Looking for H322 experience

[tcoz]

In the event that I run out of H335 I'm thinking about trying CFE223 if I can find it or BL-C2 which I've seen around quite a bit lately, or H322 which has been in stock in a few places over the past week. I'd be interested in anybody's experience with the BL or H322 since I've never used either and both are recommended for .223. I load 55gr FMJBT. Recommendations and anecdotes are welcomed. Thanks.

 

[Walkalong]

H-322 will work just fine for that. It meters well, not as well as ball powders, but well enough, and is generally accurate. Definitely plenty good enough for 55 Gr FMJ.

 

[edfardos]

H322 seems to lend itself to heavier bullets (70grains or so). Ive never tried it, and yes, its available everywhere. I too am out of h335. Let us know if you get it to work with 55 fmj's.

Edfardos

 

[RainDodger]

I had some light bullets hanging around last winter and tried 4 different loads with H322 for the 5.56 ARs:

40 grain Hornady over 25.3 H322 Note: Very accurate. (bullet #22143)
52 grain Sierra over 24.9 H322 Note: Very accurate in 20" RRA. (bullet #1410)
60 grain Sierra over 23.1 H322 Note: Untested to date. (bullet #1375)
62 grain Nosler over 23.2 H322 Note: Very accurate in 20" RRA. 2828 FPS w/chrono (bullet #35631)

That's all I can tell you... I've only used the chronograph on that one load.

Edit: here's the chrono data from the last load listed above. Standard deviation was kind of high, but the rounds grouped very, very well. Sub-MOA. Scoped AR. High SD could be from mixed cases, primers.

Series 4 Shots: 40
Min 2750 Max 2918
Avg 2828 S-D 46

 

[Swampman]

H322 works great in .223 as long as you're not looking for top velocities.
Accuracy is excellent and it meters really consistently.
I've never tried BL-C2 in .223, and after seeing how it acts up on a hot day in a .308, I doubt I ever will.

 

[docsleepy]

Was one of the benchrest favorites at one time

 

[Swampfoxsolutions]

I just tried a pound as I couldn't find much else locally. Liked it so much I'm gonna pick up several pounds. Mid range loads, (21.5g) 55g FMJ was a nice shooting load. I'd like to test it with some heavier projectiles for my 1:7 twist rifle. I say pick up a pound, I think you'll like it. It metered pretty consistent which is a pretty important factor for me.

 

[Dudedog]

BLC(2) worked well for me in .223 I also had good luck with 8208XBR. It both meters very well. Recobs had both 8208 and H322 a couple of days ago.

 

[Mike Kerr]

I've used H322 in prior years and was generally impressed with it. It was a bench rest favorite some years back. Meters well. I did not have powder case position problems and in general I found it to be efficient regarding velocity/charge weight.

regards,

 

[ArchAngelCD]

When the .222 Rem was the darling of the benchrest crowd H322 was the powder that won more matches than any other. It is also extremely accurate in the .223 Rem and if accuracy is what you're looking for you can do a lot worse than using H322. With a 55gr FMJ bullet H322 will deliver slightly less velocity as the more used H335 but you use a few grains less powder too.

While a lot of reloaders call H335 the powder for loading .223 ammo BL-C(2) will deliver higher velocities and you won't hurt yourself on accuracy either. A bonus, BL-C(2) is a great choice for the other NATO cartridge, the 7.62X51. If you load both you really only need the 1 powder with BL-C(2).

 

[tcoz]

Thanks for the great information guys. Since I don't have anyplace to shoot distances greater than 100yds and I'm not concerned with max velocity, it's looking like either of these powders will work for my purposes with the advantage possibly going to H322 because of the slightly lower charge weights. CFE223 was going to be my first choice, but I haven't seen it available for quite a while plus the charge weights are the highest of the three. Since I only have 2lbs of H335 left, I'll be ordering soon. I'd like to try a pound of each but unfortunately my only source is online and hazmat is a killer at anything less than 4-8 lbs.

 

[G11354]

I've used H322 with Hornady 60gr V-Max in .223 REM, works great.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Thanks for the great information guys. Since I don't have anyplace to shoot distances greater than 100yds and I'm not concerned with max velocity, it's looking like either of these powders will work for my purposes with the advantage possibly going to H322 because of the slightly lower charge weights. CFE223 was going to be my first choice, but I haven't seen it available for quite a while plus the charge weights are the highest of the three. Since I only have 2lbs of H335 left, I'll be ordering soon. I'd like to try a pound of each but unfortunately my only source is online and hazmat is a killer at anything less than 4-8 lbs.

Drop those charge weights down from 25.0gr to 23.0gr and another 24 rounds to each pound! lol

 

[tcoz]

Drop those charge weights down from 25.0gr to 23.0gr and another 24 rounds to each pound! lol

I'm a step ahead of you. I already had that figured out.

 

[edfardos]

I noticed blc2 availability locally. It looks like it requires 10% more powder than h335 for the same bang, and is a slow powder for 223, but there is data for it. I'll hold out for h335, but it'd be good to hear all your experiences with blc2 and h322 since its widely available now.

 

[spitballer]

I've only used H322 once and that was with the FMJ's, which weren't exceptionally accurate. Unfortunately the can got contaminated with some Varget and I had to throw it out before finishing my experiments with some thin-jacketed bullets(arrgghh!)! I haven't seen it locally since then and never really pursued the stuff after having such good luck with the IMR 3031. But the H322 really seemed to be a good match for 55 grain bullets, and by substituting a slightly lighter 55 grain bullet I could have used the 60 grain Hodgdon load data - seems to me it was around 23.5 grains or so. H322 is a powder which I will definitely revisit, a good match for the 55 grain pills for sure.

 

[119er]

Acceptable results in .223 for me. I have never settled on it for any particular load/rifle though. H335 and Varget seem to be the best for me so far. H4895 has done really well too, of course you can't find much of those!

 

[Guilty]

I use H322 for a variety of ammunition with very satisfactory accuracy results. I have not measured the velocity with a chronograph, I am more concerned with the level of accuracy.

5.56 bullets:
Hornady 55gr FMJ
Nosler 64gr BPP
Nosler 77gr BTHP
Sierra 77gr BTHP

6.8 SPC bullets:
Hornady 110gr BTHP
Nosler 110gr Accubond
Sierra 110gr Pro Hunter

 

[tcoz]

As it turns out, I just grabbed 4lbs of CFE223 from Selway Armory so my immediate powder needs are satisfied for a little while at least. I hope I like it as much as H335 and even though it isn't one of Hodgdon's Extreme Powders, maybe it'll be a little less temperature sensitive.