Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
SPJ - in my hands, N140 doesn't behave in the .223 Rem with heavy (90 gr) bullets exactly as might be expected from burn rate charts or the QL burn rate value. It's difficult to characterize the exact difference, though. In terms of velocity, I get a little higher velocity with Varget or H4895. Notably however, N140 seems to generate higher pressure than either of those two powders, even though it gives slightly lower velocity for a comparable charge weight range. N140 seems to have a burn rate slightly closer to H4895 than Varget (i.e. slightly faster than Varget), but I'm not sure that is a completely correct characterization based on the slower velocity it gives. The difference likely has to do with bulk density, but I haven't put a great deal of effort in trying to figure it out exactly.
I had hoped that N140 might be the ticket for improving brass life with heavy bullets in the .223 Rem, the idea being to generate slightly slower velocity than Varget in a tuned load, and with lower pressure. It certainly produced lower velocity, but with even higher pressure, which is the wrong direction. My guess is that N140 might really shine for bullets in the 50 to 80 gr range.
BB - my statement about your bullet choice is simply in regard to it being a flat base bullet, which can shed velocity/performance at distance faster than boattail bullets due to drag. Nonetheless, once you get it shooting the way you want, you can experiemnt to determine the effective range. You also mentioned that your rifle is a 12-twist. Are you 100% certain on that? A 12-twist may be right on the ragged edge of stability for the 60 gr V-MAX; Bryan Litz' book actually suggests a 9-twist as the minimum acceptable twist rate for that bullet. FWIW, it may also be worth considering boattail bullet designs in the 50-ish gr range with a 12-twist barrel if for some reason the 60 gr V-MAX doesn't allow you reach out as far as you'd like. That's a pretty light bullet for those kind of distances, but having the boattail feature might be an improvement over a flat base bullet past 300-400 yd. Let us know how the testing goes.
I had hoped that N140 might be the ticket for improving brass life with heavy bullets in the .223 Rem, the idea being to generate slightly slower velocity than Varget in a tuned load, and with lower pressure. It certainly produced lower velocity, but with even higher pressure, which is the wrong direction. My guess is that N140 might really shine for bullets in the 50 to 80 gr range.
BB - my statement about your bullet choice is simply in regard to it being a flat base bullet, which can shed velocity/performance at distance faster than boattail bullets due to drag. Nonetheless, once you get it shooting the way you want, you can experiemnt to determine the effective range. You also mentioned that your rifle is a 12-twist. Are you 100% certain on that? A 12-twist may be right on the ragged edge of stability for the 60 gr V-MAX; Bryan Litz' book actually suggests a 9-twist as the minimum acceptable twist rate for that bullet. FWIW, it may also be worth considering boattail bullet designs in the 50-ish gr range with a 12-twist barrel if for some reason the 60 gr V-MAX doesn't allow you reach out as far as you'd like. That's a pretty light bullet for those kind of distances, but having the boattail feature might be an improvement over a flat base bullet past 300-400 yd. Let us know how the testing goes.
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