Need some suggestions on powder for 223

With 50gr bullets Varget would not be my first choice, nor close. Not saying no good, just better with heavy bullets in a .223.

Lots of powders will work here. I run TAC in both my 223s right now. It burns clean and works well with heavier bullets. I've not tried it much with lighter bullets.

H335 is never a bad choice, nor is 748. BM and H322 also work well, and burn a bit cleaner also.....
 
LIES, LIES, LIES, no matter what anyone says Varget and Benchmark are horable, horable choices for 223 or any caliber as a matter of fact.
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H335, imr3031, h322, tac, benchmark, 8208, cfe223 are just a few. Any powder that is still around would be my choice if it is on the shelves. I would get what you can and work up a load for your gun and bullet combo.
 
HERE is a link to a reasonable Burn Rate Chart from Hodgdon powders....Any of the numbers from 71-103 will work with a .223...As with any other data, charts are only a guide line and should be treated as such with some careful experimentation on your part..

The faster powders tend to work better with lighter bullets and/or shorter barrels and the upper numbers tend to work better with heavier bullets and/or longer barrels...

For 50gr bullets, I tend to use W-748 or TAC with X-Terminator as a backup if the others are not available...H332 and H335 also have a good following in that bullet range...IMHO, the TAC and X-Terminator appear to burn a little cleaner than W-748 and is usually slightly less expensive at retail..
 
Thanks guys, I've. How are benchmark, varget, cfe223,blc2, and w748 and tac or exterminator? Kind of a lot right there but those are the ones that most people suggest. Will I be able to use the same powder in my 243 with 24" barrel pushing 55-58 gr bullets with 9 twist? How does the listed powder meter out, I've heard varget can be a hassle but that's just hear say? Thanks again !
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtle HERE is a link to a reasonable Burn Rate Chart from Hodgdon powders....Any of the numbers from 71-103 will work with a .223...As with any other data, charts are only a guide line and should be treated as such with some careful experimentation on your part..

The faster powders tend to work better with lighter bullets and/or shorter barrels and the upper numbers tend to work better with heavier bullets and/or longer barrels...

For 50gr bullets, I tend to use W-748 or TAC with X-Terminator as a backup if the others are not available...H332 and H335 also have a good following in that bullet range...IMHO, the TAC and X-Terminator appear to burn a little cleaner than W-748 and is usually slightly less expensive at retail..

Know by chance where AR Comp lands on that burn chart?
 
Originally Posted By: sdli love benchmark with varget running a close second

With 50gr bullets, BM is a better choice than Varget......
 
you asked about 50 gr v-max........ in a 223 almost any powder will work.... I think vv 133 is the finest 50 gr powder of all for the combination of velocity and accuracy..... 3500 fps and some of the tiniest groups i have shot with 25.something of vv133....It is a little expensive though ...for 50 gr bullets I would then pick 2015, RL10x, xterminator....I have shot the for real one hole groups with 133 and 2015 and rl10x and 50 v maxes

all of the powders mentioned in this thread work well... These are some that have worked for me...

I do not like messing with the stick powders as much as I used to ...I use xterminator for my 50 gr pd loads.... meters perfect..burns clean... accurate.. easy to load a bunch of consistent ammo.........
 
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I have a Model 7 Predator in 223, and shoot nothing but reloads. My favorite powder is surplus W846, using the 50 grain VMax. It's all I use these days. I experimented quite a bit when I first got it, and found W748, H335, and BLC-2 were also good powders, along with XTerminator. I have shot some loads with AA2520 that were very accurate, but I think that powder may be too slow burning. I know some on here think Varget is the only powder one will ever need for anything one wants to reload for, but it is far from being a good choice for the 223 in bullets around the 50 grain weight. It might work okay, but there are far, far better powders to use. I have also found, and maybe this is just me, that in the small capacity cases like the 223, ball powders work best, plus they meter a lot better.
 
I used mainly 335 for a long time. Still like it a lot, but only use it with lighter bullets now.

I load LOTS of TAC now, and also Varget. Varget only in heavy hunting loads though. It is great with heavy bullets, but less than optimal with lighter bullets IME......
 
H335 seems to be a popular powder for Cooper rifles. Seems like every time I see one of their little targets it was loaded with H335
 
Ok, some people like a powder but say it's only good with heavy bullets and others like the same powder but say it's only good with light bullets so what's the difference.
 
Originally Posted By: steve154If you told me to pick one powder and that was all I could ever use in .223 it would be Varget without a second thought.

Oh yeah. Same here.
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My very favorite in my .17 Remington and my .223 rifles but also works well in my .204, my .223AI my .22/250 and my .220 Swift.

I have to admit that I have not tried it in my .221 FurBall but that's about it.
 
I have Xterminator, TAC, Benchmark, 8208, RL15, and AR Comp at the moment.

I mostly use 8208 and Benchmark, but I have found good loads with all of them (except AR comp, I just bought it)
 
I run WC 844 in my AR. Been doing this for 3 years. I sight my gun in at 50 yds for personal reasons. 25-300 yds I can cover 5 shot groups with a .05 piece.
 
Originally Posted By: IrrigatorI run WC 844 in my AR. Been doing this for 3 years. I sight my gun in at 50 yds for personal reasons. 25-300 yds I can cover 5 shot groups with a .05 piece.

You can shoot a 5 shot group that you can cover with a nickel? At 300 yards? And shot with an AR platform? Wow. I sure would like to see that done. That might just be the most accurate AR that I have ever heard of right there. Can it do that all day long when you do your part?
 
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