Need for speed 223 load question.

[Justin B]

Was out this weekend shooting with my Dad and his 204 with 40g vmax I had the 223 with 53g vmax. We were shooting pocket gophers with the Max range of 250 yd & his 40g bullets had twice the splat factor.

So I'm looking for some speed out of a 40g vmax in the 223. Powders i have are. Benchmark, h4198, tac, h322, varget.

Any load data help would be great Thanks.

 

[SSL]

Twist: 1:12.000"
Barrel Length: 24.000"
Trim Length: 1.750"
BULLET WEIGHT
40 GR. NOS BT
CASE
WINCHESTER
PRIMER
WINCHESTER SR, SMALL RIFLE

	Manufacturer	Powder		Bullet Diam.	C.O.L		Grs.	Vel. (ft/s)	Pressure		Grs.	Vel. (ft/s)	Pressure
	Hodgdon	Benchmark	BUY NOW	0.224"	2.280"		25.3	3,404	39,600 CUP		27.3	3,666	51,000 CUP
	Hodgdon	CFE 223	BUY NOW	0.224"	2.280"		27.5	3,457	40,600 PSI		29.0	3,667	48,200 PSI
	Hodgdon	H322	BUY NOW	0.224"	2.280"		23.5	3,376	34,600 CUP		25.5	3,574	48,000 CUP
	Hodgdon	H4198	BUY NOW	0.224"	2.280"		20.5	3,147	29,400 CUP		22.5	3,601	49,600 CUP
	Hodgdon	Varget	BUY NOW	0.224"	2.280"		25.0	3,310	34,400 CUP		28.0C	3,674	47,200 CUP

FROM HODGDON LOADING WEBSITE: ​

Pretty much what your rifle likes best. The ones you listed are all capable (though H322 lags a touch) and I added CFE223 since it does well for me in other combinations.

 

[DGP4]

As per Western Powders reloading data for 40 grain V-Max, max load of Ramshot TAC (27.7 grains) will give you 3,737 FPS velocity. Starting load is 24.9 grains is 3,419 FPS. I have had a lot of luck with TAC for .223 loads.

 

[BradY]

I run 26gr h322 in lapua brass with rem 7.5 primers and 40gr varmageddons. Over 3700fps with great accuracy and primers show I could go harder. Krieger 26 inch barrel 1:12 twist on a tikka t3. Zero freebore chamber. Brass has lasted ages

 

[Rsadams]

TAC is what I use... Meters like water and you can get their data free online... Just work up some of their data is hot... If you look on their website you can even get a hard copy of their data for all powders they make for free...

 

[Webster]

Was out this weekend shooting with my Dad and his 204 with 40g vmax I had the 223 with 53g vmax. We were shooting pocket gophers with the Max range of 250 yd & his 40g bullets had twice the splat factor.

So I'm looking for some speed out of a 40g vmax in the 223. Powders i have are. Benchmark, h4198, tac, h322, varget.

Any load data help would be great Thanks.

My Sierra manual for bolt guns doesn't list your three powders for 40 gr. bullets.
They do list the following powders for 3700 fps. VVN130, VV133, RE-7, H335.

My Berger manual is more consrvative. It list 3 powders above 3600 fps and one above 3700 fps.
RE-7 3686 max
VV N120 3698 max
Ram X-terminator 3641 max.
H335 3735 max

I would definetly try H335 first if I had to buy one can of powder. I got good speed with H322 in my 6BR.

 

[paperpuncher]

I got lots of speed with Alliant Power Pro 2000-MR I was using heavy bullets in 223 Rem YMMV