First Loads with RL15.5 in .223
- Thread starter Hohn
- Start date
Warning This is a 223 with a freebore of .220. Way longer than a Wylde.
PacNor 30" 3groove Medium Palma.
88gr ELD's Lapua Brass. Federal 205 Match AR. .004 Neck Tension. .025 off the lands.
Ladder test from 23.6gr to 25.4gr in .2 increments Two loads of each charge shot at 600 yards.
23.6 2720 Fps
24.6gr 2815fps
25.4gr 2910fps Highly Compressed. Zero signs of pressure.
Only stacking of shots where way down at 23. 6 to 24.0 grains The rest kept string higher with no nodes developing.
PacNor 30" 3groove Medium Palma.
88gr ELD's Lapua Brass. Federal 205 Match AR. .004 Neck Tension. .025 off the lands.
Ladder test from 23.6gr to 25.4gr in .2 increments Two loads of each charge shot at 600 yards.
23.6 2720 Fps
24.6gr 2815fps
25.4gr 2910fps Highly Compressed. Zero signs of pressure.
Only stacking of shots where way down at 23. 6 to 24.0 grains The rest kept string higher with no nodes developing.
Russ loads 2 identical rounds for each charge weight
Did a capacity work up last night in Lapua brass. Because a press can seat with such force that audible crunch is a poor indication of compression point, I used a fired body sized Lapua to see how much 15.5 I can fit in a case. 24.0 is the most I can fit with an 80eld at my longest OAL for this chamber. And this with a LOT of tapping on the bench top to settle powder enough to shorten oal to a length that’s right at the lands. Unsettled was nearly 0.020” longer.
If this powder is going to succeed in .223, it won’t be based on blazing mv with accuracy unless you have an ftr spec chamber. Rather It will have to succeed based on temp stability, low SD, and low pressure (barrel life) and good accuracy at the lower nodes.
If this powder is going to succeed in .223, it won’t be based on blazing mv with accuracy unless you have an ftr spec chamber. Rather It will have to succeed based on temp stability, low SD, and low pressure (barrel life) and good accuracy at the lower nodes.
Loaded 5 rounds each at 25.6, 25.7, 25.8 and shot them at 300 yards slung up with my service rifle. Primers looked good, but the brass had some nice ejector marks. The group opened up at 25.8 and wasn't nearly as nice, but 25.6 and 25.7 showed lots of promise. Unfortunate, because the SD at 25.8 was really low.
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RegionRat
Gold $$ Contributor
Well Done @karrarararararar !
Your not allowed to shoot that kind of elevation at 600 yards with that much powder because its so compressed. Stop it. LOL.
It’s the 4.5x power scope with a 20” barrel held with a sling that makes it possible. Anybody could do it…
Nice shooting!
edit: my sarcastic emoji disappeared
And with a 10 SD....
Shot the same 25.6 grain load with 75 grain ELD-M's in my 24" Mossberg MVP for curiosity sake. Had a 5 shot avg of 2933 FPS with 9.28 SD. Accuracy was right around 1 MOA, but it's a factory rifle with a o twist barrel, so I take it with a grain of salt.
Bumping this thread with today’s 3x600 result. Well, more like observations. I shot my 12FV .223 as an FTR but with a rear squeeze bag and a Magpul bipod. As a reminder, this rifle has a 26” 7tw CBI with .090 freebore.
I loaded up some 88ELDs and 80ELDs at charges and OALs that preliminary testing suggested would be decent. I committed to shooting at least a whole relay with each.
88s went 190-5x (mr1-fc)
80s went 188-2x
3rd relay was experimenting with other loads and the 182-x was notably worse than either 15.5 load.
So I broke 190 for the first time thanks to 88/15.5 combination. 188 was my 2nd highest score with this rifle, also thanks to 15.5.
Now the interesting part: the SMT e-targets were showing trap speeds in the 1920-1930fps range. Comparing notes with @jrh84 he was pushing Berger 90s to similar speeds. But from a 30” tube with pressures in higher ranges popping primers and destroying LC brass with his n135 charges.
In other words, 15.5 is giving comparable speeds at what appear to be significantly lower pressures despite my rifle have a 4” shorter barrel and .020” shorter freebore. And doing so with only 24.3gr.
While I’m not ready to anoint 15.5 as some kind of miracle, I will suggest that I consider the naysayers who pishposh at this powder for .223 to be grossly mistaken in the premature rush to judgment on 15.5 for .223.
Temperature stability, decopper additive, competitive velocity and LOW PRESSURES with what appears to be respectable accuracy potential.
What’s not to like about that?
I loaded up some 88ELDs and 80ELDs at charges and OALs that preliminary testing suggested would be decent. I committed to shooting at least a whole relay with each.
88s went 190-5x (mr1-fc)
80s went 188-2x
3rd relay was experimenting with other loads and the 182-x was notably worse than either 15.5 load.
So I broke 190 for the first time thanks to 88/15.5 combination. 188 was my 2nd highest score with this rifle, also thanks to 15.5.
Now the interesting part: the SMT e-targets were showing trap speeds in the 1920-1930fps range. Comparing notes with @jrh84 he was pushing Berger 90s to similar speeds. But from a 30” tube with pressures in higher ranges popping primers and destroying LC brass with his n135 charges.
In other words, 15.5 is giving comparable speeds at what appear to be significantly lower pressures despite my rifle have a 4” shorter barrel and .020” shorter freebore. And doing so with only 24.3gr.
While I’m not ready to anoint 15.5 as some kind of miracle, I will suggest that I consider the naysayers who pishposh at this powder for .223 to be grossly mistaken in the premature rush to judgment on 15.5 for .223.
Temperature stability, decopper additive, competitive velocity and LOW PRESSURES with what appears to be respectable accuracy potential.
What’s not to like about that?
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Cpngrats! I'm on the lookout for more. Welcome to the darkside.
I would caution that it’s possible that the comparable speeds at target are not actually comparable muzzle velocities at the muzzle. But the only ways my 88s are tons slower than his 90VLD is if 1) the 88s have a significant BC advantage. Which seems unlikely given that the 90VLD is by far the most common long range 22 caliber bullet in use for serious competition. Or 2) the trap speed data is bogus.
My point here is that with all the disadvantages 15.5 has in that comparison, it still manages to hold it’s own so far. Better quality data might show this to be untrue.
I’m going to put an asterisk on those speeds being truly comparable based just on trap speed and not actual chrono data.
My point here is that with all the disadvantages 15.5 has in that comparison, it still manages to hold it’s own so far. Better quality data might show this to be untrue.
I’m going to put an asterisk on those speeds being truly comparable based just on trap speed and not actual chrono data.
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