CFE-223 & Nosler 55gn Varmegeddon - Great load

[Rmitch223]

Just put some more of these together lastnight for my AR.

Load:
55gn Nosler Varmegeddon
26.5 grns of CFE-223
Lake City brass
CCI #400 Primers.

My AR will put 5 shots in one ragged hole at a 100 yards with this load.

Getting 3200 fps.

I love this powder, meters extremely well. Works great in my Savage .204 Ruger as well.

Trying to find more of this powder right now seems next to impossible tho.
Anybody found some in stock anywhere lately?

Thanks,

Ryan

 

[Rmitch223]

Anybody seen this powder in stock anywhere?

 

[Joey Dean]

I bought three pounds last week from Gene Sears in El Reno, OK. He had a very large load of supplies come in.

I plan on buying 3x 8# jugs as soon as Powder Valley gets stock in. I have thee 223 AR's and a 308 FNAR that love this stuff.

 

[jcfd2201]

My local gunsmith just got in 3 jugs and 10 bottles. The jugs were gone within hours and there is only 3 or 4 bottles left. I bought a couple bottles since I was wanting to try it out but have yet to laod anything. I will probably do so soon after reading your post. My buddy bought one of the jugs and loaded some 223 the other day. He read somewhere that a lot of people were seing higher pressures with the CFE223. There could be any number of reasons for that. Did you see any difference or any issues?

 

[Joey Dean]

I was loading 24.8 gr of CFE under a 69 gr SMK in LC brass and lighting it with CCI primers. No pressure indications at all.

The 308 was a different story. LC Brass, 48.5 gr CFE, 168 Sierra was shaking primers loose. The same load using FGMM brass gave no pressure signs. Backed it way down and got back up to 47.5 in the LC brass with no pressure issues and have not worked any farther yet as this was simply shooting as good as I can shoot out of the FNAR I was using.

 

[Rmitch223]

Nice, I'm definitely a believer of CFE-223 & I haven't ran into any pressure issues yet, but I don't push the envelope too much. I load for accuracy, not max speed.

I just finished putting together a load with the 69gn Nosler Custom Competition bullet last night using CFE-223

I loaded 5 rounds each with 5 different charge weights
23.5gns
24.0gns
24.5gns
25.0gns
25.5gns

I have some range results soon..

 

[Twoboxer]

I ran one test cycle on CFE223 for my RRA AR15, 16" 1-9 under 55gr FMJBTw/c - not as accurate as H335.

However, 80gr Amax had proven difficult for my Sako 85, 24" 1-8. On a lark I ran a test cycle using CFE223, from 23.0 to 24.0gr. Best was a fine 0.83" 5-shot, 100yd grp, 2494fps avg. But there may have been more to this group because the ES was 9 and the SD 2.9. Those are numbers I don't normally see lol. Tests at 23.3, 23.6, and 24.0gr were highly unsatisfactory across the board.

 

[NoFail]

Nice, I'm definitely a believer of CFE-223 & I haven't ran into any pressure issues yet, but I don't push the envelope too much. I load for accuracy, not max speed.

I just finished putting together a load with the 69gn Nosler Custom Competition bullet last night using CFE-223

I loaded 5 rounds each with 5 different charge weights

23.5gns
24.0gns
24.5gns
25.0gns
25.5gns

I have some range results soon..

I'm really interested in what happens. My bro in law has 700 of those 69 gr custom comps, a 1 in 8", 16" Shilin match grade barrel AR.

He's doing testing wih Varget for it right now but I keep telling him to try the CFE. I have enough CFE 223 for him to use some.

 

[Garyc]

There was about 20 lbs. in stock at the sportsman's warehouse in Memphis (actually southhaven MS) about 5 days ago. I picked up 2 lbs., I don't know if the rest is still there.

 

[slowr1der]

Yep, I was in Sportsmans Warehouse in Roanoke, VA about a week ago and they had a ton of it too. I know that doesn't really help you though.

That said, I almost picked some up. In fact, I grabbed the bottle and looked at it only to put it back on the shelf. I have an unopened 8lb jug of Varget that I ordered right before the panic started, and another half a pound or so I'm using now. I have no complaints about it and it's extremely accurate for me. This makes me hesitant to switch to a new powder especially when I have so much of the kind I've been using.

For those of you that have used both, do you find the accuracy to be better with the CFE or Varget? I may end up having to grab a can to try anyway.

 

[Rmitch223]

Got the 69gn load put together, I should have a range report soon.

 

[exx1976]

I run 25.2gr under a 69gr SMK and it's a great load in my 20" 1:8 gas gun.

As for availability, PVI had some about a month ago. Most everyone I know ordered 40# of it. I have a bunch sitting here myself that I got from various local shops. Just keep looking, stuff is still out there, but it's usually in out-of-the-way locations where not many people go (smaller shops in small towns is where I've had the most luck).

 

[Joey Dean]

Varget vs CFE accuracy wise is about like I would expect from any other powder comparison.

My sons each have a RRA Operator 16" Only difference is one is a lefty model. Shooting 69 SMK's one likes Varget and the other likes CFE.

On my RRA Mid Length 20" I can not tell the difference in group size on any given day between the two powders with similar velocities.

I have a new Tikka 308 I just got in and I will be working up loads for that as soon as Powder Valley gets my bullet order shipped. 168 SMK's should ship in about 4 more weeks. At least I caught them in stock.

 

[exx1976]

FYI, PVI orders NOT containing powder have been shipping almost exactly 1 month to the day after the order was placed. Including UPS time, I placed an order March 3rd, and it arrived at my house yesterday. I have two more bullet orders outstanding with them, then I should be good.