223 powder and primer recommendations

[lencac]

HI Guys:
Ok, I'm looking to see what the THR guys think for powder and primer recommendations for 223/5.56 for my AR. 16" carbine barrel, 1/7 twist, carbine length standard gas system. I'm using Winchester brass fully prepped and Sierra 69 gr. MK bullets. Over the years I have found serveral types of powders that work quite well. I want to load not max loads necessarily but still snappy.
What say you

 

[chrome_austex]

Well, i use CCI benchrest primers in my AR with Varget (which fills the cases nicely)

Sierra 69s mostly too, but with LC or lapua brass. I reload for highpower competition, but im pretty new to the reloading game.

 

[GLOOB]

Primers:
Wolf .223 primers. Harder cups for AR's. 15.00 per 1k at PV. Heck yeah.

Powder: No opinion, here. Varget works well for my 75 gr bullets. But I have only tried two powders. Varget is expensive and it smells like crap, but I don't shoot enough .223 to bother working up a new load.

 

[Canuck-IL]

Post #8
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=605204
/Bryan

 

[Frankl03]

CCI small rifle primers, H335 and Win 748 powder.

I'm trying to remember the load I used for that sized bullet, possibly 23 Grains of H335. You consult a manual for starting loads. H335 is a great powder for 223.

 

[biggyin]

I use cci small rifle primers, over 25 grains or ramshot tac with a 62 grain bullet.

 

[kingmt]

I would suggest wolf primers & BL-C(2) for you.

 

[oldreloader]

I use Wolf primers with 22.5 gr AA 2230.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If you're looking to turn out a lot of ammo for use in an AR you will probably be better served with a Ball Powder than anything else. One of the classic .223 powders is H335. You can also use BL-C(2) especially if you load the other NATO round, the 7.62X51mm. You can use BL-C(2) for both.

If you really want to save money you can but Surplus powder specifically designed for the 5.56 NATO round, that's WC844. (very similar to H335) WC846 is more suited for the 7.62X51mm which is like BL-C(2).

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good powders like mentioned above but H335 is a good choice for mass production because it meters very well. W748 is also a good choice if you're loading both NATO rounds.

**EDIT**
When at all possible I use CCI #41 primers for AR ammo just like I use CCI#34 primers for ammo used in my M1 Garand. They don't cost much more than standard primers so they are a cheap insurance policy against slam-fires. Standard CCI and Winchester have also worked well for me when the CCI NATO primers were unavailable. I wouldn't use Benchrest primers from any company mainly because the price difference is prohibitive!

Source - Powder Valley:
CCI standard rifle primers, $30/1000
CCI NATO primers - $33/1000
CCI BR primers - $44/1000

 

[medalguy]

I use Wolf 556 primers and pulldown/surplus WC844 powder. A great combination and essentially a duplicate of the military load.

 

[lencac]

Thanks for the replies. I was just trying to see about using up a quantity of RE 15 and IMR 4064 that I have. I have found a few different loads for those powders but they are not mainstream and all were for long barreled bolt rifles.
Normally I would use H335. So I guess I'll have to quit being a cheap skate and go buy some