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What's a good powder for reloading 223 for my AR-15 20" barrel 1/7 twist? So far I've been shooting 55's and they have really liked them. How would R17 work in a 223 or H4895?
RL17 might be a bit slow for application in 223/5.56. Varget is very good with heavier bullets, but you may not reach velocity range you'd prefer before running out of case capacity. RL15 commonly yields very good accuracy and velocity. I'm using TAC very successfully with 75/77gr Hornady/Sierra at around 2650fps and excellent accuracy. I've seen quite different info for both H4895 and IMR4895, so best consult your loading manuals. The .223/5.56 section at top of section is an excellent resource. H335/WW748/H332/10X come up in some conversations with lighter bullets, as well. Try this reference, as well: http://www.whiteoakprecision.com/info-reloading.htm Apologize for most of this being related to heavier bullets, but 1/7 twist comes alive with heavier bullets and will reach out a bit more effectively at longer ranges. Huge volume of info out there on 223/5.56, at the touch of 'search' button.
I would consider H-4350 for the 30-06 load. Re-19 might work well also. I don't think varget would work very well with the long body of the 06. Awesome for 223 in the AR. Benchmark works well for me in my bolt 223 gun. Personally never tried it in a gas gun. So I couldn't say one way or another. Hodgon web site has some really great data. They make or own Hodgon,IMR,also Winchester powder I believe.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Smith44699</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would consider H-4350 for the 30-06 load. Re-19 might work well also. I don't think varget would work very well with the long body of the 06. Awesome for 223 in the AR. Benchmark works well for me in my bolt 223 gun. Personally never tried it in a gas gun. So I couldn't say one way or another. Hodgon web site has some really great data. They make or own Hodgon,IMR,also Winchester powder I believe. </div></div>
I think I'm going to try the Varget in the .223. I appreciate everybody's input.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: memyselfi</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> BL-C2 for 55, Win 748 for 62-69 grainers </div></div> Same powders here for those weights. I also use Accurate 2230 for accuracy work and light varmint loads like the varmint grenade. It's my understanding that the Lake City 62 gr. Military load is using 2230.
For blaster 55gr M193 clone, I use surplus W844. Hi-Tech and Pat both have it pretty cheap, like $80-100 per 8lb jug. Look at the military load data - it specifies 844 for both 55gr M193 and 62gr M855. I get about 1.5MOA accuracy with this combination and it runs great in the M16 also. My light load is 26.0gr and my hot mil-spec load is 28.5 - straight from the manual. The 26.0 runs in everything but the Shrike - which requires the hot 28.5 load to strip rounds from the belt (there's a lot going on with a belt fed and it needs lots of power).
For accuracy, 52gr SMK + AA2015 is hard to beat. For 69 and 77gr SMK, Varget is the ticket (45.5 and 44.0gr respectively), but for progressive presses AA2520 and W748 are very good.
I generally use LC brass and CCI Mil primers for blaster and mixed comercial brass and REM BR or Fed match primers for the match loads.
Varget but just got some IMR 8208XBR to try also. Temps fluctuate here in Ohio from over 100 to below 0, so I need a temp stable powder. Both these do very well for that need.
BTW.. I use Varget for .308 also.. I like to keep my powders to a min. Win 231 for (9mm,40, 45ACP). Varget/IMR 8208XBR for .223/.308/6.5Grendel
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Spanky8601</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Can not go wrong with Varget. Winchester 748 is also a great 223 powder. </div></div>
Makes a big flash!
I thought the 748 was a rather dirty powder, ended up doing a lot more cleaning with 748 vs Varget...
+1 on varget, benchmark, 8208xbr, and H4895. I have had great results with all of them. I run all of them in .223, .22-250, and .308 (except varget my 308 hates it for what ever reason). They are all extreme powders and will not suffer due to temperature changes as much as BLC2, 3031, or 4064.
I think a 69gr bullet would be a better choice. There's s half dozen powders that will all yield near the same results. IMR4895 Win 748 RL15 VVN140 favorite I've had excellent results with all of these.
I load with Accurate Arms 2460 with 24.1 grains/77 SMK runs about 2750 fps out of a 18" barrel in both rifles - Mini-SASS and a Bartelin barrel on my bolt gun.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jeremybj</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For my AR, I am a big fan of H335, meters really well, so you can load a lot of rounds fast, and I get good results with my 55 grain soft points. </div></div>
+1 on the H335
Works <span style="font-style: italic">really</span> well in my .223 bolt gun as well.
chock another one up for H335. Seems to do a good job with metering on our 650XL. Although I might soon start looking for something that could do double duty in 308