.223 Powder Opinions

[Kracken McGraw]

I'm going to have a custom .223 Remington built this fall. It will have a Bartlien 8 twist 24 inch barrel. Bullets are going to be Hornady 75 grain bthp. These will mainly just be used to shoot paper from 175 to 400 yards. I've done a lot of research on .223 powders, and narrowed my choices to these three. Varget, N140, Reloader 15. I know I will have to find my own load weight, but I hope the experience and knowledge of you guys might point me in the right direction. Thank You!

 

[ShootDots]

Instead of N140, try N540. I used to shoot the Berger 73gr with N540 and it shot phenomenally at 3050f.p.s.! And that was out of a 26" barrel!
Oooopps, I just looked it up>>>not 3050f.p.s. but 3020f.p.s.

 

[Ned Ludd]

H4895, H322, or Benchmark would work very well for that setup and application. I would pick one of those before your three choices, especially H4895 or H322. For what reason(s) did you settle on the other 3 choices? Any of your choices will work, no doubts there, but IMO, they're a tick on the slow side for 75 gr bullets in a 24" barrel.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Thanks for your replies ShootDots and gstaylorg. This was exactly what I was wanting to know if this was the right propellant for my setup. Just looked up N540, it said it was a lot like N140. Except it pushed heavy bullets faster, which I guess is where I'm at. I was thinking reloader 15 served this purpose also. I would also like to add that I want to find my most accurate node at these ranges and also conserve barrel life too, if possible.

 

[T-shooter]

I like Varget but you'll run out of case capacity easily with it or any of the large kernel extruded powders. Especially if you have a .223 chamber. Also, you'll have to seat the Hornady 75g BTHP deeper due to the shape of the ogive.

 

[Lapua40X]

Varget or Hodgdon CFE223

 

[jsthntn247]

Depends on your throat but I'd say 4895 or 8208xbr.

 

[T-shooter]

I measures several bullets in a .223 Wylde chamber. This is the length where they touch the rifling. The Hornady 75g BTHP is by far the shortest. And some comparison pictures of .223 bullets. I didn't have the 75g when I made this picture.

... and measurements on the Hornady 75g. 2 different lots and different dimensions.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I measures several bullets in a .223 Wylde chamber. This is the length where they touch the rifling. The Hornady 75g BTHP is by far the shortest. And some comparison pictures of .223 bullets. I didn't have the 75g when I made this picture.

... and measurements on the Hornady 75g. 2 different lots and different dimensions.

Will the hornady bullet cause a compressed load with most powders opposed to say the Sierra 77?

 

[T-shooter]

Will the hornady bullet cause a compressed load with most powders opposed to say the Sierra 77?

Probably not. It's only slightly longer and the ogive profile will allow you to seat it out farther. Everything is going to depend on how the chamber is cut and how much lead it has. The barrel manufacturer should be able to answer your questions.

 

[Steve Ladino]

Varget for the heavy and H 335 for the light

 

[msinc]

I have had very good luck with N140...also W748.

 

[swadiver]

80.5 Berger Fullbores with H4895, and don't look back

 

[CharlieNC]

RL15 shoots the 75 Amax great for me banging steel at 1000yd from 22in barrel. Less than moa groups in close. I've run several thousand of this load and always pleased with consistent performance.

 

[mac86951]

I'll toss in a recommendation for AR-Comp and TAC as well.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Thank You all for taking time to give me your own personal inputs! You have given me a lot to chew on. I was wanting to stock up on some powder while the the gettin is good, so to say. May just have to get a pound of several flavors to see what it likes. Are the faster nodes going to affect barrel life in the .223, or is that what's best and just pay the price for it to get accuracy.

 

[Fast14riot]

For a wylde chamber, 24gr of Varget or RL15 behind any of the 75/77 grain bullets works well. This is a common service rifle load at magazine length (2.260 coal). I shoot 23.2 of 8208 and Hornady 75 or prvi 75 with equal results.

 

[LitLBoy]

8208xbr and 75A-max

 

[Berger.Fan222]

Get it throated to load the bullets long (2.5ish) and use Varget.

 

[MoneyWaster]

I shoot the same bullet out of my tactical trainer. Barrel is a Bartlein M24, 8T, finished at 26". A 23.5 gn load of Varget shoots one ragged hole with 10 shots measuring about 0.65" (when I do my part obviously). Vavg with that charge is 2847 fps.