.223 powder suggestions

[ohwell]

H335 for the light for caliber bullets and BLC2 for the heavy ones

 

[cheygriz]

Lotsa powders work well. But since I use 55 grain Remington FMJ, (M193 ball) almost exclusively in my .223s, I stick to the powder that was originally developed specifically for that bullet, H-335.

AAC 2230 and BL-C #2 work very well also.

 

[Powerglide]

Varget does what I want and seems fairly stable.

 

[Ky Larry]

I started reloading .223's with AA-2230. Now I use AA-2460 for bullets up to 55gr. For 60gr bullets I use IMR-4064. I am amazed at the accuracy I am getting with 60gr Hornady S.P.'s and -4064. My rifle is an old Ruger 77V two tone with laminated stock. You can tweak your .223 loads with different different bullet-powder-primer-C.O.L.-case combos but ,if your rifle is a good shooter, it's hard to find a load that doesn't shoot pretty good. I've shot many different powders over the years and they are all pretty good.

 

[Mr. Dark]

I have good luck with bl-c2 and Benchmark.

 

[Skip_a_roo]

Varget for target type loads with 69gr bullets in the AR platform. I load on an XL650 for range fodder with 55gr bullets and use BLC-(2). I had the same problem with Varget on the XL650 and when it indexed, powder "sloshed" out of the case. Switched to BLC-(2) and the problem went away.

For target ammo though, I load on a single stage or the Lee Turret.

FWIW

 

[P-32]

I use R-15 for all of my 223 applications. I shoot everthing from 52 Gr SMK's to 80 gr SMK's. Both of my match tuned AR's really like the 77's and 80 gr SMK's, although I won my last reduced course match with a box of 53's with a AR with a barrel twist of 6 1/2 to 1. I bought this upper about 6 years ago with the dreams of shooting 90 gr match bullets. I have a box and they look like pencils but never got around to trying them. Still the tight twist shoots everything well. My favorite AR right now has a 7 to 1 Kreiger.

 

[jhansman]

I use H322 and IMR4198 for accuracy in my bolt .223, and H355 for my semiauto. All are easy to get, affordable and consistent.

 

[TonyAngel]

I've used TAC, 2230, 2520, Reloader 15, Varget, 748 and a couple of others that I can't remember. It really isn't matter of what will work well, but what will work the best for you. If I'm going out to shoot groups and to shoot a little targets that are far away, I go with heavy bullets and either Reloader 15 or Varget. My last barrel liked Reloader 15 the best.

If I'm going out and don't need the utmost in accuracy, but want to load a lot, I go with any of the ball powders so that I can do my loading progressively. If I had to rate the ball powders that I used, I'd have to say that I liked TAC the best. It burns clean and gives great velocity.

 

[rskent]

Nothing new here. H335 for 52 grain bullets. Varget for the 77 grainers.
Steve

 

[788Ham]

I use H332, 748 and BL-C2, using Hornady 52 and 53 gr HP's in my Rem. 788 bolt. H322 has been my go to powder of late, 5 rounds into almost one hole @ 100 yds., maybe the new Simmons 6.5X20X50 mm scope is what's helped my aging eyes, it can't be the primers. LOL The 748 is a good all round powder too, just depends on my mood when reloading.

 

[greyling22]

you TAC users, what amount were you using? I recently bought a bunch for shooting 55grn bullets through an AR and load data for ramshot powders is scarce. (aside from the data available off the ramshot website and the sierra manual) I was thinking maybe 22 or 23 grains. I don't need a real hot load. 2700 fps is fine by me.

 

[wanderinwalker]

What bullet weight?

I have burned more Varget in .223 than I can guess, plus H4895, 748 and Reloder 15. What can I say, I lead a sheltered life?

Anyway, I've tried Varget with 52-55 gr bullets. In MY barrels, the results were unimpressive. And I honestly can't see how you can get to a max charge of Varget in a .223 with a 52gr bullet. This is why I like 748 for light bullets; the charges fit in the case, don't slosh out and generally shoot really well. My favorite is 26.5gr of 748 behind a 52gr Nosler HPBT ignited by a CCI-450 primer.

With 69-80gr bullets, if I somebody gave me a lifetime supply of H4895, Varget or RL-15, any of the three would be acceptable.

 

[texaz]

I'm happy with Varget, plus I like the fact that it also works well with many other bullets and calibers.

 

[REL1203]

I use Varget, RE15 and TAC in my AR with a 1:7. I mostly use 60+g rounds, and i have tons are Varget and RE15 around for my 308 rounds so I love the versatility of powders in other rounds.. Do you reload for anything else?

 

[Walkalong]

N130 works great with 55 Gr and under.

 

[General Lee]

I use 50 grain Vmax bullets with 26.5 grains of Win 748 works well for me.

 

[68wj]

My favorite is 26.5gr of 748 behind a 52gr Nosler HPBT ignited by a CCI-450 primer.

I use 50 grain Vmax bullets with 26.5 grains of Win 748 works well for me.

That must be the magic number. Same for me behind 53 gr SMK.