Which powder for .223 rem plinking?

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jediagh

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I would like to start reloading for .223 REM but not sure which powder to start with?
I've only reloaded for .45 (via win 231) and .30 carbine (via win 296) right now.
i use an rcbs uniflow powder dropper for both of those powders without any issue and was told to it will work great so long as i stay away from 'stick' like powder.

so any recommendations on powders that will work great inthe uniflow. plan to just plink from 25 to 50 yards with this ammo.
thanks
 
For 223 Remington plinking ammunition with 55 grain FMJ bullets, I use Accurate 2230.

There are other excellent powderers for this use.

Other powders may be better with heavier weight bullets.

Reloading data books have excellent information in them.
 
For plinking.....55gr FMJ

AA2230- meters very well. Ball Powder
AA2200- meters very well. Ball powder
H335- meters very well
CFE223- meters very well
Benchmark- meters very well in my Dillon measure. It's chopped extruded, but meters great
 
Thanks all for both the powder and weight recommendations.
Now where to find 55gr FMJ bullets. :(
I think I'll try AA2230 and AA2200 as those are ball poweder and I know the uniflow loves that type of powder. Does Winchester not making anything similar?
 
Some guys like W748, but I have never used it. H335 meters like W231 also. Check these bullets out. http://www.xtremebullets.com/223-55gr-FMJ-p/xj223-55fmj-b0500.htm. I have always loaded Hornady 55gr FMJ, but tried these back in May with great results. I have loaded about 8,000 of these so far. Most of my shooting like yours is less than 100yrds. I use my AR's for tactical carbine matches, carbine training classes, and some pig hunting which I use Barnes bullets.
 
jediagh said:
Now where to find 55gr FMJ bullets. :(
Click to expand...

Yes, that is the $64,000 question theses days but supplies are getting better. The major vendors carry FMJs of some flavor. The Dog Town bullets, if available are good, inexpensive bullets.

55 FMJs are generally low cost bullets and usually available but there are other economy priced bullets like Dog Towns that will do fine as well.

As said, W748 will do well as well. Again, supplies are spotty if you do not have something already. When you go powder shopping, take a list of suggestions, you may have to choose what you find not what you want.

I find I can meter stick powders well with my Uniflow powder measure. Doing it the same way every time is the key. But, the small neck of the 223 Remington can cause problems as the stick powders bridge easily. You ought to try charging 17 Remington with H4895.:)

Hope this helps.
 
In lieu of finding W748, for which Hornady reported the best results for my 30-30, I chose H335 for 223 as one of the few with a wider range of loads. As new to rifle reloading, veteran of pistol and revolver calibers, I am hesitant to go with something that has a small range and room for variation. I am not loading with a match grade method.

Others with good ranges of powder weights (loads) that I didn't find locally were TAC by Ramshot. IMR 8208XBR, Varget, Alliant PowerPro Varmint, and Hodgdon BL-C(2).

Could there be a worse, less creative marketing brand name than BL-C(2)? How about Kaboom 67 or something sexier than BL-C(2).

I will be loading for Hornady 55 g V-Max. Hornady 9th Ed. lists loads for 20 powders with that bullet and four others of that weight.
 
Mite set down with a loading manual and select several powders that are listed with your selected bullet weight. Make a list and cruse your local powder providers. With the current craziness, finding 'the' selected one powder may not work out well. Many, many powders work well with the .223/5.56.

I too like Midway's 'Dogtown' bullets.

Word of caution, powder and primers incur something called a 'hazmat fee' when shipped. With larger orders this can be absorbed. For a pound or two, not so much. Bullets, so far, are not included.

Load with care.
 
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There are a lot of good powders available that will do a very good job loading the .223.

I use mostly H335 for loading semi-auto .223 ammo but it's not the only option as you can see from the above answers. Accurate's A2230 was designed around the .223 and is also a very good choice. Hodgdon's new CFE223 is another powder developed around the .223 and meant to all but eliminate Copper fouling. Ramshot's TAC is another Copper fighting powder that is an excellent choice too.

