Accurate 2520

[burrhead]

For the last few years I’ve been using Varget for both .223 and Win .308. I'm looking for something that meters better and a friend of mine, who shoots NRA Service Rifle, suggested trying Accurate 2520. I’m using 55 gr. FMJs loaded with a Hornady LNL AP for the .223 and 150gr. Sierra Pro Hunters loaded with a Rock Chucker and throwing charges with a Uniflow for the .308.

Anyone with thoughts or experiences? TIA

 

[philuk44]

No experience in .308 but I've shot quite a bit of it in .303 British. No complaints at all so far - I'd say give it a try.

Phil

 

[Jasper1573]

I've used in .308 Win with excellent results. Can't remember the exact powder charge, but I started with around 43 grn behind a 175 Sierra Matchking.

 

[Jim Watson]

Meters great, but I still get better accuracy with Varget or Re15.
Your rifle might be different, it is sure worth a try.

 

[12savage]

Use 2520 in my Savage .260 and my 6.5 Grendel. Meters great and consistant rusults with very good accuracy in both calibers

 

[elwoodm]

have used 2520 in .223 .308 winch .303 brit with good performance. the only thing with this powder is its fine texture and density might have some issues with high capacity cases. loaded it in .223 with no problems went to load some .303 with 174gr bullets and cci standard large rifle primers with 37.5gr of 2520 and had fail to fire. primer went off put the bullet half way down the barrel and powder allover the action. so 223 is ok with standard primers but 303 and 308 i use mag primers from now on. the 308 rounds have been really accurate out the fal with 43gr of 2520 with 168gr bullets cci mlrp col 2.8 @ 2540 fps. my 16 inch ar likes the 2520 at 25.7gr cci msrp 55gr bullets col 2.22 @ 2820 fps. as with all loads start 10% down and work up this powder can jump up with just .3gr of powder in .223. that same load at 26gr of 2520 in my mini 14 was over 3000 fps and the barrel is only about an inch longer. hopes this helps.

 

[Slamfire]

I have shot kegs of AA2520 and don't recommend it unless it is cheap. Which is how I got it.

The stuff is dirty, leaves a lot of fouling in semi auto mechanisms. While it meters better than stick powders, there is no difference on paper. People often think that the appearance of precision somehow means better control, which is not necessarily so in terms of accuracy and powder charges.

Accurate Arms told me AA2520 duplicates the pressure curve of IMR 4895. Even so, AA2520 seems to have a smaller sweet spot than IMR 4895. In my experience it does not give much warning before blowing primers.

It will shoot very well once you find your best load.

You will have a hard time beating Varget in the .223 or 308.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

AA2520 is nicknamed the Camp Perry powder so it's no wonder many like it in the .308. BUT, not all powder that shoot well in the .308 will also shoot well in the other NATO round, the .223. It's my opinion H335 is a better choice for the .223 than AA2520. If you want to use an Accurate Arms powder for the .223 try AA2230 which was specifically designed for the .223 round.

IMO: (Ball Powders)
.223/5.56 NATO
H335, WC844, AA2230

.308/7.62 NATO
BL-C(2), WC846, W748, AA2520

There are others from Alliant, Ramshot and Vihtavuori but I have not tried tried them so I won't recommend them.

 

[GooseGestapo]

I've used #2520 and liked it in the .338MarlinExpress, but LVR is better. It was "ok" but unremarkable in my .223's.

In the .223, I've used just about everything to come along in the last 25yrs.
I still haven't found any thing better than BLC2.

High velocity and superlative accuracy. I even prefer it over H335 which is #3 on my list for the .223. My #2 is Reloader15.
However, due to pressure limitations, the #2520 is better than either BLC2 or RL15 in the .338MarlinExpress for higher velocities. But, BLC2 and RL15 are still more accurate.

For the very least expesive loading of the .308 or .223, Wideners has WC844 in stock. It is essentially mil-spec H335. At about $75 plus hazmat for 8lbs, you won't find a better deal.
btw: H335, BLC2 and WC844 are all "sperical" or "ball" powders just like #2520. I also like Acc.#2460 in the .223. Velocities are lower than BLC2, but whereas I'm using 27.0gr of BLC2, you'll only use 25.0gr of #2460, H335, or WC844.

 

[Slamfire]

AA2520 is nicknamed the Camp Perry powder so it's no wonder many like it in the .308.

Accurate Arms “nicknamed” AA2520 the Camp Perry powder. No one else calls it that. Corporations are psychopaths and they are shameless in their pursuit of profit. I never heard anyone at Camp Perry call it “The Camp Perry Powder”.

AA2520 came out in the 80’s when there were far less powders on the market then today. Lots of people tried AA2520, and because its pressure curve was appropriate for the M1a, a lot of people used it in competition. And they did well. Chronographs were not available so the claim of better metering meant better everything, could be made, but not tested. I have chronographed AA2520 and its ES’s and STD’s are not necessarily better than IMR 4895 in the 308 or 30-06.

I was squadded with one Camp Perry National Champ who was very unhappy with AA2520. He said his lot of AA2520 had so much glass that it ate his Palma barrel up in 150 rounds. He called Accurate Arms, not only did they know about it, they informed him it was his tough luck. Of course that was back in the 80’s, and the vendors AA buys their powders from has gone around the circle several times.

One other thing about the competitive community, they are the ultimate fashionista’s. Every new thing is tried, ballyhooed as the ultimate, end of history, until the new, new thing comes along. Then it is discarded on the ash heap of history as the fashionista’s chase the lastest trend.

