WC735 load tests

kokanee king

kokanee king

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Didsbury, Alberta
So I bought 7lbs of WC735 from Higginsons and after much research on this powder i loaded up some test rounds. I was using 55gr Hornady FMJBT with a C.O.L of 2.200" and CCI400 small rifle primers.
I loaded up 5- 21grs, 5- 22grs, 5- 23grs, 5- 24grs and 5- 25grs. I was only shooting at 25yds cause im blind :rolleyes:

5rds of the 21grs grouped at .832" with 1 flier at 1.680" away
5rds of the 22grs grouped at .705" with no fliers
5rds of the 23grs grouped at .808" with 1 flier at 1.170" away
5rds of the 24grs didnt group at all as the hammer dropped on a "faulty" primer and then to top it all off that same round managed to jam in the chamber and wouldnt eject. So i field stripped it and manually recocked the hammer, put it back together and one handed it down range and squeezed the trigger....it went BOOM into the berm. I took that as a sign to go home :D
I retrieved the spent round that got jammed and discovered that its a military casing?? The letters "C" "J" and the number "16" are stamped on the bottom of the ejected casing. Needless to say I have gone thru my other brass and have found some reloaded ones. I will pull these apart and NOT use them in my rifle.
Other then this faulty round im going to dabble a bit with the 22grs and see what i get for grouping at 50yds.
 
Then that explains why the bottom of the casing is "chewed" up..... All the more reason the pull them from my bunch. I mostly have Remington brass with the odd "CJ" ones in there. I did find some spent casings that have "WOLF" .223 stamped on the bottom. I picked them up and am cleaning them as i type this. Are they reloadable as well?
 
Higginson sells once fired .223 from police ranges for $9/100. It is Winchester and still has the primer crimp so you know it is really once fired (not like found range brass).
 
I have a .223 Savage rifle & also load with the 735 powder from Higginson.

I have read that the .223 is not a round that likes to have mixed cases for top notch accuracy. Especially when you consider that some cases are .223 , some are military 5.56 and have differences.

I then went through my cases & only kept the Winchester .223 commercial ones.
Next time at the range at 100 yards I got a 3 shot group that was .337 centre to centre.
 
I use ONLY Rem .223 brass for my Stevens 200 in .223 cal and i shoot pretty consistent 5 shot groups into a .25cent piece size group at 100yds. Works for me :D

Im using the WC735 for my AR15 that has a 1 in 7 twist 16" barrel. I didnt realize that the "CJ" brass was that s**tty for my AR15. I have shot it out of my bolt action without any problems
 
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My starting load was 24 grains of WC735 with a 55 grains FMJ bullet. On my 11.5'' AR, I don't make the power factor. 24.5'' barely makes it. Anything under 24 grains makes my AR unreliable.
 
Could the barrel twist be the reason? My 16" barrel is 1 in 7 twist. I still have my 24gr and 25gr test loads to shoot. I will shoot them tomorrow morning when I go out to the range to see if they in fact tighten up my grouping.
You mention power factor and ive seen it used on here a number of times. What exactly is "power factor"?
 
i just bought 4lbs of 735 from a buddy yesterday but don't have a 223... was out at the range this morning with the 30-06 and 150 hornady fmjs in front of about 44.5 grains of wc735... fair results... its too fast but it goes boom.
 
I use WC 735 in my 444marlin and it love to eat it up. Found that it needs a mag primer tho in cold temps. I load up some custom cast 330grain FP and let me tell you they go bang! on both ends.
 
I have Wolf 223 casings here as well,..no issues with them...I do have a batch of CJ casings here as well that are on their second reloading...but,..I'm probably going to scrap 'em too..or use them for light loads only..
 
Went to the range today and finished out my reloads. Didnt notice much more difference shooting the 24grs and the 25grs so im going to shoot the 22grs for a bit at 50yds and see what I get. I did however find out that my CMMG does NOT like chinese brass. I tried it again today and same thing, it jammed. It fed kinda okay, went into the chamber but the BCG didnt engage all the way. The charging handle wouldnt even budge. I had to use a piece of wood to hammer the bcg all the way home, manually #### the hammer. Close the upper and re-pin and then squeeze the trigger for the BOOM effect. Took my remaining chinese brass reloads and will try them in my bolt action another day.
Any ideas on why the round would hang up like that?
 
The "5% faster than H335" guidance is "safe", but not the best advice that could have been given IMO. I have used it extensively in several rounds, and use H322 or IMR-3031 loads (they are generally faster than H335 and are close, but often switch places on various Burn Rate tables).

WC-735 is great in the 223 and 7.62x39, but a bit fast for the 308 and 30/06, except with the lightest bullets. I like it a lot in the 45/70.
 
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