These days powder is hard to find but at lease there are a lot of good choices for loading the .223 and some are, but not limited to:
H335, H322, CFE223, BL-C(2), IMR 8208 XBR, Benchmark, W748, AA2015, AA2230, AA2460, AR-Comp, Power Pro 1200-R, RL-10X, TAC and X-Terminator. (Sorry, I don't know enough about VV powders to recommend any)

IMO, of those the best choices are:
H335, CFE223, AA2230, AR-Comp, Power Pro 1200-R and TAC.
 
I like Ramshot X-terminator powder. Some say it's the same as Accurate 2230. I can't confirm this but I can say it shoots 55 gr fmj with better groups than H335 in my M&P 15.
 
New reloader here... Started with a thousand Hornady 55gr FMJBTs (from Midsouth, where I think they are still in stock in 250 bullet bunches).

My first, and thus only, powder has been H335. It meters wonderfully and a small charge of 23.3 grains was accurate enough for our plinking ammo.
 
I really liked the results of CFE223, but have been having a hard time finding it. In my experiments for a replacement I found that I really like Reloader10X for 55gr loads.
 
See the thread "Where are the reloading components for sale?" here: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=707473

Also, a review of the Bulletheads.com 55 gr. FMJ's here:http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=9239497#post9239497

Still available from: http://bulletheads.com/

As for powder, my normal load has been Varget, which admittedly is a little difficult to meter from a powder measure. Since my supply of Varget has dried up, I've switched to H335, which meters MUCH better. I was able to order an 8lb. jug of it last week. You'll find info on the powders available in the first thread linked above.
 
I looked on Powder Valley website this morning and they had 1 lb containers of WW748 in stock. You must buy a bunch to make it worth the 27.50 hazmat plus shipping, but it is (at least WAS) available depending on how desperate you are.

My normal go-to powder for this purpose is TAC, about 24.5 to 25 gr with a 55 gr bullet. No TAC online in like forever though.

Hi-techammo.com shows to have 55gr FMJs, but the website hasn't been updated lately. I think you have to go through the buying process to find out if it's still in stock. I have done a lot of business with them and they are GTG. Also shows to have CCI military small rifle primers for 30/1000. That's cheapest I've found in over a year.
 
Ill also Chime in with the h335 and CFE223

Both are Great powders and are ball powders and meter Great

Also... try some of the 55gr HP bullets if yer looking for better accuracy... also Z-Max are Great as well...
 
I've been looking for AA2230 lately, but striking out. So I settled for AA2015. Loaded up 310 rounds of it with dogtown 55gr bullets this weekend. The powder meters extremely well in my RCBS Uniflow, and the rounds shoot great too.

I'm really looking forward to trying AA2230 and CFE223 in the near future. I did just pick up 3 lbs of Varget on Saturday, so I'll soon find out how well that stuff runs through my Uniflow.
 
So I settled for AA2015
Click to expand...
You "settled" for a very good powder IMO. Good stuff.

I bought a bunch of cheap surplus powder (SRB-118) to use for shooting cheap ($30 per K) 55 Gr FMJ bullets.

These days the 55 Gr FMJ isn't substantially cheaper than everything else like they used to be. That changes things a bit.

Lots of good .223 powders. Buy the cheaper one for shooting 55 Gr FMJs, cause they won't shoot great anyway.
 
I'm playing with CFE 223 currently. I notice that it is a dirty propellant when low charge weights are used. Also, It seems to take a few more grains to attain similar results from a different powder. For 55FMJ AR plinking fodder I use 25 grains of Varget or H335, which is around the middle of those weight ranges. CFE 223 starts at 26 grains and max is listed at 28.5. I am willing to bet that it burns awful dirty until you hit 27.5 grains or so. I have noticed that the hotter you load this stuff, the better and cleaner it burns.

For what it is worth, I have had good luck with H335 and Varget. Varget does well, but does not meter anywhere near as well as CFE 223 or H335. H335 Meters very well.
 
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