Favorite Powder for 223 69gr

[Mark M.]

Have a Tikka CTR .223 24" 8 twist, looking to try some 69 SMK, what is your favorite powder for this set up, thanks guys

 

[dantiff2]

VARGET over a CCI#400 . Varget is by far the best out of several others that I've tried. Work outstanding in bolt guns and gassers.

P.S. be prepared for some hate though as this is like asking what the best brand of vehicle is made ; )

Dan

 

[Twdmar]

Just pick one, pretty much anything will work for 69s. R15, ar comp, tac, 8208, 4895, varget, n130, n140, 2520, h322.........

 

[22vartarg]

+1 for Varget….I use it in my bolt rifle with one ragged hole groups.

 

[rebs]

Reloader 15 for 69 gr smk's

 

[762willdo]

2520 is the best!

 

[DGP4]

I use 23.5 grains of Ramshot Tac under a Nosler 69 grain Custom Competition and it is a very accurate load.

 

[SSchnd]

Love H4895 and XBR8208. Both hammer in 223/224. AR I run 23.8-24.0 in 20" service rifle. IN a bolt one could go more. Has always been a very accurate load for me. set a measure to 23.9 and throw charges with 8208. Seating depth might help group size with the 69 I push mine a little deeper like 2.240 give or take 2.235 to 2.245. SMK's dont seem to care much though.

 

[SecondsCount]

Just pick one, pretty much anything will work for 69s. R15, ar comp, tac, 8208, 4895, varget, n130, n140, 2520, h322.........

Most of those I have tried with good results as well. R15 is pretty popular, and you'll always hear about how Varget performs but that stuff is hard to find at a reasonable price.

 

[Steve K]

23.7 grains of 748 with either Remington 7 1/2 or CCI 41. Very light recoil, very accurate to 200 yards. I use this load in High Power events and always do well.

 

[Scrumbag]

I like TAC myself

 

[Kracken McGraw]

IMR 4166 can be added to the list also.

 

[Liven The Dream]

R-15 or N-140
4895

 

[drags]

Have a Tikka CTR .223 24" 8 twist, looking to try some 69 SMK, what is your favorite powder for this set up, thanks guys

I have a 8 twist Tikka T3X varmint rifle, I shoot the 69 gr STMK and I use it for groundhog hunting. I tried Varget and R15 the Varget shot 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards and the R15 shot just over 1/2 inch at 100 yards the rifle shot best with max. loads with both powders. I really like this combination for Penna. groundhogs.
Drags

 

[Mark M.]

Just pick one, pretty much anything will work for 69s. R15, ar comp, tac, 8208, 4895, varget, n130, n140, 2520, h322.........

I get it, just looking for a little insight to save time and money, haven't shot these before.

 

[Twdmar]

I get it, just looking for a little insight to save time and money, haven't shot these before.

What ones do you have available? 223 has been worked out enough that there are formulaic loads that almost always work. 24.0 of r15 or n140 are always great. Tell us what powder you have and someone will have something that will probably work right away

 

[darkangel_r2]

For raw close range accuracy I think reloader 15 is probably the best. But its finicky with temp changes. So unless you are loading at the same time you are shooting so you can tweak your loads there are better options.

Varget, h4895, and ar-comp are the overall top tier. Extremely accurate, temp stable, and great SD numbers. Shooters world precision and imr4166 are probably excellent too but no personal experience to draw from. Also imr xbr and benchmark may be up here depending on your rifle and these have a wild card of being the best stick powders to throw charges with.

A tier down is vv135/140, imr 4064. Very accurate and great SD numbers but gain speed when temps get 70ish+. The VVs also throw pretty well.

For ball powders there are only 3 I think need to be considered. Power Pro Varmint, Win 748, and H335. These get better SD numbers than others while having similar accuracy and superior velocity. But none of these compare favorably to any above unless volume loading for ar15s.

 

[urbanrifleman]

AR Comp hands down best.

 

[Longtrain]

I have shot them XTC with TAC, RE-15 and varget. Anything in this burn rate will work. Buy powder as cheap as you can, load’em and shoot’em. TAC has some pretty good prices online as compared to Varget or N140. We shot an awful lot of them.

 

[darkangel_r2]

AR Comp hands down best.

I think it certainly gets the highest marks for temp stability and SD numbers. So from a one load any day any weather performance standpoint it may be the one to beat. But I think you can get more speed with h4895 and varget. So its not a undisputed win and some rifles may like one more than another for undiscernible reasons.