Blue Dot in Varmint cartridges

scott_r

scott_r

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 99.6%
223   1   0
Location
Behind a .204 Ruger
Anybody using Blue Dot in their .223's or 22-250's Ive read on other forums alot of Americans are using Bule-Dot with very small charges and getting incredible accuracy and velocity??? Any CGN'ers give er a try yet??

Cheers!!
 
I have several recipes for Blue Dot in both those calibers. They can be very accurate. One "LOOK OUT" thing is that pressures rise very quickly when approaching maximum load. 0.1 of a grain can be the difference between an accurate load and one that locks your bolt up.
Don't ask how I know.
 
I'm using it & really like it. Make sure you work up your load. The max I'm using pushing a 55gr Vmax or 55gr SPSX is 13.5 grains.
Not too noisy and if I'm shooting alot of targets the barrel doesn't heat up much.
It's very cheap to load, over 500 to the pound. Lots of info on the net on it.
Henry
 
Henry Nierychlo said:
I'm using it & really like it. Make sure you work up your load. The max I'm using pushing a 55gr Vmax or 55gr SPSX is 13.5 grains.
Not too noisy and if I'm shooting alot of targets the barrel doesn't heat up much.
It's very cheap to load, over 500 to the pound. Lots of info on the net on it.
Henry
Click to expand...

Curious here, Henry
What is the velocity of the that 13.5gn load?
 
You guys on here who are so strict about following exactly what is in your loading manual, why do you even consider using a fast powder like Blue Dot, in your 223 and 222?
I checked the Hodgdon site for the 222 Remington. They don't show any powder near the range of Blue Dot for the 40 grain bullet.
Their H322 looks real good on paper, along with such medium burners as 4198 and 4895.
 
H4831 said:
You guys on here who are so strict about following exactly what is in your loading manual, why do you even consider using a fast powder like Blue Dot, in your 223 and 222?
I checked the Hodgdon site for the 222 Remington. They don't show any powder near the range of Blue Dot for the 40 grain bullet.
Their H322 looks real good on paper, along with such medium burners as 4198 and 4895.
Click to expand...

I have burnt tons of 4198 in my 222's...just that a reduced load with BD would be welcome and save a few bucks as powder is again not cheap these days. I fire at least 1000 rounds and some years double this with my 222's. A powder as fast as BD kind of scares me as I would need a RELIABLE source for a place to start.
 
M12shooter said:
I have burnt tons of 4198 in my 222's...just that a reduced load with BD would be welcome and save a few bucks as powder is again not cheap these days. I fire at least 1000 rounds and some years double this with my 222's. A powder as fast as BD kind of scares me as I would need a RELIABLE source for a place to start.
Click to expand...

Try the Calhoon website
 
experimenting?

M12shooter said:
I have burnt tons of 4198 in my 222's...just that a reduced load with BD would be welcome and save a few bucks as powder is again not cheap these days. I fire at least 1000 rounds and some years double this with my 222's. A powder as fast as BD kind of scares me as I would need a RELIABLE source for a place to start.
Click to expand...

Well you could go to Accurate reloading .com and do a search there for a guy named Seafire.
He is the fellow that has tested the data 7 ways to Sunday in quite a variety of calibers.
Many folks including myself have used it with great results in 223. Seafire himself has put 15000 rounds down one 223 barrel in a Ruger I believe, try doing that with 748 or any other powder. FS
 
13.8 gr under a 50 gr. Norma semi-pointed bullet
Lake City brass, CCI primer chronographs at 2860 out of my Savage VLP (26" barrel) That's the only blue dot load that I've chrono'd.
I have some loads from 12 - 13.5 gr and 55 grain Winchester PSP bullets to do next week. I'll post the speeds when I get them done.
 
wonder how it would work with target bullets (69 grain and up) would be handy for the heavyer ones as you could seat the bullet lower in the case to accomodate the 80+ grainers without making a compacted load.
 
Does anyone have any experience with a load like this in a semi-auto? If I could run this in my AR I would save a fortune.

Thanks,
Adam
 
Henry Nierychlo said:
Hello shootist22-250
I haven't chrono'd it, but according to all the research I'vr done, the velocity is around 2900 fps.
Regards,Henry
Click to expand...

I'm not inclined to believe that number. That said, there may be enough difference between your rifle and mine that it is possible for the difference that I noted. Below is what I found with my experiments.

Reason being is :
At 13.8gn of BD and a 55gn I get 2695fps.
At 14.4gn of BD and 55gn I get 2820fps and pretty flat primers.
At 14.6gn and 55gn I get 2840fps combined with a jammed bolt and cratered primers.:eek::eek:
NEEDLESS TO SAY. I AM NOT GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN!!!!!
This is in a T3 Lightweight 223.

In a Sako 22-250 model L579
50gn bullet with 15.0gn of BD...velocity is 2675fps

55gn bullet with 14.0gn .........................2540fps.
55....................16.0gn..........................2780fps
Your mileage may vary so using any of the above information is at your risk alone.

One other thing was noticed when using Blue Dot. It makes a heck of a difference in velocity dependant upon where your powder is in the case when it is fired.
If you tilt the rifle muzzle up vertically after closing the bolt, allowing the powder to settle against primer. Then gently bringing the rifle down to horizontal and firing the cartridge. The velocity is greater by approximately 100-200fps. This procedure of powder placement was compared to just placing the cartridge into the rifle and closing the bolt as per usual. Which probably results in more powder being further toward the bullet rather than against the primer.

Consistency in how you close the bolt and treat the rifle when sighting is paramount for consistent accuracy.
Yeah I know, I have too much time on my hands.:runaway:

Cheers
 
Last edited:
OK, I got to the range today and chronographed some Blue Dot loads. Turns out that I had more loaded than I thought.

.223 Remington in a Savage Model 12 VLP (26" barrel), Leupold VX1 4-12x40 scope
All loads were made with once fired, neck sized Federal brass and CCI SR standard primers.
All groups are 5 shots

12.7 gr. Blue dot with Speer 52 grain HP bullet - 2750 fps, group average 1.15"
12.7 gr. Blue Dot with Sierra 52 grain BTHP (match) bullet - 2760 fps, group average .95"
12.7 gr. Blue Dot with Winchester 55 grain PSP bullet - 2636 fps, group average over 2"
13.2 gr. Blue Dot " " " " " " - 2680 fps, group average 1.5 "
13.7 gr. Blue Dot " " " " " " - 2781 fps Extreme spread 9 fps (2773 - 2784 fps) group size just under 1", (3 shots in .25", 2 fliers)

None of the fired cases showed any evidence of excessive pressure.

Hope these results help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom