IMR4064 kernel size/weight

[Twoboxer]

Will IMR-4064 run thru the Auto-trickler?

Yes.

 

[Zero333]

If you want a little less velocity and still a full case, I'd suggest trying IMR-4320

 

[Jackal2016]

You could also try CFE-223 perhaps. I think it is fairly close to Varget burn rate wise. Might be a tad slower or not but it is listed a little lower on the list of burn rates while IMR-4064 is listed higher up on the charts. I have had good results with CFE-223 in 223 as well as 204R. But I have not tried any bullets heavier than 77 in my 223's (9" twist).

 

[Ned Ludd]

My guess is that CFE-223 would give much higher velocity at the "sweet spot" (same node) than H4895. It's a fairly energetic powder. However, it might be worth looking into where the next slower node with it might be. IMR4320 is another powder that looks to give tuned velocity somewhere in the 2800-ish fps range. I don't have any on hand currently, but have used it before in .308 Win loads. In my hands, it gave velocities very similar to Varget, but had noticeably smaller kernels, which should be good in the smaller .223 Rem case.

From some testing I managed to squeeze in a few days ago before the mercury dropped out of the bottom of the thermometer again, both H322 and Varget look to give optimally-tuned load velocities in my setup with 90 VLDs anywhere from 20-40 fps slower than H4895. If the precision is comparable with either one, I should be GTG. If not, I'll probably try IMR 4064 and 4320 next.

 

[CharlieNC]

Slower burn rate is the exact reason I'm interested in trying 4064. With H4895 and 90 VLDs, somewhere around 2850 fps is a very nice sweet spot for a 30" barrel. The problem is that a number of people using that load (or similar) in F-TR in the last couple years have been having issues with jacket failure. One approach to help minimize this problem is to use a powder that will NOT give quite as much velocity as H4895 in an optimized load, thereby removing a little stress on the jacket. The key will be to find a powder that gives slightly less velocity in an optimized load, but not so much less that you're giving up too much performance. My estimate is that a powder that would give a velocity of somewhere around 2800 to 2820 fps from a 30" barrel ought to be just about perfect.

Varget is one choice that will typically give velocities that are about 20-25 fps less than H4895 in a tuned load. However, a kernel of Varget is almost half again the weight and size of a kernel of H4895, which may not be optimal for maintaining low ES/SD in the small .223 Rem case. I'm looking for additional choices, and 4064 falls within a reasonable burn rate range, and is also known to pretty reasonable resistance to temperature-dependent velocity variance. However, if the kernels are even larger/heavier than Varget (as I suspect they are), 4064 may not be the best choice. IMR4166 would probably also fit the bill in terms of its other properties, but the kernels are substantially larger than even those of Varget. Varget will certainly work, and I have plenty of it. I'm just checking whether there might be a few other options that are worth looking into.

Try cfe223. My buddy and I have used it two years under 80.5 with no temperature issues over the seasons. With my new 30in barrel the 90vld is providing exactly to the specs you're after. After 200+ shots, no jacket failures. Head to head it best Varget when working up a load.