80 gr. .223 loads- where to start

[wolfman]

I built the .223 to shoot heavies. 22" 1-8" L-W tube, trued 700, Manners stock. Nice long throat. Now I've got 80 gr. bullets in Vmax, JLK, and Berger flavours, N540, R15, Varget, and N150, and Fed. 205, CCI 450 primers. Anybody care to help with a good starting point? I've got a pile of weight sorted W-W cases, and a day to spend at the range w/ the portable loading box, so lets hear it.

 

[wolfman]

The load guide here on the site is great- I'm jsut checking to see if anyone cares to share their experience. Seems like common wisdom is to start the bullets around .020 into the lands, and use either varget or n540. Time to load some up and try them!

 

[1shot]

I use n-540 for my 600 yd. loads, but that is with an AR-15. 24.0 gr. of either that or RL-15 should get you up and running. I don't drive mine real fast, but they shoot well, and either powder is faster and cleaner than Varget in my rifles.
As always, all usual diclaimers apply.
I hope this helps,
Lloyd

 

[mc223]

An observation; V-V powders seem to perform better with CCI-450s. And the remainder of your powder choices seem to work well with a standard primer like the Fed 205s.
N-150 is right on the edge of too slow for 223.. The performance may show slightly lower velocities, but will likely give good accuracy.
Another observation of V-V powders is that they seem to perform best right at the point where you start to see signs of pressure.

There are some loads near the bottom of the linked page. Bear in mind that the loads are built around AR-15.

http://njhighpower.com/

And from Sierra. For bolt guns.

http://accurateshooter.net/Downloads/sierra223rembolt.pdf

 

[wolfman]

Thanks guys- The primer/ powder recommendations are especially helpful.