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Powder for 223

Dildobaggins

Dildobaggins

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Minuteman
    • Jun 26, 2020
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    Sorry if this has been beaten to death. I'm new to reloading. (Loading for first time next week.)

    I have 55 grain spire points and 73 grain eld-m for my 223. Its a stag varminter, 24" bull barrel. 8 twist.

    A friend of my has 2 pounds of ramshot tac that he's willing to sell. Been reading about it, and some don't seem to like it for smaller grain bullets? Is this true? If so what other powders would you suggest, that is in a perfect world we're I could actually find it for future reference. I'm trying to pull as much accuracy out of this as possible. Thanks.
     
    Imthatguywithquestions said:
    Sorry if this has been beaten to death. I'm new to reloading. (Loading for first time next week.)

    I have 55 grain spire points and 73 grain eld-m for my 223. Its a stag varminter, 24" bull barrel. 8 twist.

    A friend of my has 2 pounds of ramshot tac that he's willing to sell. Been reading about it, and some don't seem to like it for smaller grain bullets? Is this true? If so what other powders would you suggest, that is in a perfect world we're I could actually find it for future reference. I'm trying to pull as much accuracy out of this as possible. Thanks.
    Click to expand...
    Go to the ramshot website and check info. Always your load may be different than others.

    I use it for that application but that's in my rifles.
     
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    223 is one of those calibers that you will quickly find that has alot of powders that will work. I personally prefer IMR 8208 for my heavier projectiles ie 77TMK's and the like. But good luck finding any of that. There are alot of opinions for loading 223 on what works best for everyone on here, so your just gonna have to skim through the above posted thread and basically try loads with what powder is available to you. Don't use others posted loads, get some reloading manuals and start there. It shouldn't be too hard to find something that shoots well in your 223, they tend to wanna shoot well. Just do your homework and start below published max. Edit... by looking through that thread, you can get a general idea of powders that work well with different grain projectiles, again, don't just snatch up someone else's load and run with it, cross reference it with a manual first and work your way up. You don't wanna have your mug blown off right before Christmas. Lol
     
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    Can't say specifically about that powder. That said 223 has a ton of powder that works well.

    It all depends on your goal. If you are going to be shooting cans out in a cow pasture your choices are much less critical. By that I mean, " Does it function the rifle? If yes we are good."

    Really though it's not that we don't mind answering questions. Not at all. But ideally you should get in the habit of reading up on the manufacturers' websites. Almost all of them will publish some sort of load data.

    Again, I'm not trying to stop you from asking questions, but rather making your life easier in the long run.
     
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    alamo5000 said:
    Can't say specifically about that powder. That said 223 has a ton of powder that works well.

    It all depends on your goal. If you are going to be shooting cans out in a cow pasture your choices are much less critical. By that I mean, " Does it function the rifle? If yes we are good."

    Really though it's not that we don't mind answering questions. Not at all. But ideally you should get in the habit of reading up on the manufacturers' websites. Almost all of them will publish some sort of load data.

    Again, I'm not trying to stop you from asking questions, but rather making your life easier in the long run.
    Click to expand...
    Tried looking at ramshot tac, maybe it's my phone, but it does not have a 223 rem as a selectable caliber. I'll try the laptop.
     
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    20211124_174318.jpg
     
    Ball powder works great for blasting ammo. Use it for that and save the better bullets for use with stick powder.
     
    When you look at the Ramshot data, note that they have separate listings for .223, 5.56, and 5.56 with long throats/heavier bullets.

    Dave
     
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    Depends on the chamber. .223 or 5.56?

    The load data is really different. Then Hornady has a Service Rifle section. Sierra doesn’t list 5.56 data. So really like anything else in reloading. It varies.
     
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    Downzero said:
    Ball powder works great for blasting ammo. Use it for that and save the better bullets for use with stick powder.
    Click to expand...


    why do you suggest that ball powder is good for plinking but stick powder should be reserved for better ammo?

    true, my pet loads are all stick powder, but I've never run into issues when using ball.
     
    I’ve played around with Tac in the past but didn’t get too serious with it because I didn’t see any advantage over Benchmark. It wasn’t bad at all it just wasn’t any better.

    That being said, I have picked up a few pounds recently because it’s what I’ve been able to find and plan to start doing some load development soon.
     
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    mick243 said:
    why do you suggest that ball powder is good for plinking but stick powder should be reserved for better ammo?

    true, my pet loads are all stick powder, but I've never run into issues when using ball.
    Click to expand...

    Because people winning matches are all using stick powder and it isn't a coincidence.

    If you can equal the accuracy of stick powder with ball, you're a better handloader than me. My suggestion is to try it with the same brass, primers, COAL, and bullet. Compare with a chrono and shoot it on the paper. You'll see exactly why I am saying that.

    If ball powder was even close to as good as stick, I don't think I'd even mess with stick powder. Sadly, it's not even close.
     
    I have had good results with 4064 and N140 for 69 smks. Slightly better with 4064, with my barrel anyway.
     
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