Accurate powder for 50-55gn .223

[WVRJ]

I use Varget in my 223 bolt gun because it's more accurate,groups run in the .4's and .5's.69 gr Tipped Matchkings turn 3100 out of the 26" barrel.In my 16" AR I use CFE223 because it's so much better at metering out of a powder measure.CFE turns better velocity,but won't shoot as accurately,and I've found this to be true in half a dozen or so 223's.The low Varget velocities may be coming from a too light bullet not allowing progressive burning.I experienced that in a 35 Whelen a while back.

 

[oldreloader]

I've had good accuracy with 26.5g of BLC-2 and 55g FMJ. A local guy has WC844 at decent price so I'll probably switch to that soon. (AR w/ 1-7 twist)

26.6 grains of BLC-2 works great for me with 55 gr Hornady SP. I like AA2230 too but the last I saw of that was on the shelf next to hen's teeth.

 

[Lr_athlete32]

Well I tested some loads with 27.5 grains of varget with both a 50 and 55 grain bullet on top. The velocities were better but not great.

The 50's avg. was 2890fps and 2830fps for the 55's.
Accuracy was good at .275" on the low and .827" from center to center of the furthest shots.

In my quest for some more velocity, I bought a lb of benchmark and a box of 40, 50, and 60 (because I already have 55's) grain v-max's.

What kind of velocities can I expect out of a 16" barrel using each of these bullets with this powder? Thanks!

 

[ColoradoShooter77]

I'm going to test some 50 grain HP's tomorrow, 25.3 grains IMR-8208. I'll post up what kind of velocity I get.

I've also got some 55's loaded with 25.5 grains H-4895, I'll test these as well.

Last summer, I achieved 3000 fps with 26 grains AA-2460 and a 55 grain FMJ bullet. This is a hot load, its listed in Accurate powders 5.56 Nato data.

Factory federal XM-193 did 3000 fps as well, from my 16" barrel.

 

[2ndtimer]

I don't think Varget has an optimal burn rate for performance in a .223 for lighter bullets, particularly with a 16" barrel. It performs better with longer barrels and bullets 60 grains and over, IME. If you want velocity with decent accuracy and a clean shooting load, try some Ramshot TAC. It is actually available again, and is my preferred powder for 40 and 50 gr bullets. I can get slightly higher velocity with AA 2015 in the 26" barrel bolt gun, but run TAC in both the 16" and 24" AR's with bullets from 40 gr to 69 gr. I do have a pound of AA 2230 and a pound of Ramshot Exterminator to try as well. Bought each a couple of weeks ago, first I have seen in the past 3 years or more. It is supposed to work really well with the 55 gr and under bullets. I tried some AA 2230 with the 69 gr Noslers and managed to put 5 into a .319 group at 100 yards. I have not loaded it yet with lighter bullets as I have a ton already loaded with 40 gr bullets and 27.5 gr of TAC.

 

[Bullseye]

I have been using Benchmark in almost every 223 / 5.56 I have loaded so far with very good results. Using 50 gr and 55 gr I used 24 gr BM. I just loaded 62 gr with 22.5 gr BM and for the little Handi rifle single shot I load 40 gr with 27.1 gr BM.

These are all about middle of the load between min and max. I think for improved rifle feed-eject function, next time I load 62 gr in the AR I will bump up the powder a tad.
I get decent accuracy with all these loads I've posted.

 

[ColoradoShooter77]

I had some chrono issues today, but I got two good readings on my load of 25.5 grains H4895 and a 55 grain FMJ......got 2995 and 3000 fps. That gives me an idea of where these are.

My load of 25.3 grains IMR-8208 with a 50 grain HP was right up against 3000 fps, +/- 15 fps.

I haven't been able to find AA-2230, but I have found AA-2460 and it works really well with 50-69 grain bullets.