 

[burrhead]

Thank you for all the responses and advice. I think I’ll just go with H335 and be done with it.


Thanks again.

 

[Mr.B1852]

I have use 44.8gr of AA-2520 in my M1 driving a Hornady 150gr FMJ-BT to an average 2671 F/s, CCI#34 Primer lit it off in a 1972 Lake City case. When I used the exact same load but used a 155gr Sierra HPBT #2155 matchking my average velocity fell to 2490f/s.
When I loaded some 223 Remington - 5.56Nato ( my chamber) I started with 2012 Lake City, Remington 71/2 Br. primer, 55gr Hornady FMJ-BT, and 25.5gr Accurate 2520. Average velocity was 2774 f/s. I only shot 5 of these because for some reason I didn't like the sound of the report, it just seemed off from the H335, Win.748, AA2230 and BLC-2 I had just tested. everything cycled fine, bullets went down range at 3/4" at 100 yards, The only thing I noted was that the cartridge cases had a bit more carbon fouling on them then some of the others.
Accurate 2520 will probably work pretty good for you, but in my opinion there are better powders that are more in tune to the characteristics of the 223 Remington. Accurate 2520 was developed more around the 308 Winchester and seems to be where it really preforms at it's best.

 

[dh1633pm]

I have used it in 308 with excellent results. I was unable to get a good load for 223 using 2520. I have just again been able to find it on the market.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

I used some AA 2520 to load 150 gr FMJ for my M1 when I couldn't get any 4895. No issues.

 

[2ndtimer]

You might consider trying some Ramshot TAC before going all in on AA 2520. It is my preferred powder for the .223 and has provided decent results in the .308 Win in limited testing. I have to admit I am stuck on IMR-4064 with Nosler 168 gr bullets in my .308, as I have had great accuracy in my Savage 10T. Not sure any ball powder could best it in the .308. Seems like most .308 guys go for Varget, IMR-4064, RE-15 or VV N-140. Another powder that might be great for dual duty in both the .223 and .308 is IMR-8208XBR. It seems to work well in limited testing in the .223, at least accuracy wise. TAC gives a little higher velocity with lighter bullets, but the IMR powder is competetive with the heavier projectiles. Have heard good reports of it in the .308, especially with bullets under 175 grains, but again, I can't seem to stay away from that "weigh every charge" IMR-4064. (BTW, while IMR-4064 is decently accurate in a .223, it is a major pain to load in the .223 case and won't provide top velocities, particularly with bullets of 50 gr or less.)

 

[KansasSasquatch]

Give Hodgdon Benchmark a try. No matter what bullet weight you choose Benchmark is going to give you about 100fps less than Varget in .308 Winchester but I find it to be a very accurate powder in any cartridge I try it. My most accurate loads in .223rem use Benchmark, and I've tried plenty of powders in .223. It's still a stick powder and still not temperature sensitive, just like Varget, but it meters MUCH better than Varget.

 

[Bart B.]

While ball powders meter charges more precisely than stick powders, they've never been popular with folks getting best accuracy from well built rifles. Lake City Arsenal tried a Winchester ball powder in M118 7.62 match ammo and it never shot 172-gr. match bullets as IMR4895 did; much to the dismay of military rifle teams.

Some US Palma Team members developed a load for Sierra's then new 155-gr. 30 caliber match bullet. They used several powders in the IMR4895 range, one of which was AA2520. It metered to 1/10th grain spread, had less ES in velocity and pressure tests; better than any other powder. It also shot the biggest test groups at 1000 yards. They ended up using 45.3 grains of IMR4895 in spite of its greater ES in velocity, charge weights and pressure but liked the best accuracy it produced. Tested well under 3 inches at 600 yards for a 20 shot group. At 1000, well under 10 inches.

Not a big surprize as they knew a favorite load with 150-gr. match bullets in .308 Win cases was about the same charge of IMR4895. When Varget became available, they used 46 grains of it.

Always judge accuracy by biggest group fired. It shows the biggest spread across all variable things controlling where the muzzle points when the bullet leaves the barrel. Smallest groups show what happens when a lot or all of those variables cancel each other out; or everything was perfect. There is no way to tell which one produced your smallest group. Which one do you think happens most often?

You think one few-shot group tells all? Shoot a few more and see how they change sizes. You may learn that the first group shot is not always the smallest; or largest.

 

[Blue68f100]

For the last few years I’ve been using Varget for both .223 and Win .308. I'm looking for something that meters better and a friend of mine, who shoots NRA Service Rifle, suggested trying Accurate 2520. I’m using 55 gr. FMJs loaded with a Hornady LNL AP for the .223 and 150gr. Sierra Pro Hunters loaded with a Rock Chucker and throwing charges with a Uniflow for the .308.

Anyone with thoughts or experiences? TIA

While the stick powders give you a better over all accuracy, they are PITA when it comes to dispensing on a AP. I run a LNL-AP with brass feeder, my preferred powders are Ball Powders or fine flake. As mentioned earlier TAC is an excelent powder for the 223R, have not tried it in a 308W. TAC is very fine ball powder and meters excellent in the Hornady powder dispenser. TAC has also given me excellent accuracy with light bullets, 55gr or less. If I shoot heavier bullets I use Varget with my RCBS Charge Master to dispense the powder. But then I'm not kicking out 1000 rounds either.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

This thread is well over 4 years old. I'm sure the OP has found a powder/powders to his liking.

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

This forum really needs one of those warning messages to let you know you're about to reply to a thread that hasn't had any responses in the past year.