Compressed loads???

[thatmikeguy]

i have a 223 and varget powder and 55gr v-max bullets as well as 70gr barnes tsx and the max load is a compressed load (lyman 49th edition) i'm nervous to try the max because it seems too much. is anyone crushing varget in their 223 and how much??? for the 55 grain it says 27.8gr which fills the case to the top.

 

[iceman2]

Are you using military brass? They have smaller volume than regular brass. When you say to the top do you mean to the base of the neck or very top? I have found that if you want to get more powder into the case to use a drop tube on the funnel and pour slowly this lets the powder settle better. If using multi-station loader you maybe SOL.

 

[Boomer]

If the maximum load is published as a compressed load, you're probably not going to run into trouble pressure wise. I avoid compressed loads myself, not due to safety concerns, but because they are more time consuming to load and seldom produce accuracy that is as good as I can get by choosing a slightly faster powder, or by switching to a ball powder of a similar burning rate but which only fills 90% of the case. If your velocity is acceptable and consistent, and you are observing good accuracy, there is no reason not to use the load, other than the time it takes to load with a drop tube. With a 55 gr bullet in the .223, I think you would find Win-748 or BLC2 better choices than an extruded powder.

 

[struff55]

Compressed loads are of no danger they are a result of using a slower burning powder

 

[Suputin]

Suggestion: Varget powder is generally difficult to find. Save it for bigger cases and use a ball or flake powder in your .223. Varget, being a short stick powder is a PIA to get into those small cases. There are better choices for the .223.

 

[thatmikeguy]

i'm using hornady cases. i already tried 26gr of varget under a 55gr vmax and it's very accurate and is compressed a little. i just don't know what kind of velocity that gives and i would like as much speed as possible. i tried a min load with the 70gr bullet which produced great accuracy but according to the book, much lower velocity and when i tried one grain more with the 70gr slug the group doubled in size.

 

[mmattockx]

Doesn't matter if it's a compressed load or not, just work up to it the same as any other load and watch for pressure signs.

Mark

 

[thatmikeguy]

well i will try it then. thanks for your input. powder crushing made me nervous so i just wanted to see what others were doing.

 

[sunray]

Compressed loads are nothing to worry about.
"...says 27.8gr..." 27.5 of Varget is the current max given on Hodgdon's site for a 55 grain bullet. Still compressed and still nothing to worry about. It's just the volume of the powder. Varget isn't the only powder that uses compressed loads either. Like mmattockx says, work up the load the way you do with any other powder/cartridge.