BL-C2 and .223

K

kelbro

New member
Thought that I would try something a little different than my old standby H335 so I picked up some BL-C2. Going to try it with some 55gr V-Max pills. Anybody have any luck with this combo? Accuracy/velocity better or worse than H335? Quite a spread in the charges listed in the book, anybody have a good starting point.

My .223s are 16" 1:7 AR, 24" 1:9 AR, and a 26" 1:9 Savage. I have found several loads with H335 that shoot well in all three barrels and would like to do the same (if possible) with the BL-C2.

Thanks.
 
Why change a good thing? I have found the H335 to be a great .223 powder for my Stevens. Though it is good in the 20" 1:8 AR it isn't as good as the stevens. Let me know how the BL-C2 does in the AR's maybe I will try it also.
 
Using 24.4gr of BLC2 with a 75gr Hornady bullet, I got pretty good results out of my 1/7 twist AR. I think with a little tweaking, I could get better, but it's acceptable.

I've found that Winch-748 is more versatile for most of my shooting across several rifles/loads. And BLC2 doesn't meter quite as smoothly as a ball powder.
 
keep in mind how pressure / temp sensitive the BLC2 is --- doesn't shoot the same in 70 degree temps as it does in 90 degree temps. BTW, if you have a good thing going with the H335 I'd recommend staying with it.
 
I thought BL-C2 WAS ball powder???

They were out of H335 so I thought I'd try something new waiting for them to re-stock. Trying to keep an open mind. Who knows? Might find something better...

Been loading H335 for a long time. Sometimes a little 'strange' can lead to new discoveries. Otherwise I would have never found out how well Varget and 4064 work in my 243s and 308s.
 
I never worked up any loads in my .223 using BlC2 and the heavier bullets, but it was not nearly as good as H335 with the 40gr. Vmax's and NBT's we preferred.

Perhaps, it would be better with the heavier bullets. It seemed to work fine in the .222 Rem. using 45 grain Hornady Hornet bullets.
 
I'm loading 26.6gr BLC-2 under 60gr Hornady V-MAX in Win cases with CCI BR4 primers. Works terrific in my DTec 1:8 20" 223.

LD
 
Quote:
"... And BLC2 doesn't meter quite as smoothly as a ball powder."



Hello??

BlC/2 (Ball powder, type C, lot 2), IS a ball powder, and it is much finer grained than W-748, so it flows better than W-748.

It is the FIRST ball powder made available to hand loaders.

.
 
Sorry, I stand corrected,,, While at the computer another powder flashed in my old mind... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
 
Used Ball C in a bolt gun back in the 50's when the .308 Win. first made its appearance; in fact still have a can on the shelf. Anyone know what the difference is between Ball C and BL-C2?

We have all heard that the early M16 problems resulted from the retardants used on ball powder of the era. Anyone know if this was Ball C? Guess what I'm asking is how does the BL C2 work in AR's?

Have had great results w/H335 in the AR behind 55 gr. NBs, but haven't tried the BL C or BL C2.

Regards,
hm
 
Quote:
"... Anyone know what the difference is between Ball C and BL-C2?"
Regards, hm



The original BLC was Korean war surplus powder sold by Hodgdon (when they were operating out of a railroad car).

It was VERY popular, and was bought up by Benchrest shooters, because it showed up at the same time as the .222 Rem arrived, and the two were a match made in heaven.

The .222 and BLC just about ate up every BR match around, and soon BLC was gone. It disappeared around the late 50's.

The second batch of ball powder was slightly different in burning speed, so it was called BLC-2, so shooters would know to re-work up loads for it.

It disappeared fast too, so Hodgdon arranged to get newly made BLC-2, and that has been available ever since.

I doubt if there is a single can of the original BLC left anywhere... except by some hoarder that squirreled some away for a museum somewhere.

.
 
And BLC2 is often available on the surplus market. I believe it's WC844, but I'm not sure since I'm out at the moment. The surplus stuff I had was faster than canister grade BLC2, but that's to be expected.
 
I had one can of 1950's BLC but alas one day I looked in the powder cabinet and it had literally disintergrated the old Hodgdons can that it was in. It was a rusty brown color so I guess moisture or something must have gotten in the can and ruined the powder.Maybe Catshooter can also identify the other can of Hodgdon's I have its marked 4676 and the sheets of reloading Data that I got with it is dated January 28,1956 and a large portion info was written by Jack O'Connor. The sheets of data i have were handed out by B.E. Hodgdon when you bought his powder back then I guess?
 
Quote:
"... Maybe Catshooter can also identify the other can of Hodgdon's I have its marked 4676 and the sheets of reloading Data that I got with it is dated January 28,1956 and a large portion info was written by Jack O'Connor.



Nope... but surplus stick powder from the Korean war is shaky, because washing of the nitrocellulose was cut short for wartime production. I would not trust 50+ year old stick powder from that period.

.
 
Loaded 10 ea. in 26.1 - 26.3 - 26.5 - 26.7 and 26.9gr.

The bolt gun preferred 26.3 and the 24" AR liked 26.5. With +/- .2gr either way shooting just as well. Didn't try the 16" AR this trip.

Next batch will be 26.4 to see if both rifles do well with the same load. Since 26.4 is right in the middle of a good 'node', they should shoot well across most temperatures. I like to load up several hundred rounds at a time and be able to use them in either rifle so I can't really do much COAL experimentation.
 
Been burning 26gr. under a 50gr. V-max with CCI 450 primers since I got my AR years ago. Awesome shooting combo for me. I've used it here in sub zero temperatures and carted a few hundred of them to New Mexico for coyotes and prairie dogs in the summer heat and it did well there too. I try and keep a few pounds around if possible at all times. I also had good results using similar charges of it with 40gr. and 55gr. V-maxes, and 55gr. BK's. I prefer the trajectory and performance out of the 50 V-max better though for groundhogs. Wasn't too bad on the little western coyotes either. I'm running this load in a 1-8" RRA A4 varmint 24" and my Baikal 12ga/223rem combo gun.
 
Originally Posted By: ARCOREYBeen burning 26gr. under a 50gr. V-max with CCI 450 primers since I got my AR years ago. Awesome shooting combo for me. I've used it here in sub zero temperatures and carted a few hundred of them to New Mexico for coyotes and prairie dogs in the summer heat and it did well there too. I try and keep a few pounds around if possible at all times. I also had good results using similar charges of it with 40gr. and 55gr. V-maxes, and 55gr. BK's. I prefer the trajectory and performance out of the 50 V-max better though for groundhogs. Wasn't too bad on the little western coyotes either. I'm running this load in a 1-8" RRA A4 varmint 24" and my Baikal 12ga/223rem combo gun.

I was looking for a load to try with my buddy's RRA 1:8" twist. Thanks for the tip!
 


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