Anybody tried bluedot powder with 40 gr. bullets in a 223? I loaded up 600 rounds for my 223 contender and ruined many a p.d.'s day,got close to 3000 f.p.s..Was a little worried about about the hot temp's(close to 100 degrees)no problems,was so impressed with this load I'm gonna order a 223 barrel for my 788 rifle.
223 and bluedot powder
- Thread starter ricksaw
- Start date
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
OK
IN a custom 14T Hart, zero freebore, 223 minimum saami match chamber
40g nosler ballistic tips
Rem 7 1/2 primers, CCI 41, CCI BR-4
12.0g = 3000 fps
14.3 is what I load with the lot# of powder that I have at 3200 fps and it groups 1 1/2" at 200 yards
14.6g is an absolute max load
WARNING:
BLUE DOT LOADS ARE NOT LOW PRESSURE LOADS!!!
Blue dot bridges in powder measures, meaning that you may Get a light charge, then a heavy charge!
Use thick cup primers only!!!
600 rounds inbetween cleanings, and friend went 900 on a fire ball with no accuracy issues.
Work up your loads accordingly.
If you are throwing charges with a powder measure, I would suggest that you throw and weigh 100 charges, record the charges to check the variance. Leave yourself some wiggle room so that you don't blow a primer with a hot load.
Redding powder measures do not throw Blue dot worth a darn. I have not checked the Harrells. Belding and mull would be the very best would be my guess.
Seafire over on 24hrcampfire.com is an expert with blue dot, and has shot Blue Dot in many, many calibers.
I also shot Blue Dot loads in a 22/250 during the squirrel wars, buddy shot it in a 220 Swift also.
Again:
BLUE DOT LOADS ARE NOT LOW PRESSURE LOADS!!!!! I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!
IN a custom 14T Hart, zero freebore, 223 minimum saami match chamber
40g nosler ballistic tips
Rem 7 1/2 primers, CCI 41, CCI BR-4
12.0g = 3000 fps
14.3 is what I load with the lot# of powder that I have at 3200 fps and it groups 1 1/2" at 200 yards
14.6g is an absolute max load
WARNING:
BLUE DOT LOADS ARE NOT LOW PRESSURE LOADS!!!
Blue dot bridges in powder measures, meaning that you may Get a light charge, then a heavy charge!
Use thick cup primers only!!!
600 rounds inbetween cleanings, and friend went 900 on a fire ball with no accuracy issues.
Work up your loads accordingly.
If you are throwing charges with a powder measure, I would suggest that you throw and weigh 100 charges, record the charges to check the variance. Leave yourself some wiggle room so that you don't blow a primer with a hot load.
Redding powder measures do not throw Blue dot worth a darn. I have not checked the Harrells. Belding and mull would be the very best would be my guess.
Seafire over on 24hrcampfire.com is an expert with blue dot, and has shot Blue Dot in many, many calibers.
I also shot Blue Dot loads in a 22/250 during the squirrel wars, buddy shot it in a 220 Swift also.
Again:
BLUE DOT LOADS ARE NOT LOW PRESSURE LOADS!!!!! I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!
I've been using Blue Dot in the 223 for about 15 years now. My first trip to the dog fields we were on a ranch where the shooting was non stop as fast as you could loads for as many hours as you wanted to shoot. I was impressed with the powder, accuracy was great, noise & muzzle blast reduced, and the barrel heat was much less than my normal load. Its not a powder I would recommend to everyone as its easy to get into high pressures quickly. It works so well I'm really glad I'm a hand loader as your not going to buy anything like this combination.
I regard 14 grains as the max load. Speeds with 40 grain bullets can be pretty impressive. Accuracy is often outstanding. I weigh charges when loading 14 grains to stay safe. Around 12 grains, I will use the powder thrower.
snert
Silver $$ Contributor
Yes, you can run speed with Blue Dot. And the loads you are talking about are full pressure. However, you can run reduced loads with BD. Just sayin
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
I used what was the most accurate.
12.0g was plenty accurate for 100-150 yard ground squirrels, but the 14.3g load shot 3/8" at 100 and 1 1/2" at 200.
Be very careful with Blue Dot powder, safer to weigh every charge! Those large flakes are hard to throw accurately in a powder measure.
12.0g was plenty accurate for 100-150 yard ground squirrels, but the 14.3g load shot 3/8" at 100 and 1 1/2" at 200.
Be very careful with Blue Dot powder, safer to weigh every charge! Those large flakes are hard to throw accurately in a powder measure.
Last edited:
TAJ45
Silver $$ Contributor
Is some type of filler needed? If so, what would be some of the choices and or methods?
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
NO filler required, this would cause a fantastic pressure spike
AckleymanII
Gold $$ Contributor
brass fired in a machine gun has it's own set of unusual characteristics.
14.6g of my particular lot# of blue dot was absolute max in my 14T hart barrel with zero freebore with 40g bullets.
Your load of 15g with a 35g would be an absolute max load which is why you are seeing the issues, and if you are throwing those charges in a powder measure, then you are seeing the issues associated with powder bridging, when there is a light load then a heavy load.
If a guy is wanting to load Blue dot and use a powder measure, it would be prudent to throw 100 charges, record the weight of each, then you have established the extremes of the issue of "powder bridging". I have had particular issues with a RCBS Uniflow powder measure and a Redding BR30 powder measure with all flake shotgun powders. However, the Lyman 55 with the Culver conversion was great along with the Harrells powder measure.
The cases in the picture above are what I would expect to see from over charges from powder bridging. If this brass was once fired in a machine gun, then the brass was over worked, which adds to the dilemma.
14.6g of my particular lot# of blue dot was absolute max in my 14T hart barrel with zero freebore with 40g bullets.
Your load of 15g with a 35g would be an absolute max load which is why you are seeing the issues, and if you are throwing those charges in a powder measure, then you are seeing the issues associated with powder bridging, when there is a light load then a heavy load.
If a guy is wanting to load Blue dot and use a powder measure, it would be prudent to throw 100 charges, record the weight of each, then you have established the extremes of the issue of "powder bridging". I have had particular issues with a RCBS Uniflow powder measure and a Redding BR30 powder measure with all flake shotgun powders. However, the Lyman 55 with the Culver conversion was great along with the Harrells powder measure.
The cases in the picture above are what I would expect to see from over charges from powder bridging. If this brass was once fired in a machine gun, then the brass was over worked, which adds to the dilemma.
Years ago, Seafire, gave me reams of data on Blue Dot --I have used it in 223, 243, 22-250, and a couple of 30 cal.
Every one was spot on.
Since I am traveling at present, I cannot access my data but a PM will jog my memory and I can get whatever you need if I have data on it.
Gary
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