Win 748 for .223

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Charliefrank

Charliefrank

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Anybody out there use 748 for their .223's? I'm new to the AR club and need to start reloading for it. I have plenty of ball ammo for the range, but need some premium hunting rounds. I used to reload for my bolt action 223 using 29 grains of 748 under a 50 grain ballistic tip. I'm considering purchasing 55 grain ballistic tips but am wondering about the powder. I have almost two lbs left and don't want to see it go to waste.
 
I used to load for a wildcat .222/223 (.222 Haney) and W748 was my go to powder.
Works rather well in my opinion.
 
Good powder for the AR. Nosler says the maximum with 748 and the 55 BT is 26 grains and that the max with 50/52 gr. bullets is 26.5 grains. Some other manuals list higher charges but what you work up in cool temperatures may be too hot in high summer temps or when a round is left in a hot chamber to soak up the heat. Maximum loads for my AR from the manual showed high pressure signs in 95 degree heat using 55 gr. bullets. I would be careful going above 26 to 26.4 grains of 748. Loaded 748 for 55-64 grain bullets for many years then switched to H335.
 
W748 has been heavily used in .223 for decades. We have a plethora of good powders for everything these days, and .223 is no different. It's a smorgasbord compared to 40 years ago. :)
 
rg1 said:
Good powder for the AR. Nosler says the maximum with 748 and the 55 BT is 26 grains and that the max with 50/52 gr. bullets is 26.5 grains. Some other manuals list higher charges but what you work up in cool temperatures may be too hot in high summer temps or when a round is left in a hot chamber to soak up the heat. Maximum loads for my AR from the manual showed high pressure signs in 95 degree heat using 55 gr. bullets. I would be careful going above 26 to 26.4 grains of 748. Loaded 748 for 55-64 grain bullets for many years then switched to H335.
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The old Lyman Manuel that I was using listed 30 grains max for the 50 grain bullet. Why did you switch powders, if you don't mind me asking?
 
Hodgdon data with H335 powder gives me close to advertised velocity while I never achieved the velocity with Win 748 that data said. Plus some max data is too high with 748 even above 27 grains, and I ran into pressure issues in hot summer temps at the higher load levels. Especially in my bolt action .223. Pressures were scary in the summer in the bolt rifle. I dropped my 748 loads so they were safe in both AR's and bolt action. Mainly the velocity issue and I appreciate data that is realistic and Hodgdon's data with 55 gr. bullets is honest. Dropping Win 748 data to 26.4 grains with 55 gr bullets is ok in both rifle types even in summer.
 
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rg1 said:
Hodgdon data with H335 powder gives me close to advertised velocity while I never achieved the velocity with Win 748 that data said. Plus some max data is too high with 748 and I ran into pressure issues in hot summer temps at the higher load levels. Especially in my bolt action .223. Pressures were scary in the summer. I dropped my 748 loads so they were safe in both AR's and bolt action. Mainly the velocity issue and I appreciate data that is realistic and Hodgdon's data with 55 gr. bullets is honest.
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Good to know as some of my shooting will take place in the hot Florida summer
 
Decades ago, I standardized by 223/5.56 load on the Hornady 60 grain Spire Point (Soft Point or Hollow Point were used interchangeably) over a 20.3 grain load of IMR-4198. In the mini-powder drought in the early to mid-1980s, I had to redevelop that load based on the powders that were available. One of them was Winchester 748. I ended up in the neighborhood of 25 grains to duplicate the muzzle velocity and point of impact of the IMR-4198 loading.
 
With all the great powders that are available for the .223 these days many powders have forgotten about W748 but cute still a good powder. I'm using H335 which is similar to W748.
 
I have been using 25gns of 748 with a 55gn bullet for a while in an AR. Works good and is accurate but the speed is just over 2700 fps in a 16" barrel. Hodgdon data used to show 25 as a starting load but the have brought that down to about 24 now.
 
748 is the powder the cartridge was born with, and works well to this day.
And it works well in a variety of other cartridges. Handy stuff to have around.
 
I used 748 in my rem. 700 bdl .243. 33gr. powder with 85 gr. sierra spritzer with AMAZING results!! I want to try it for my AR
 
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