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do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

elfster1234

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Jun 3, 2012
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    Getting ready to reload some .223 for the first time on my hornady AP LNL press. As for my .308 i always use my chargemaster 1500 trickler combo. As for .223, I was wondering what some of you do more of for .223? Powder drop or trickle each charge? Just picking your minds.

    also, if you do powder drop, what powder do you use? I have both benchmark and varget in my stock. I would think benchmark would powder drop better as it performs better on my chargemaster for metering.


    Thanks,

    Elfster1234
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    the question is NOT caliber...

    the question is Precision ammo vs Plinking ammo


    some people plink w/ a 308 in a beat up Cetme... some w/ an AR in 223...

    some people shoot precision w/ a full house custom 308.. some w/ a full house custom 223...

    some don't load for precision at all... some load everything for precision...

    so it's really all up to how precise YOU want said ammo
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    agree'd. my plinking ammo is a powder drop on my dillon 550b. my precision stuff i weigh and drop in. i could care less with plinking ammo if im only getting 2-3 moa.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    I've been successful developing loads where I can use the Lee Dipper Cups. For 223 my favorite powder is H-4895 with a 63 grain Sierra bullet. That combo just works for my Kimber Longmaster Classic. I have loads for both Varget and Benchmark depending on the bullet but again .... Lee Dipper Cups work great.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    depends mostly on the powder, some like varget will not meter worth a crap in a powder measure and have to use a chargemaster or some such, other powder like TAC, H335 and other spherical type meter like a carm in powder measures.
    pick your powder then figure out the best way to drop it in the case.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    I throw charges for 5.56 and 6.5 Grendel, but I only use ball powders. Any time I use extruded/stick powder I measure charges as my RCBS powder measure is +/- .5 grains, and that is a one grain variance....too much for my wanting to do precision shooting.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    For my plinking stuff I use H-335 which meters extremely well, I don't even need to trickle it.

    For my precision, I throw my charge just under what I want, then trickle the rest.

    My precision loads get pushed with Varget. And actually my thrower throws it right on. I'm using the Honrady thrower.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    i can say varget doesn't drop consistently for me with rcbs uniflow measure so i set it a bit low and use a trickler. i get a .1 or .2 variation from drop to drop. i'm sure it's because it's large granules.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: biggenius29</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For my plinking stuff I use H-335 which meters extremely well, I don't even need to trickle it.

    For my precision, I throw my charge just under what I want, then trickle the rest.

    My precision loads get pushed with Varget. And actually my thrower throws it right on. I'm using the Honrady thrower. </div></div>

    I agree and do the same but wouldn't really call my 55g Nosler H335 load a plinker load, it does .3 MOA
    smile.gif
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    Pick a ball powder that your rifle likes and drop away.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    For me the answer lies more with the powder used. For my .223, which I load on a Dillon 650, AA2230 powder meters so well I find that weight variations are +/- .1 grain. More than accurate enough for my AR's which have huge appetites for ammo.

    If I were using Varget, I'd go much slower and use my Chargemaster. Since the ammo is for an AR and volume shooting I see no reason to change. If it were for a bolt action and I'm more into "neutering male gnats in flight" then I'd definitely be weighing every load.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    I use a BR30 thrower with Varget, set it to .2 under, then trickle each load to the mark. I don't know if it's necessary or not, but I found a great load and am just sticking with it.
     
    Re: do you powder drop or trickler for .223???

    +1

    Drop close and tickle up for precision