I have a rra 20 h-bar. i have added a free float forearm and a m/w industries gas block. i have tried h335,h4895 and varget. i shoot bullets in the 50 to 69gr range.i picked up some win 748 and some blc-2 to try. so far varget seems to be the best with a 60gr sierra varminter flat base.has anybody had good success with 748 or blc-2.i have included a picture of a group with the sierra's.should i just stick with varget? any info would be appreciated. thanks
.223 ar question
- Thread starter armike
- Start date
I have a similar setup. My H-bar has a 1-7.5 twist and I found anything less than 62 gr was like shooting buckshot. I have a great load for 69gr SMK and works equally well with Nosler Custom Comp. 26gr of W748 - loaded to magazine length, Fed 205M primers, Fed or LC cases. This gives me 1.5" groups at 200 yards off of a rest with open sights. Since the x-ring on a 200yrd CMP target is 3" I never saw a reason to try a better load or to test this load with a scope.
What twist is barrel? and what ranges do you want to shoot? This will be a big determination in what you want to load. The picture of your target was pretty good, and if you are shooting 300 yards or less in over the course type shooting I would stay with what you have.
There is one down side to W748 - and that is it is dirty. CMP matches are 50 rounds so it never gave me any trouble, but I wouldn't want to take it to a 'dog town. I have heard horror stories of W748 getting really high pressures at high temps - but am yet to have an issue and I have shot some 100 days.
What twist is barrel? and what ranges do you want to shoot? This will be a big determination in what you want to load. The picture of your target was pretty good, and if you are shooting 300 yards or less in over the course type shooting I would stay with what you have.
There is one down side to W748 - and that is it is dirty. CMP matches are 50 rounds so it never gave me any trouble, but I wouldn't want to take it to a 'dog town. I have heard horror stories of W748 getting really high pressures at high temps - but am yet to have an issue and I have shot some 100 days.
Yes, I agree, Win. 748 is dirty--- extremely so. Probably the worst I've ever used, and for that reason alone, stopped using it. Carbon buildup, as seen with my "Hawkeye" was unbelievable & very difficult to remove, not to mention the ugly black case necks. H414, and H380 fall into the same category. When needing to throw powder thru my RCBS measure, for a large amount of 223 ammo, for CMP & NRA Hi-Power matches, I'll use H335. A ball powder, but a lot cleaner burning. For smaller amounts of 223 ammo I use the ever reliable Varget and weigh on a beam scale: 15 minutes per 20 rounds.
I tested lots of loads for .223 in AR based rifles. WW-748 gave good accuracy with 68/69 grain bullet around 25 grains even. I've seen popped primers in other people's guns with as little as 25.5 grains on a hot day. Never let loaded rounds sit in the sun light, it doesn't matter what powder you use if you let that happen.
I use 24.5 grains of Varget with these bullets most of the time. Try 24.0 to 25.0 grains of Vihtivuori N 140 too. 24.0 grains even of H-4895 works well. 23.5 grains of H-335 or AA-2460 is usually a good grouping load. For accuracy, velocities should be between 2700 and 2800 max for a 20" barrel and 69 grain bullets.
I'm surprised lighter bullets have not worked well for you. Most people get their best groups with 52/53 grain match bullets even though the twist rate is overkill. 26.0 to 26.5 grains of WW-748 might work. I've been impressed with 20.5 grains of H-4198 and 52 grain Match Kings. Almost any of the faster mid range powders will work with light bullets. H-322, AA-2015, AA-2230, Viht N530, Viht N 133, RE-7 and RE-10X to name a few. I look for velocities,actual measured) around 2950 to 3000 fps with the 52 grain bullets and a 20" barrel.
I use 24.5 grains of Varget with these bullets most of the time. Try 24.0 to 25.0 grains of Vihtivuori N 140 too. 24.0 grains even of H-4895 works well. 23.5 grains of H-335 or AA-2460 is usually a good grouping load. For accuracy, velocities should be between 2700 and 2800 max for a 20" barrel and 69 grain bullets.
I'm surprised lighter bullets have not worked well for you. Most people get their best groups with 52/53 grain match bullets even though the twist rate is overkill. 26.0 to 26.5 grains of WW-748 might work. I've been impressed with 20.5 grains of H-4198 and 52 grain Match Kings. Almost any of the faster mid range powders will work with light bullets. H-322, AA-2015, AA-2230, Viht N530, Viht N 133, RE-7 and RE-10X to name a few. I look for velocities,actual measured) around 2950 to 3000 fps with the 52 grain bullets and a 20" barrel.
it is a 1-9 twist chrome lined with the wylde chamber. i have also used 50 v-maxs that almost group as tight. in my tests varget outperformed h4895.i have some 52gr sierra hpbt to try also.i have only been reloading for 3 or 4 months so i have a lot of combos to try. the scope is a konus pro 4.5-16x40. the range i shoot is 100-200yards. the picture is at 100 yards.
I have a plain old bushmaster 20" with a 1 in 9 chrome lined barrel with a flat top and scope on it. I have had good luck with 50 v-max on top of 22.5 of reloader 10x. Not the max but it will shoot 3/4" 5 shots at 100 yards. I thought it was pretty impressive considering it is just out of the box except for the scope. Haven't had much luck with the heavier bullets yet.
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