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"THE" 223 load thread....

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bradley Walker
  • Start date Start date

Bradley Walker

I'll start.

I have been collecting the loads for long range .223 here are some:

77 SMK (COL of 2.25):

24.5 R15
23.3 8208
23.5 Varget
21.7 H322
22.5 IMR 4895
24.5 AA 2520

I assume these charges are very close for 75-80 bullets.

55/52 grain loads (for 100-200 yard practice)
(COL of 2.25)

27.5 R15
26.5 Varget
26 IMR 8208
25.5 IMR 4895
25 AA 2015BR
25 VV133
25 R10x
24.5 H322
 
Re: "THE" Longe Range 223 load thread....

I'd add Benchmark for 50 grain bullets - See latest Nosler manual - impressive velocity and excellent accuracy but I still like Varget as my overall powder for the 223 with 50 to 55 grain bullets.

However for me, Benchmark seems to do better in my short barrelled 223's - 20" and under whereas Varget seems to work better in the 22" and above length barrels.
 
Re: "THE" Longe Range 223 load thread....

Another excellent load for 100-200 reduced distance matches:

Sierra 60 grain varmint bullet (or other 60-gr bullet)

RL-15 25.0 grains.

Relatively mild load but accurate and functions well.
 
Re: "THE" Longe Range 223 load thread....

25.0 grs of RL15 with the Berger 90VLD
24.0 grs of H4895 with the Hornady 75 Amax

Shoot the Amax most 800 yards and in and the 90's from 800 yards and back.
 
Re: "THE" longe Range 223 load thread....

I'm currently trying to get my 1:7 twist Savage to shoot at mid and long range.

Current load is 23.5 gr. of IMR 8208 XBR with a 80 gr. SMK seated .050" off in match prepped and weight sorted LC '04 cases and Wolf SRM primers. Testing has resulted in 3" groups of 5 shots at 600 yards. No matches yet with this load.

George
 
Re: "THE" Longe Range 223 load thread....

****NOTE!!! ALL LOADS TESTED BY ME ARE MOLY COATED. YOU MIGHT FIND YOUR LOAD IS .5 GRAIN LOWER****

77 SMK (COL of 2.25-magazine length Ar-15):

24.5 R15 -this is the THE "go to" Highpower "across the course" load. Used for 75/77/80's at magazine length and seated out to the lands. R15 has a lot of black carbon, that looks like hell but doesn't really effect anything accuracy wise of function wise. I think it has a an anti-fouling additive that makes the carbon look real black. No more heat sensitive than Varget in gas guns. Throws to the .5 grain in a progressive... which is still good enough for darn near everyone, including High Master Highpower shooters.

23.3 8208- this is the the NEW/LATEST "go to" Highpower load that everyone is raving about. I have not tried it, but their is ample evidence this is a shooter. I tell you what, this stuff is CLEAN BURNING!!! I love the small kernels too... It throws like H322 (and looks like it) and is darn near as accurate out of a progressive as a ball powder. It probably holds +/- .1 no problem without the usual long/short throw every so often.

23.5 Varget- this was my 300 yard load for across the course Highpower for many years. Seems like everything 1-9 twist or more shoots this load very well. I found Varget to be very sooty (with kind of a grey colored carbon) but I kept my space gun well greased and never cleaned it (the old Derrick Martin trick of grease/strip/grease works very well), so it must not have been too bad. My Kreiger barrel lost little in the way of accuracy over a week's shooting. Throws the same as R15.

21.7 H322- this is the pet load of a guy here on this forum and he swears by it. I am going to test it, as I love this powder. It has those small kernels that work very well in progressives and an anti heat coating.

22.5 IMR 4895- this is a load I used for 8# of powder. It is at least .75 MOA in an AR-15. It works MUCH better in some guys guns... Like .25 MOA, but I never got it. Good for surplus powder if you want to shoot accurate on the cheap. See test by Derrick Martin.

24.5 AA 2520 - VERY accurate load, and was very popular when this powder was cheap. Loads awesome in progressives, as this is ball powder. VERY!!! Heat sensitive in the summer.

I assume these charges are very close for 75-80 bullets. Most guys I know used the same powder charge (shown above) no matter the bullet or seating depth within the 75-80 grain range. Of course, some tweaking up or down might make a difference... but darned if those guys doing extensive testing don't keep coming up with almost the exact same loads... ???
 
