CFE 223

[NewLiberty]

I tried it in my .223 bolt gun 1 in 9 twist 22" barrel with 69smk's. Varget works better. I didn't have trouble with cooper fouling anyway.

 

[sbhooper]

interesting to hear about it in .223. I use it in my Ruger American .308 and it is phenomenal. 1/2 moa at 300 yards with 150 Interlocks at 2900+ fps(on the days that I do it right!). It is over 2800 with 165s also, but the accuracy was not there.

 

[Brians356]

interesting to hear about it in .223.

Of course as the name implies, it was targeted for 223, maybe because of relatively high rates and volume of fire in AR-15s which I suppose can copper up quite a bit (I don't own one). It was surprising to me how many larger cartridges it seems to excel in, behind a wide range of bullet weights.

I've got about 2/3-lb of IMR 4166 (Enduron) which I plan to try in 6mm Rem. But it's hard to find around here, and I have about 5 lbs of CFE 223 now after my shooting buddy passed away and left me all his components. I'll never use it all, but I need to try. 8)

 

[Brians356]

PS

In spite of CFE 223's wide applicability, it does have certain quirks according to Hodgdon. For example, while it works great in both 243 Win and 243 WSSM, Hodgdon do not publish CFE data for 6mm Rem.

Being curious (and wanting to use CFE in it) I called Hodgdon Technical Support and was told emphatically "Do not use CFE 223 in 6mm Rem. It is unstable and unsuitable." Period.

What makes that even more odd is that internal ballistics are nearly identical between 6mm Rem and 243 WSSM. (If you doubt that, compare Hodgdons load data for those two cartridges, and get back to me. I posted extensively about this in another thread a while back.) So it's odd that CFE would be so unstable in one but not the other (even though their cases are shaped so differently.)

So words to the wise: Do not try to use CFE in a cartridge for which Hodgdon do not publish CFE data, without first contacting Hodgdon.

 

[DLH_]

Thank you, you have all been very helpful in your replies!
Josh

 

[billt]

I know this is an old thread, but it should be mentioned, (especially to those that are finding this powder to be "dirty"), that good bullet neck tension is a must with CFE 223. Also a good firm crimp. I use the excellent Lee Factory Crimp Die with Hornady 55 Grain FMJBT bullets. I crimp heavily right at the cannelure. Accuracy is superb, and velocity is very consistent in all of my AR-15's.

I'm currently loading 27.0 grains of CFE 223 with this bullet. My 9th Edition Hornady manual shows this to be 1/2 grain under maximum, and produces 3,200 FPS.