55 gr. FMJs in .223 Rem.

[uncle-buck]

Bought a bunch of the Hornady 55 gr. FMJ bullets to shoot in my .223 bolt gun for short range fun and practice. Have worked up two pretty good loads with IMR 4064 and N133 and am getting higher velocity and sub-MOA precision at 100 yds. with the N 133.

Have tested other powders including: IMR 3031, N135, N140, BL-C(2), and Varget.

Have not yet tested H335, Benchmark, IMR 8208 XBR, TAC, or Win 748.

I have some IMR 8208 XBR for use in another rifle. Is it worth trying with the 55 gr. bullets or is it better suited for heavier bullets?

Heard of one man who tested 17 different powders before settling on one, but I'm about ready to pick one and call it a day.

Thanks for any feedback on using 8208 with the 55 gr. FMJs.

 

[PopCharlie]

N133 is a great powder for lighter bullets in the .223. I have had excellent results with 52 to 73 grain bullets in a 1:8 twist rifle. For heavier bullets, 75s on up, I use Reloder 15.

 

[mac86951]

Bought a bunch of the Hornady 55 gr. FMJ bullets to shoot in my .223 bolt gun for short range fun and practice. Have worked up two pretty good loads with IMR 4064 and N133 and am getting higher velocity and sub-MOA precision at 100 yds. with the N 133.

Have tested other powders including: IMR 3031, N135, N140, BL-C(2), and Varget.

Have not yet tested H335, Benchmark, IMR 8208 XBR, TAC, or Win 748.

I have some IMR 8208 XBR for use in another rifle. Is it worth trying with the 55 gr. bullets or is it better suited for heavier bullets?

Heard of one man who tested 17 different powders before settling on one, but I'm about ready to pick one and call it a day.

Thanks for any feedback on using 8208 with the 55 gr. FMJs.

I'm nearing 17.

In my 55gr quest, I digressed because I was trying to find the best load. 53 SMK the 55 fmj is NOT. Once I realized that; h335; blc(2); cfe223 all easy meetering and fast loading.

Sub moa was good enough for me and have fun!

-Mac

 

[GotRDid]

8208 meters very well due to it's fine extruded shape. I have found it very accurate throughout the ladder test looking for both accuracy/speed in a Contender Carbine 23" 1/12 tw, Colt CAR 24" 1/9, and a Faxon Gunner 18" 1/8. I am using the Hornady 53 gr FBFP, however for bulk loading and 69-75 gr for the heavy match bullet shooting with ARs. The 55s will do well, but with all your attention to detail in Handloading, why not upgrade to a more concentric bullet?
GotRDid.

 

[Longtrain]

I bought 1000 55 FMJ for 200 yard standing practice for XTC, they were cheap and they did what I needed. BTW, I shot 52 SMK’s for standing and sitting rapids at 200, worked great, accurate and low recoil for rapids.

 

[uncle-buck]

[QUOTE="The 55s will do well, but with all your attention to detail in Handloading, why not upgrade to a more concentric bullet?
GotRDid.[/QUOTE]
I also shoot the 69 gr. SMKs which are very accurate and precise. Thanks

 

[Doom]

I tried 8208 with the Hornady FMJ 55 and had good groups. Somewhere around 24.5 grains with either Win or Lapua brass, don’t remember which.

Hate dealing with 8208 because of availability but hear in SC I like the temperature stability.

How did 4064 do?

 

[K22]

I shoot a lot of 55 grain bullets in my 12" and 9" twist bolt rifles - all shoot this bullet very well.

I have one 8" twist bolt rifle that shoots them fairly good but most of my 8" twist rifles like the 60 Vmax better.

Powders that I've had success with in the 223 Rem are H 4895, Benchmark, H335 and Varget. Currently working through a jug of H 4895 and I'm very pleased with it's performance with 50, 55 and 60 grain bullets. I'm using Nosler 50 and 55 grain bullets because in addition to range shooting I hunt a lot varmints and predators and I found these Nosler BT to be very accurate with excellent terminal performance.

I use Federal 205M match primers for all my 223 Rem's.

 

[searcher]

Have not yet tested H335, Benchmark, IMR 8208 XBR, TAC, or Win 748.

In my experience - I have gotten - on average - better results using these powders you listed over the ones you have tried so far. If I could add two more - they would be Reloader 7 and Accurate LT32. The IMR8208XBR is a great powder for that bullet weight. I have loaded many thousands using it and 50 V-Max, along with the occasional 55 FMJ

 

[uncle-buck]

IMR 4064 does very well. Sub MOA with 25.0 gr. in LC cases and Rem. 7 1/2 primers. But have only been getting a MV of 2875 fps from my rifle.

24.2 gr. of N133 produces a MV of 3090 fps with equal precision, at 100 yds.

 

[Doom]

I use 4064 in 308 and 8208 in 223 with 53 gr SMK but have about 700 of the Hornady 55’s that I need to do something with. Might just give it a try. Range limit is 300yds so velocity isn’t a huge deal.

 

[uncle-buck]

I use 4064 in 308 and 8208 in 223 with 53 gr SMK but have about 700 of the Hornady 55’s that I need to do something with. Might just give it a try. Range limit is 300yds so velocity isn’t a huge deal.

I seat the bullets 0.020" off the lands and get cloverleafs at 100 yds. Have fun.

 

[Fast14riot]

25gr of H335 under a 55gr bullet is a pretty standard plinking load that's reasonably accurate and the stuff meters like water. Pick up a keg of WC844 for $150, use a progressive press and have fun!

 

[Dusty Stevens]

No need to look further than n133, but if a powder works in a 6ppc itll shoot the 52-55 in a 223 all day

 

[uncle-buck]

No need to look further than n133, but if a powder works in a 6ppc itll shoot the 52-55 in a 223 all day

I think I'm down to choosing between N133 and N135.

Both perform well and are clean burning which reduces cleaning time.

 

[joshb]

I settled on H335 because it meters so well. I can find a great load, carefully set my thrower and then throw hundreds of accurate charges quickly.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I think I'm down to choosing between N133 and N135.

Both perform well and are clean burning which reduces cleaning time.

N135 starts working better at 62gr and up for me

 

[dantiff2]

Is 335 part of the "extreme" line that is more temp stable like Benchmark? I load with CFE223 and have found a great plinking load with cheap bullets but it is certainly NOT temp stable. I'll probably switch to Benchmark after I burn through my stock pile ; )

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I'll probably switch to Benchmark after I burn through my stock pile ; )

Dont buy too much before you evaluate it

 

[dantiff2]

Dont buy too much before you evaluate it

Good advice! but I don't mind having a bunch of powder on hand that I have to "get rid of"! My boys love to plink so I burn through bullets, powder & primers pretty fast. I'm sure I could find a load and let them at it ; )