.223 & varget

[MBDoc Holiday]

:banghead:Hello everyone, I'm new here so I may make mistakes. I'new to reloading and have started to reload.223 for my AR. I have 2 lbs of varget, hogdon says 25.5g starting load but it seems to almost overflow the case. all my cases are once fired PMC or LC. Please help, do I need a diffrent powder? P.S. im loading 55gr FMJ. Thanks

 

[esheato]

No, Varget is a great .223 propellant.

Looking at the Hodgdon website, 25.5 is in fact a starting load for that bullet weight. If you'll also notice, the max load 27.5 has a C next to it. That means the max load is a compressed load. With a compressed load, sometimes you'll hear a bit of crunching when you seat the bullet. Slight crunch is ok...when you start changing kernel shape because you're crunching the heck out of it...that's not ok.

In addition, LC brass is fairly thick which in turn reduces your internal capacity.

Those two factors are the culprit.

You have two options. 1. Start with a lower charge. 2. Change brass to a different commercial manufacturer.

Personally, I would lower a half grain (start at 25 grains) and work up from there.

Ed

 

[MBDoc Holiday]

Thanks, what kind ov velocities do you think i should get out of a 16in AR with 25gr?

 

[gdcpony]

Definitely agree. I load the max in mine and it fills the case (R-P) up nicely. Take down the bullet and no shifting of powder! I get great groups with the load.
I can't tell you yet what your velocity will be (new upper on the way), but your larger concern should be precision. For the sake of argument though, my 20" gave me 3240.

 

[ar10]

Isn't mil brass supposed to be 5% less than the book load???

 

[NCsmitty]

There's no doubt that Varget is a good powder when used with the heavier bullets in the 223.
IMO, there are a number of better powders to use with the 55gr in a 16" barrel and you wont have to compress the loads.
A slightly faster powder such as Accurate 2230 will give you better performance out of the short barrel as will Benchmark, H322 and powders in that burn rate.
Full Varget charges are a little tricky in progressive press setups too.

NCsmitty

 

[dwschoon]

I use varget with my lake city brass all the time and have great luck with it, although I am using 60 grain v-maxes. Most loads are compressed, but I havent had any overflow, even up to about 26.5 grains. Good luck.

 

[Afy]

22.5 gr is 93% of case volume with Varget. You should see about 2700 fps with it.
You could even go to a compressed load of 25 gr compressed very safely. Though you are going to be close to max.

DW: 26.5 with a 60 gr is very very very hot. Per QL well above SAMI pressure.

 

[hershey]

varget is my choice in .223, i have loaded from 23 to 27gr depending on the bullet. my plink load is a very light load, 62gr bullet on 23gr varget, my ar bench load is 75gr hornady hpbt on 25.5, my 14 twist rifle likes 26gr w/ 50gr v-max i also got a 27gr w/ 30gr bergers that i load.

 

[ZX10Aviator]

I have not had varget work good in anything I have, my .223's LOVE IMR4198, twice as tight of groups with only a change to the IMR instead of the varget.

 

[jerkface11]

I have not had varget work good in anything I have, my .223's LOVE IMR4198, twice as tight of groups with only a change to the IMR instead of the varget.

What exactly have you tried it in? I get half moa groups at 300 meters out of my 6.5x47 using varget.

 

[ZX10Aviator]

What exactly have you tried it in? I get half moa groups at 300 meters out of my 6.5x47 using varget.

.223 - mini14 and bolt savage, 55fmj and 69 HPBT, all groups tightened up with changing to IMR powder
.250-3000 savage - Going to try diff weight bullets in this one

I really want it to work, I have bought some other bullets for the .223's to try it again, hoping maybe a diff manufacturer will help.. I shoot 3/4" groups out of the .223 bolt gun with varget, less than 1/4" switching to IMR.. You got me!

BTW, amazing shooting at 300yds, never seen or heard of anyone doing that, that I know of here anyway... Your a superhero!

 

[jerkface11]

Well it's not an all day every day thing. But it's been more than once. I've had varget shoot good in EVERYTHING .223 .338-06 .375H&H 6.5x47 it always performs well.

 

[ZX10Aviator]

maybe I got a bad batch..

 

[cliffy]

Varget Burns Too Slow for .223 Rem Loads

Try RamShot X-Terminator, Alliant Reloder 10x, or Hodgdon H332 for bullets of 40 to 60 grain weight. Alliant Reloder 10x generally offers the highest velocities. Varget burns too s-l-o-w to give best velocity in .223 Remington fare. cliffy

 

[redneck2]

I have a good friend that shoot competition High Power at Perry. All the guys he shoots with use LC or WW cases and around 25.5-26.0 of Varget. These are two consecutive 3-shot groups with 50 gr Noslers out of my AR. 268 yards lasered. I'm cheating a little because it's a Varminter with a 6.5x20x40 scope.

In WW cases, 26.0 goes about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up the neck. I'm using stick powders because I'm loading for PD hunting and want to eliminate temp/pressure problems. Quite honestly, I'd measure charges and put them in your cases until I found one that filled just to the bottom of the neck, maybe slightly more, and see what that is. You're not really trying to use a given amount of powder. You're goal is to achieve a certain load density. If your cases are thicker and the internal volume is reduced, you can achieve the required pressure with less powder.

FWIW...there was an extremely extensive article in Handloader Magazine maybe 6-9 months ago about the .223. Basically said it's one of the easiest rounds to load for, and there are lots of powders that work well. IIRC, Accurate 2230 and BLC-2 were developed specifically for the 223/55. If you look at a burn rate chart, you'll find all the powders that get recommended here are in the same area. They will all work in some applications.

 

[MBDoc Holiday]

Problem solved. Thanks for all the input. I recalibrated the scale and found a tiny bit of tumbling media in bottom of case. I think I'll stick to varget, and may try some 73gr bullets also!

 

[drew124]

reload

I used varget and it was good,but I recently changed to IMR3031 you use less and keep your same velocity. I load 22.5gr for 55gr nosler balistic tip

 

[Seafarer12]

I like varget but I don't use itvery much. It doesnt meter well in my father inlaws Dillon. I stick to 335 it flows like water. Then again I am reloading for fodder so I am not looking for one hole accuracy.