ram target, the ELD-M will knock it over.
 
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