.223 powder?

iconix

iconix

Regular
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Kingston Ontario
Hey everyone,

I'm just starting to reload and I have a good.... Excellent teacher. But he/we don't have experience with .223. So I thought I would come here and see what you guys have to say. Keep in mind... I'm a farely new shooter as well.

My rifle is a bolt action Savage 11 1-9 twist, regular synthetic stock.
Pill we are trying out is 53 grain vmax.
Winchester brass
CCI 400 small rifle primer
Current powder: IMR 4198
Rifle purpose: Primarily Varmint

Today we did 5 shot groups starting with 20.4gr moving up to 21.9gr in .3 increments.
Best groups were
21.3gr= .738 -4 shots..... Can't remember why... Could have totally pulled it. As I did that a lot today
21.9gr= .911

My 21.6 was horrible... But we both think that was all me. Not sure why, I was off but it was bad = 1.210

Now for my questions.. What other powders should we consider? Most important is a temperature stable powder(s) as I will be using this rifle year round.


If anyone else is using this rifle, what setup does your rifle like to shoot?


Thank you for any help, hopefully I said everything right!

Steve
 
26.8 grains of BLC2 over CCI450 magnum primers will give me sub 1/2 groups on a regular basis, out of a Rem 700sa, Tikka T3 Lite and a CZ 527 varmint.

Ball powders are very nice for using in a powder feed. They also should be used with magnum primers for consistent ignition and therefore consistent velocities which are conducive to decent accuracy.
 
H335 always gives me great results with 55gr Berger FBT's. H4895 under 55gr Berger VTFB bullets is amazing as well. Benchmark is also a great powder for the lighter .224 bullets.
 
With a 1-9 twist you could try the heavier 69g SMK's, I just worked up a load for my Rem 700 Tac with 25.6 of Varget Remington BR 71/2 primers and the SMK's that last week put 3 in the same hole. Varget is scarce at the moment, I would also recommend giving H4895 a try.
 
In my Savage I have had very good results with Benchmark. In my so far limited experience it seems to prefer mild to 'moderate' loads, which is fine with me (my 55gr loads with 4 different bullets all average around 3000fps). I have in the past shot very good groups with H335 as well in another Savage. Benchmark meters very well if you are using a powder measure.
 
25.7gr varget, hornady 53gr vmax, col 2.244". I gave another member that same load in his savage 10 predator and he said it shoots very good for him as well. It wont set any speed records but it shoots. Another one I like is 40gr vmax, 27gr varget, col 2.392"
I tried cfe 223 a while ago with the 53gr vmax. Took 28gr to get to the 3050fps and was getting sticky bolt at 28.5gr. Accuracy was no better then the varget load above and cleaning the gun after it seemed dirtier then normal.
 
So far I'm a fan of H335. I've mated that with CCI 400 primers and both 55gr vmax and 69gr MK's. I'm going to try CCI 450's with the H335 as well as work up a load with Varget and CCI 400/450's for a comparison.
 
Sounds like from reading this and a few other forums... Benchmark and h335 is top powders....now which is better ? Lol... But I can't seem to find Benchmark anywhere, so now wondering if its the best.. Best place to buy powder at good prices?

That you all for your suggestions
 
iconix said:
Benchmark and h335 is top powders....now which is better ?
Click to expand...

The powder you can get is better than the powder you can't.

Try Higginson's for mail order powder. If you place enough of an order you get free or reduced shipping IIRC. Worth a look.
I use H335, but will use what I can get, if I run out. Have used a bunch of AA2230, too.


Cheers
Trev
 
check on the Higginson website on the powders price list .......... you'll find what I believe is US surplus military powder listed as WC735 for a good deal. Nice ball powder, meters like water and excellent results!
Varget is also a favourite!
 
muskog said:
CFE? Is that the powder designed for autoloaders to reduce barrel fouling or am I thinking of a different product?
Click to expand...

That's the stuff.

I use it in my TC encore in .223 and have tried it in my Tikka 22-250. It seems to leave a fair bit of "soot" which I think is the copper eraser part of the formula and not unburnt powder.

I like it in my .223 but think I'll be using more Varget in my 22-250.
 
iconix said:
Sounds like from reading this and a few other forums... Benchmark and h335 is top powders....now which is better ? Lol... But I can't seem to find Benchmark anywhere, so now wondering if its the best.. Best place to buy powder at good prices?

That you all for your suggestions
Click to expand...

Benchmark is an Extreme powder and H335 is not. This is why I went to Benchmark. My load is 53gr Vmax over 26 gr of Benchmark. This gives me 3200 fps and sub MOA groups. Its a hot load which my gun seems to handle well. I think max according to the Hornady manual is 25, but I don't have my manual handy so check for yourself. Varget usually get recomended a lot also but is so hard to find right now I would buy whatever I could find and start testing. I do however believe you have a very good bullet to start with.

George
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom