New at reloading and ready to load for my ar15. Probably going to start off shooting a 62 grain generic bullet but want powder suggestions. Obviously want the best bang for my buck as far as consistency and accuracy. What's your favorite ar15 powder?
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H335 and BLC2 work very well and meter well. If you are going to use a progressive press or powder measure, then either of these ball powders will serve you well.
If you are going to hand weigh your charges or use a dipper, there are several excellent extruded powders like varget and RE15 that work very well also.
If you are going to hand weigh your charges or use a dipper, there are several excellent extruded powders like varget and RE15 that work very well also.
Why is there a difference in powders if I use a progressive press or not?
ball or spherical powders meter better than extruded powders (they throw better through a powder measure)
Benchmark is a short grained extruded and meters great but ive only used it up to 60 grain bullet weight. From what I understand its for lighter weight bullets. Ive actually got lower ES and SD by dropping the charge rather than by weighing each one...I still cant figure that one out.
ARs vary a lot, depending on twist, and barrel length (not to mention the brass and primer combo you'll be using). Generally speaking, extruded powders deliver better accuracy in almost all the rifle shooting disciplines, but true some ball powders can and do often do just fine. Ball powder does meter "better", but that is a function of your powder thrower, some thrower do far better than others. I'd like to suggest you get a number of loading guides/books (you can never have too many) starting with Sierra's. They[Sierra] have broken down loads for bolt action 223 and AR-15 loading. You'll almost never go wrong using Sierra's load data. What shoots well in one gun doesn't always work out in the next, therefore; you are going to have to experiment with your weapon to find the "perfect" load. Remember, regardless of what some "experts" have put out in the past, if you're weapons has a 1-8 twist tube, yes it will very likely fire 52 grain SMK's well, don't be afraid to try the lighter bullets, they very often can shoot like a house on fire! I've read on this very board, an "expert" chewing a guys ass off, because he wasn't shooting "At least 69gr bullet" with his 1-8! Don't get sucked into this type of nonsense, idiots like that are a dime a dozen. Good luck in your load development, A couple of powders that haven't been mentioned, that I've had great luck with are N133 and N135.
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I'm a big W748 fan for AR's.
Meters great and works well with the 55 to 69 grain bullets with often very good accuracy and decent speed.
8208XBR is another great AR powder that does well with the 75/77 bullets.
Meters great and works well with the 55 to 69 grain bullets with often very good accuracy and decent speed.
8208XBR is another great AR powder that does well with the 75/77 bullets.
Depends on how you are going to be filling cases, progressives are going to favor spherical or very short extruded powders if you have any hopes of consistent charges through a powder measure. I've had very good success with TAC and Winchester 748 out of both the Hornady LNL and Dillon powder measures, very consistent. If you're using a chargemaster or trickling your own powder drops, there's really no to be very selective as right now you are limited with choices. Find something in stock that you can get at least a couple pounds of and experiment with it.
Here's a stupid question. Will it say on the bottle if it's ball or extrudent powder? Going to a couple gun shops tomorrow and I should see a good selection of powder between the 3. Definitely using a progressive press. I have about 2k + pieces of brass and won't be hand loading each one.
Many do, if ever unsure, you can usually go to the powder manufacturer's website and get that sort of info.
Thank you very much everyone for your help!
These days it more about what you can find versus what you WANT.
I have traditionally load H335 in .223, the original H335 was suprlus military 5.56 powder. WW748, BL(C)2, IMR 8208xbr, Ramshot TAC, Varget, IMR 3031, Accurate 2230, Accurate 2520 are all good .223/5.56 powders. And many more.
I have traditionally load H335 in .223, the original H335 was suprlus military 5.56 powder. WW748, BL(C)2, IMR 8208xbr, Ramshot TAC, Varget, IMR 3031, Accurate 2230, Accurate 2520 are all good .223/5.56 powders. And many more.
Almost anything you can find will shoot well in AR's. Powder burn rate won't make much difference in accuracy. Just pick one that's available; any burn rate from H322 to Vihta Vuori N540. Do not shoot 62 gr milsurp bullets. You'll never know whether the rifle or the shooter is doing anything right, since they just won't group. Use a match bullet, like a Hornady 52 BTHP. Cannelure doesn't matter either way.
BLC (2)
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I'm surprised no one has mentioned cfe 223. I like it under both the 52g bthp and the 69g SMK.
I use BLC2 in 223 and 308.
I use BLC2 and 1200r
I use Varget, and am considering using IMR-4064 as an alternate. For a long time, Varget was considered too hard to meter through 22 caliber case necks, but I bought this, which is essentially an automated electrically powered powder trickler on steroids combined with a digital scale and some programming. No more major hassles metering stick powder charges automatically. I replaced the metering pan with this. This combo is accurate to +/- .1gr and literally provides charges just about as quickly as I can use them.
That's a lotta bucks for a beginner, but once you start loading more frequently, and for many different cartridges; it will grow on you.
ETA: I gave reached the limit of my patience with Fed XM855's, they just won't group decently. I will be disassembling them and retrying the components using Win 64gr Power Points instead of the USGI penetrator bullets and a reduced charge, the factory/military charge appears excessive for my purposes.
Greg
That's a lotta bucks for a beginner, but once you start loading more frequently, and for many different cartridges; it will grow on you.
ETA: I gave reached the limit of my patience with Fed XM855's, they just won't group decently. I will be disassembling them and retrying the components using Win 64gr Power Points instead of the USGI penetrator bullets and a reduced charge, the factory/military charge appears excessive for my purposes.
Greg
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AA2460 is currently available at powder valley. It's a good choice for 223.
I think I'm an oddball, but I load IMR 4895 and 69gr Sierra match kings in Lake city brass through a Dillon 550. The gods must be smiling on me, because it throws powder with no discernible difference in charge weights.
I agree. I'm currently using RL17 in mine. I have a couple pounds of it laying around and it wouldn't shoot in my 260 so I figured what the hell. With 52g Hornady's, its surprisingly accurate.
I'll have to remember that!
The powder that takes the least amount, that would be RE7 or H4198. Though I usually only load 55s.
Any strong votes for 4064?
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Biased for Ramshot TAC because it meters so well on the Dillon.
I have found TAC to be the best allround powder for 556. I load four different rounds. The most accurate proved to be 77 grain SMK on 24 grains of RL10.
Another vote for TAC...running 23.5gr for 69 SMK's and really happy with it.
Sorry for the ignorance (still learning my powders as they become relevant to what I load) but ramshot TAC and rl10 are
Different right?
Confused because name enough posted "tac best all around powder" then said most accurate was RL10
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Different right?
Confused because name enough posted "tac best all around powder" then said most accurate was RL10
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if your gun is not over-gassed burn rate can make a big difference on whether it will function or not. some of the fast 223 powders like 1200r and 4198 have been well documented as having trouble running the action. in properly sprung gassed and buffered ar 15s. the pressure spike is too quick and causes short stroking. you know how one ar 15 will run wolf and the next one wont? this is the reason
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