N140 for .223 Bolt Rifle

[DLT]

And I just read the article and seen what they was getting. Thanks for that @LVLAaron

 

[kyotekiller25]

I'd try some N540 also if you can.

Getting 3000-3050fps with 75g ELDMs from a 28" Bartlein and 1" groups at 300 yards. New Lapua brass and barrel not even broke in yet.

I've also tried IMR4895, H4895, IMR8208XBR and Benchmark with the 75s. N540 has been the clear winner in both accuracy and velocity.

 

[LVLAaron]

And I just read the article and seen what they was getting. Thanks for that @LVLAaron

It's a good load. I had a couple thousand 77s with no real purpose... I loaded up a bunch of them with 140 I had and call it my own "factory ammo" that will shoot well in any gun..

 

[markm87]

If you're willing to single feed, I'd try that N140 with the 88 gr ELDMs. I've got those things at 2.50" OAL to nearly match the flight path of 6.5cm.

My load is with Varget, but I really wanted to get some N140 to try as well. We had just bought 32lbs of N135 though and couldn't justify another 16lbs of a different powder.

 

[DLT]

If you're willing to single feed, I'd try that N140 with the 88 gr ELDMs. I've got those things at 2.50" OAL to nearly match the flight path of 6.5cm.

My load is with Varget, but I really wanted to get some N140 to try as well. We had just bought 32lbs of N135 though and couldn't justify another 16lbs of a different powder.

What is your fps ?

 

[Lefty2506]

I first tried N140 over 25 years ago. I started using it in my 16" 7-08 Encore barrel. It gave me a nice boost in speed over Varget, and was an absolute tack driver with 140gr NBT. Then I tried it in my 223 Wylde service rifle and it did great with several69 to 75gr pills. Like others, I ended up going to N540 because it gave the same accuracy with a little more speed. It became my go to powder for all 75gr projectiles. On a particularly windy day in Northern OH, the shooter on relay 3 came off the line at 600 with 9 minutes of wind. I was on relay 4 and ended up with less than 7 min when I was done.

 

[Rob01]

I have some N140 I am going to be using in a 6mm ARC with 110 ATips. From what is being said here it seems like it will work and VV gave me data for it and 540 but the 540 load was only slightly faster for velocity.

 

[markm87]

What is your fps ?

2778 is my last reading. This is, I think 23.8 gr Varget, Wolf SRM, 88gr ELDM, 23.75" Tikka barrel.

 

[bluesako]

I use N140 for my .223 bolt rifle and it is very close to Varget. My load is a 80 grain SMK over 24.0 grains of N140 and it is very accurate

hi, ive used n140 for years in my 223 rem using 69gr 77gr bullets, in my 1\1\8 twist, shot it out to nearly 950 yards, with 24 gr,s powder, for lighter bullets from 50gr to 60, i ve used n133 or n135 gl matey

 

[TommyD11730]

Good thread... just ordered my first 8lbs of it.

 

[TommyD11730]

Does anyone have a direct comparison of N140 and Varget. I normally load 23.7g of Varget behind a 80.5g 223 round. That gives me a speed in the range of 2850fps. Would I see much of a jump with the same 23.7g of N140?

Thanks!

 

[kyotekiller25]

Just worked up a nice load with N540 at 24.5g and the 80.5g Bergers from a R700 223 Wylde (FB .080") with a 28"/8T Bartlein. Shooting 1/2 MOA at 2970fps.

Was thinking of trying N140 after reading all the bad things about N540 tearing throats up from the heat it produces.

I don't let my barrels ever get hot though. No 5, 10, 20 shot strings under X amount of time here. I always wait a minute or two between shots. I have 8# of it so hoping it's not as bad as what guys are making it out to be.

 

[CF Junkie]

I have some data amassed over several years and 1,533 5-round groups with a 12 FV Savage .223 rifle with a 26-in 1:9 twist barrel.

With bullets lighter than 60 grains, I generally used N133 powder - 107 5-round groups averaged 0.297 at 100 yards. (Hornady 53 and 53 gr SMK bullets averaged 0.281.)
With heavier bullets up to and including 77 gr bullets (my barrel twist was measured at 1:8.75 and stabilized 77 gr bullets)
I tried a number of powders:
H4895 averaged 0.271 for 51 groups.
IMR4166 averaged 0.286 for 498 groups.
N140 averaged 0.289 for 224 groups.
N540 averaged 0.267 for 142 groups. (Shot best with 73 ELD-Ms and 77 SMKs)
Varget averaged 0.261 for 511 groups. (Shot best with 69 SMKs, 690 TMKs, 69 Nosler CCs & close to N540 with 77 SMKs.)

 

[joelpend]

A few of my friends use N135 with 75 ELD-Ms in PRS for Tac div. They love it and it gives them good velocity, a 3000fps cap in Tac, and accuracy. I bought some to try but haven't run out of my 8208 yet.

VVN135 is better IME yielding better ES/SD in my rifles. Works great in the 69-80 gr bullet range. Several years ago I helped a re-manufactured ammo company develop some 223 loads and we settled on the N135 with 69gr SMK. About 24.2gr as I recall. It just seemed to shoot good across all platforms. The 3 Gun Shooters loved it in their AR rifles due to the excellent accuracy and high velocity. I think we lowered the load about 1.5gr for the 77gr SMK.