10" loading info for TC 223 Rem.

[McHenry]

I had a 222 barrel for my TC and recently I had it punched out to 223 (chamber wise), at a local machine shop / gun shop. The guy did a great job and saved me several hundred dollars and the risk of buying a used TC barrel.
I now have an unlimited amount of brass to load with but I have no 223 loading experience.
Summit/ Lake City Ammo makes a load that performs okay but in general, nothing on the shelf works for a T/C Contender 10". I am looking for a faster 223 powder for a TC 10" barrel what ever that twist is and a bullet suggestion as well. All of this is of course is related to ACCURACY only. I am not interested in "BANG" and "AR bottle rocket "answers.

McHenry

 

[41 Mag]

I know you asked for loads, but in the meantime see if you can run down a box of this ammo and give it a try and see how it does,
Winchester 223 Rem 45 Gr. JHP Varmint- 40 round value pack

I have a .223 AI 14" barrel that I shoot that stuff in. To be honest I haven't even tried to work up loads for it and I have had it for close to 12 years. This is how it shoots in mine,

10 shots at 100yds from a rest. As you can see, I would be hard pressed to beat that sort of grouping.

For critters up to coyote size those little pills really do a job on them. I initially picked some up simply because it was cheap at the time, and I figured I would get fully fire formed cases to work with afterwords. Once I saw how well it shot, I saved up and bought a case of the stuff. It takes a while to run through those 40 round boxes too.

Wished I could offer load data but, there are plenty of others who can. Just do a search and look at the most popular posted powders. That will give you clue as to where to start looking. Your going to loose some FPS with the shorter barrel, but the same powders will work in yours as work in the longer ones. Oh, I have tried heavier weight bullets in mine, and it starts to throw them out of group once I get over about 54grs. That however has all been factory ammo though.

Hope that helps.

Oh and I finally found this list I had stuck off in the depths of this old PC,

222 REM 1:12
222 REM MAG 1:12
223 REM 1:12
223 ACKLEY IMPROVED 1:12
22 PPC 1:12
22 BENCHREST 1:12
22-250 REM 1:12
22/250 ACKLEY IMPROVED 1:12
225 WIN 1:12
220 SWIFT 1:12

I pulled it down from a website years ago, and don't remember where, but those are supposed to be the factory twist for Contender barrels. I have the whole list but figured those would suit what your looking for.

 

[243winxb]

IMR 4198 with a Sierra 50 gr. for the 223 Rem.

 

[oldpapps]

I have a rifle that was a .222 Rem and was punched to .223, NOT a 5.56 with long throat and I can tell the difference if I fire a 5.56.

All weapons are a world unto themselves.

Generalities:

As an original .222, the twist will be slower and a lighter bullet will respond better.

Faster burn rate of powder should produce less muzzle flash but does not indicate a change in potential velocity.

Load for the weapon is the only true way to find 'That special load'.