hornady Red Box 223 55 gr spire

[ranger3]

I would like to duplicate these as they shoot very well in my 223. So far here is what I know, WSR Primer, 24.3 gr ball powder and 55 spire point with cannelure. I'm sure someone else has this figured out and knows what powder is being used. It could be H335, but I'm thinking more likely another ball Powder AA or 748, I don't think it's 748 as they are not as temp sensitive as my previous experience with 748 has been. So if anyone has the answer that would be a big help.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

The techs at Hornady are pretty cool. They might just tell you which powder is closest to what they use if you call and politely ask.

Other than that, I'd start by chronographing them and then attempting to duplicate the load. I might try H322 first (work up with care), and then try H335. You don't need to perfectly duplicate the load if you get the velocity and the barrel time close enough.

If you post your barrel length, someone may also try some things in QL to offer more guidance or a shorter list of best candidate powders, especially if you've measured muzzle velocities accurately.

My experience with that bullet is that if you can find one load to shoot it well, then your barrel likes it and it's not hard to find other loads to shoot it well also. It is very accurate for an inexpensive bullet, and several of my rifles have liked it over the years. Most factory rifles like it loaded a bit on the long side (over SAAMI OAL) so it is closer to the rifling, but were forgiving on which powder was used as long as you tweaked the load to find the sweet spot.

 

[Homerange]

One might ask why you'd want to go to the effort of trying to duplicate it when from the shooting clubs around here it costs only ~NZ$35/50. Yep it shoots reasonably well in most of the rifles I've seen it used in and it's my source of brass for my .223 as for that price most can't be bothered reloading it.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

One might ask why you'd want to go to the effort of trying to duplicate it when from the shooting clubs around here it costs only ~NZ$35/50. Yep it shoots reasonably well in most of the rifles I've seen it used in and it's my source of brass for my .223 as for that price most can't be bothered reloading it.

In bulk, the bullets only cost 8 cents each (US). If you have the brass already, the primer and powder can keep the reloading cost under 20 cents a round. That's a lot cheaper than the 55 cents for the loaded rounds. It's not too hard to tune the reloads to be a bit more accurate, since it is easy to tweak the seating depth, and many factory bolt actions respond well to bullets loaded slightly longer.

You gotta reload some bullet in all that brass. The humble 55 grain sp is an inexpensive and accurate choice. Good on deer too.

 

[joshb]

I reload thousands of 223 for fun and training for new shooters. I'm finding H335 produces very accurate loads with Barnes 55grn. Match. Easy to throw consistent charges, too. Work up in .3 grain increments to book max and see what your gun likes. Betcha that with a little tweaking you can do better than that factory load. Just checked my book. 22 grains in LC brass and CCI 400s. 2.2 COL

 

[ranger3]

Well I called hornady, the tech said they can't disclose the powder, but did say it might be a blend but they often start with H322. So I'll start with another powder.

 

[wapiti25]

They use powder that is not canister (sold to the public) It could be a 335 but it would not burn the same as what you can buy. Try Benchmark or 322 as well as H335. Don't get hung up on the WSR primer. I shoot IMR 4895 with a 55 gr, and a Tula primer in my walk around bolt gun. H322 was a military surplus powder (IMR 8208) sold by Hodgdon as H322 in the old days, the new is a copy that has been made in many different plants and is only similar to the original. IMR 8208 was also sold by Thunderbird powder Co., The benchrest crowd liked some lots of it and is like gold to them. IMR 8208 XBR is not the same but is a good powder in the burn rate for a 223, I use it with a 69 SMK in a target rifle.