H335

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OhioChief

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I just loaded some .223 with H335. 21.6 grain using 55 gr Hornaday VMax bullets. The Hornaday book said I should be around 2900. I was consistantly at 2550ish.

16" barrel colt AR15. RCVS Chronograph at about 10' from the mussel.

Thoughts? Seems like I should have gotten a little more out of that charge.
 
Oh, don't know if it matters, but I'm in Ohio. Flat land. 80 degrees & Sunny. mildly humid.
 
I keep thinking of things after I hit enter. I ran 10 rounds of Remmington commercial ammo through it first, and it was consistantly around 2980, so I think the Cron was working correctly.
 
My books aren't handy at the moment but that load strikes me as below most common starting loads for a 55gr. Try the Hodgdon web site for alternative loadings. Note also what barrel length the Hornady test data were shot from ... longer = faster given all else the same.
/Bryan
 
I load my 55gr fmjbt's with 25.0g H335 and get around 3020 out of my 20" AR. 21.6 seems awfully low. Running your particular load through Quickload shows a muzzle velocity of 2532 out of a 16" barrel so 2550 seems about right for 80 degrees. That's with a 2.260" COAL
 
My AR15 accuracy load was 24gr H335, 60gr Sierra Varminters, 2850ish
50gr Vmax, over 25gr H335 averaged 3100fps

Sorry, this was in a 20" RRA
 
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These were the first rounds I've ever reloaded. So I'm new, and trying to do everything correctly, and log it. I was just a little surprised that they were that much lower. But I learned a lot from it. The Hornady book shows 23.2 gr with H335 to be in the Red at 3100 fps. I will look at the Hodgdon charts.
 
My H-335 loads for 55 gr Hornady bullets are several grains higher and I've been using them since 1977 in Mini-14 and AR's. My load vel is 3030 fps from 16" AR15.
 
One of my regular loads for the .223 is 25.0gr H335 under a 55gr bullet. The other is loaded with Varget. Both shoot very well for me.

Here is the link to the Hodgdon Load Data Site. Check the data and you will see according to Hodgdon 25.0gr is not even the Max charge. (but it's close)
 
As a new reloader, you are learning that manuals are only guides and often do not always correlate to the listed data. Longer tested barrel length can often give much higher velocity than the short 16" that you have.
I recommend looking at the www.hodgdon.com site for the latest data, and you'll see that your load is not up to the listed start load at that site for H335. Tested barrel length listed is 24" and you can expect at least 200fps less out of your short barrel for the same load.



NCsmitty
 
Hornady used a bolt action 26" barrel but I believe their data is still optimistic. Hodgdon's maximum data at 25.3 grains of H335 for 55 grain bullets gets high 3100's to near 3200fps in my 20" AR's. I load 25 grains in RP, LC, and WCC brass using RP 7 1/2 primers. 25 grains should be around 3050 fps in a 16" barrel. Your starting low and testing is the safe way to start but like already said compare Hodgdon's data. Most H335 AR-15 users shoot 24-25 grains with 55 grain bullets. I'd pick 23.5 grains as a start charge and work up to 25 looking for best accuracy and watching pressure signs of course for an AR-15 rifle.
 
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Thank you guys! I have one more question. If I bring the load up to reach higher volicities out of my 16" barrel, what happens when I put that round through one of my 20" barrles? I don't pay any attention to the commercial ammo that I run through them. Should I load separate loads for the 16 -vs- the 20?
 
If I bring the load up to reach higher volicities out of my 16" barrel, what happens when I put that round through one of my 20" barrles? I don't pay any attention to the commercial ammo that I run through them. Should I load separate loads for the 16 -vs- the 20?
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The load will shoot fine, but another rifle means another pet load and work up;)

I had a load that shot good out of my 16" RRA middy, but shot like buck shot out of my 20" RRA Predator Pursuit.
 
The difference in load data between Hodgdon, Hornady and Sierra is amazing! Although I get that you need to see the parameters that they used for testing. It is funny to read all the caution statements, then see that their data is up to 15% different.
 
To add to your confusion, I load pulldown WC844 which is (more or less) the same as H335. I load 24.6 gr of that under a 55 gr FMJBT to give me right at 3000 fps in an M16. But around 25.0 gr of H335 is a pretty common load.

Remember the test guns are universal receivers with specific barrel length on a specific day at a specific temperature etc. Every time anything chages, so do the results.That's why it's so important to work up a load to each of your guns for the maximum results. That really complicates things for those of us with multiple guns with different barrels in the same caliber! :cuss::fire:
 
Just a note from my experience with H335. Very accurate powder in my .204R but I chose to switch to 8208XBR because I was finding H335 a bit temperature sensitive. 70 degree weather loads were too hot at 90 degrees.

If you're loading hot or near max, keep your ammo cool.
 
The "standard" load for H335 is 25gr under a 55gr bullet. Other loads that are good are 23.5gr of H322 and 26gr of TAC. These are near max for 223 but are not for 5.56 so in any AR15 chambered in 5.56 there is room for more. The extra lead (free bore) in the 5.56 chamber makes it more tolerant of heavier loads.

Light loads don't usually burn clean.

Primers can make a noticeable difference. In my tests Rem 7 1/2 and W SR primers deliver about 100FPS less velocity than the CCI41 milspec primers I usually use.
 
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