****NOTE!!! ALL LOADS TESTED BY ME ARE MOLY COATED. YOU MIGHT FIND YOUR LOAD IS .5 GRAIN LOWER****

55/52 grain loads (for 100-200 yard practice)
(COL of 2.25-for reference only)

27.5 R15- this is great load and burns very clean at that charge, it rivals just about any 55 grain load I have tried. It is a very safe load because, frankly, you can't get any more powder in the case. This is will not work on a progressive, as you need to shake the case or use a drop tube to pack the case. Yes, this is compressed... and boy does it shoot. Excellent velocity too. Keeps the barrel cool too... I'm not sure why. I always joke that you could take an LC case, dump it in a bowl of R15, shake it level, and stick a bullet in and it would shoot pretty darn good (although this is heresy in modern reloading circles).

26.5 Varget- This load is also SNEAKY good. It is capable of bug hole groups at 100 with a good bullet. Basically this load is about 1/8" from the top of a LC 223 case with no shaking. You can run it on a progressive but you will get spills occasionally.

26 IMR 8208- I have not tried this yet. I will soon. XBR 8208 is showing higher velocities than R15 and Varget in my 6br. Great powder. I love the way it meters and it is super duper clean.

25.5 IMR 4895- Good load. Not great. Cheap powder used to be available so I used it for bulk loading.

25 AA 2015BR- THIS IS MY FAVORITE 55 grain load. It will shoot lights out at 100-200 yards with match bullets or 55 grain varmint bullets. It burns super clean. Runs fine in a progressive, and meters slightly better than Varget and doesn't fill the case so high.

25 VV133- shoots the same as 2015BR, but while I like VV powders I don't like the expense.

25 R10x- I think this is Alliants version of 2015BR with a copper fouling additive. Shoots the same as 2015BR. I have not done enough testing to know if I would switch yet, but in a pinch I would buy R10x to replace 2015BR. It does burn with a black goo similar to R15 (I think they use the same fouling additive) but I don't have any problems cleaning my barrels, it's just that first patch comes out BLACK!!!

xxx H322- this is the load that might replace the 2015BR load because it burns so clean, seems pretty stable for temp, and it meters like ball powder.
 
you guys should denote whether this is a bolt load or a semi-auto load... i hate having to guess if something if for an ar or not!


but my go to load for my 20" SPS tactical:
LC brass
WSR
50gr zmax (same as vmax)
24.5gr of WC844
2.250" or 2.200" have to look tonight

i'm still working on nailing down some more loads. I'll have more info for:
75gr BTHP
68gr BTHP
53gr FBHP
52gr AMAX
52gr SMK
55gr FBHP
60gr VMAX

I'm running rounds with:
WC844
Varget
Benchmark
RL15
CFE223

all out of:
Rem SPS Tactical
20" Barrel..threaded 1/2x28
Badger Thruster brake (until AAC Ranger 3 can be put on it)
Badger bolt knob
Bobby Hart LRT stock w/accublock
Timney 517 flat blade trigger
Vortex Viper PST 6-24x50 (SFP MOA/MOA)
Seekins low rings
EGW 20moa base
Harris 6-9 SBRM
Protektor heavy bottom bunny ear
 
Ok if I must, it is a Barnard P action with a Barnard 2 stage trigger set in the ounces, 30" 7.2 twist bbl in a Eliseo B1 stock, Centra 30mm front sight with .5 lens running a 2.8 to 4.8 iris and a Warner #2 rear sight and Centra Rear iris .04 to 2.8 (I think? :-\)

Nothing special
 
My AR loads for service rifle:

24.0 RL15 80 Amax
24.5 RL15 75 Hornady HPBT
25.0 RL15 69SMK
24.0 Benchmark 52SMK (shot my best 200 reduced score with this last weekend)

As soon as Perry is over I'm going to be switching to CFE223 for the 80/75/69's. Testing shows similar accuracy to RL15, but it's way more clean.
 
jhord said:
As soon as Perry is over I'm going to be switching to CFE223 for the 80/75/69's. Testing shows similar accuracy to RL15, but it's way more clean.
Click to expand...

Is that a ball powder?

XBR 8208 is VERY clean also...
 
Yes, it is very similar to H335 in appearance and metering. I agree on the 8208, Benchmark is also very clean. However the CFE has the anti-copper fouling characteristics, which seems to be a very true claim.
 
i have WC844 and CFE223 on hand....and I agree they look identical....
how far apart are the burn rates between the two? I've just not had great luck finding load data for the CFE223 for bolt action .223rem stuff in mid weight bullets, 55gr-60gr-68gr
 
I tried the 26.5 Varget under 55 vmax and 60 nbt last night. Both shot sub MOA @ 100 out of my R15. ;)
 
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