aa2230 in .223

[armike]

i was wondering if anybody has had good results with aa2230. i picked up a ma@i used upper from my local gun shop to play with. it has a 24' bull barrel and with a 55 grain horn. fmj or v-max fb i was getting velocities in the 3450 range with either 25 or 25.5 of aa2230,i'd have to check my notes but sieera says max is 26.1 though they're saying in the 3000, 3100 range for that charge. i know they used a 20' colt but i don't think the barrel length is giving me that much.both bullets shot great with the 55fmj slightly under 1/2' at 100yds. the primers look great and the velocities are good so i am going to see how fast i can push them. i also have a 20' rra h-bar i will check them in. if anybodys played with this powder please share with me.

 

[Mudcat]

I believe 2230 was designed for the 223. I have a bunch of 2230c which was an off lot of 2230 and have used it extensively as a practice powder in my service rifle and spacegun. I tend to run about 22.5grs with any weight bullet I use....52 up to 82. Light load with the light bullets, and ok with the heavy bullets. Keep in mind I aint a benchrester so I expect my stuff to go 1/2MOA, which is my good sling hold, so thats good enough to clean any HP target i shoot on. Ammo might be better than 1/2moa, probably is, but thats not a criteria for use for me.

My guess, however, is that the powder will work well for most applications.

John

 

[alf]

I use nothing but AA-2230 in my 223's, ever since Midway had it on sale. 40's run between 3750 and 3800, depending on the barrel, with great accuracy.
AA-2230-C was a pulled down powder, similar in burn rate to AA-2460, which Accurate recommends to use for your load data. I've used many pounds of this also in the prairie dog towns. I'm still using this in my 6x47x45 Imp and in the 6 Dashers for 70 grain loads.

 

[jaredr]

for what it's worth, i've loaded about 4500 rounds of mixed commercial & military using 24 gr of 2230 and winchester small rifle, gives me 2950 fps, prints about 1' or less at 100 yards slow fire prone with iron sights. almost all of my range time is 100 yards or less. could probably go to 25 gr or a bit more, but I'm reloading a lot of range pickup brass,lots of LC mil brass mixed in with remington, federal, and foreign headstamps) so i'd rather stick with a more sedate load than risk a blown primer.

-jared

 

[pdog2225]

ARMike,
Here is the load I use in my RRA A4 24' varmint.

55gr hornady Vmax,molyed)
24.8 grains AA2230
Primer: BR-4 or CCI400
Brass: prepped PMC, RP or Win,1.755')
Loaded to magazine length

This gives me 3130fps out of 24' barrels,Oehler 35p).I have used this load for prairie dogs out to 600+yds. Three weeks ago I shot a 5-shot 2.750' group at 550yds with it. Scope is a Bushnell Elite 4200 6x24x42 mil-dot.I have shot this load in my RRA A4 24' varmint,8T),a DPMS 24' heavy varmint barrel,9T) and an Olympic Arms 24' SUM,10T). I'm sure there are faster or more accurate loads for the AR15 but for me this is tough to beat.

I also tried H335, it shot ok but did not seem to have the accuracy of AA2230. pdog2225

 

[ForneyRider]

AA2230 worked great in my loads from 40gr Sierra to 75gr Hornady BTHP. Accuracy/Velocities were competitive with other powders.

Also, had some 36gr VG, but I don't blame the powder. I got .7in group at 100 yards, but the others were .488in - .6in for 5shot groups.