Dominion Arms Powder D4198 and Reloading 223

L

lawn gnome

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
83   0   0
It is in in stock and the price is great.
All I have seen tells me that some people sear by it and other s swear at it.
I want to use it to reload .223 Remington.
Everything I have is semi auto.

I understand that it is best for bolt guns.
I get it, that it is fast burning and has massive initial pressures.
I underrstand that ARs are fussy over pressure curves, gas ports and barrel and gas tube lengths.
I have a few ARs and even a Jard 48 for Direct gas impidgement systems, so I know these can vary wildly in working or not.

Knowing all that, most of my rifles are piston systems.
Tavors, T97s, CSA58 in 223, AR180Bs, Sg540s and Swiss Arms.

So here is where I need help. I am sticking to 55gr fmjs.
Who uses it for reloading for semi autos?
What kind of semi auto do you put it through?
What load do you use, how many grains?

Is this stuff radioactive?
Will I be firing my rifles to pieces or did you make it work?
 
If you are just shooting 55 FMJ then you are not shooting longer ranges (like Service Rifle) and not concerned about the best accuracy.

This powder will work for you.

If you were looking for accuracy with 69 and 75 gr bullets, it is too fast a powder for peak performance.

The gas needs of each rifle are different.

Load 50 rounds of ammo in 18.0, 18.5, etc up to 23 gr.

With each rifle , shoot 5 of each at at 50 or 100 yard target and note:
1) Lightest load that cycled the rounds 100%
2) Load that got the best accuracy.

In your log book note the 100% cycle load and note that 1 gr more is the minimum load for that rifle.

When you are done you will have the accuracy and minimum load for each rifle. If you are lucky, you will only have to make two different loads to satisfy all your rifles.

Some will work on a milder load and some will need closer to max.

MY CQB rifles use 19.2 gr under a 55 FMJ.
 
Last edited:
Sticking to 55gr campro fmj. n ot too woried over the heavy rounds.
I really don't have the patience to develop a load specific to one rifle.
Trying to make something generic that will work fairly ok in most if not all.

Not looking to get the accuracy of picking the fly excrement out of a pepper shaker.
Within 3 moa even out to two hundred would be fair enough.
Trying to keep the near 3,000 fps velocity though.

Thanks so far Palwait and Ganderite.
 
What Ganderite said.

The Dominion powders are supposedly same quality as IMR so buy with confidence and just use load data for IMR4198.
I should actually buy a bunch for myself soon, I use IMR4198 under a 36gr Varmint Grenade in my bolt gun and can stack the rounds into a single ragged hole.

I wouldn't worry too much about the rifles gas systems, most rifles these days come set up a little overgassed, the gas systems are self regulating and are built strong enough to handle most loads that are built within book min/max. It's not like the old Garand days with bent op rods and broken parts if you don't use the right powder. I still typically choose a slightly slower powder for the projectile weight when loading for a semi but it isn't really necessary for most rifles these days.

Let us know how it works out.
 
I got the best accuracy from my 11.5" AR with 22.0gr behind the Campro or Western Munitions 55gr. FMJ. It would cycle with as low as 19gr. The 22.0gr load also works in the TAR-21. It will NOT cycle my 20" AR with rifle length system.

Auggie D.
 
Auggie Doggie said:
I got the best accuracy from my 11.5" AR with 22.0gr behind the Campro or Western Munitions 55gr. FMJ. It would cycle with as low as 19gr. The 22.0gr load also works in the TAR-21. It will NOT cycle my 20" AR with rifle length system.

Auggie D.
Click to expand...

I'll second this loads virtues with my AR15 16.5" barrel but found Hornady bulk 55gr FMJ's to be much more accurate in my bolt gun than Campro and worth it for the slight price difference. I use 22 gr D4198 in either gun now. Unless economy is paramount go with Horanday Bulk 55gr.

I love Dominion powders! I have tried all but the 700 and 800 only because I already have lots of Hi-Skor 700X on hand. All the Dominion powders I have tried present great value / performance.
 
I've been loading 22gr behind any bulk 55gr I can find cheap.
Gets just over 3000fps in a 18.5 barrel.
Accurate enough ( my ruger scout will do 3 moa)
If I didn't use mixed range brass and I had a high magnification scope I imagine I could tighten it up a bit.
 
Follow-up question:

In a carbine length AR15 with a 1 in 9 twist, would the D4895 work? Target/plinking out to 300 yds at the very most, probably shorter. I was planning on using 55gr. projectiles.

I'm trying to decide whether the D4895 would meet my needs both for .308 (M305 and a bolt action target rifle) and my AR.

I'll buy both D4198 and D4895 if I need to... but do I need to?
 
It should work fine according to loading manuals. I bought a jug of the D4895 with the same idea as well but haven't had a chance to try any loads yet.

Auggie D.
 
stevebc said:
Follow-up question:

In a carbine length AR15 with a 1 in 9 twist, would the D4895 work? Target/plinking out to 300 yds at the very most, probably shorter. I was planning on using 55gr. projectiles.

I'm trying to decide whether the D4895 would meet my needs both for .308 (M305 and a bolt action target rifle) and my AR.

I'll buy both D4198 and D4895 if I need to... but do I need to?
Click to expand...

D4895 will work just fine with 55gr bullets and is more flexible, ie you can use it also for the heavier bullets in .223 (up to 80gr). It'll also work great with a large variety of .308 bullets in your 308Win. D4198 is limited to the lighter .223 bullets. I would not recommend D4198 for 308 cal rifles, especially the M305.
 
Thanks for the replies. This means I can ask Canada Ammo to bring a 5lb jug to the Kamloops gun show, and the $ saved by not buying the D4198 can be put toward primers.
 
I've loaded 21 gn D4198 with 55 gn campro. It works Ok but not in all of my semis. Was getting around 2700 fps out of 16" barrel. D4895 is much better and is what I'm currently loading for general 3 gun competition. Works in all my semis and around 2900 fps using 25 gn D4895 with 55 gn Campros.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom