What powder for your 223s

champ198

champ198

Active member
Have some 223 I want to load up and have some 52gr Sierra BTHPs also
I was getting ready to work on loads but I'm limited right now with powders I have.
I have some Varget and tried it. But it takes up a lot of case volume with a compressed load which I don't know if I care too much for.
Most poiwder I Have is extruded. So I am assuming I need to get something like a ball powder like CFE 223.
 
My favorites for the 223 are H335, W748, and Benchmark. My most accurate load is the Sierra 53gr SMK and 26gr H335. That load is a sub MOA in several semi-autos. The W748 is very accurate with the Sierra 40g HP and 50 gr HP bullets.
 
Varget works but it doesnt give the best velocities in .223. I run a ton of IMR 8208, Benchmark, with many different bullet combos that shoot small.

2230 is a good powder but its ball which im not a fan of and is temp sensitive, although the cheapest by a long shot in my area. Iv loaded a ton of it for general purpose ammo.
 
For prairie dog hunting I use 50 to 60 gr bullets with Benchmark. I also use it for 204R and light weight 6.5 grendel. Great powder…
 
For the 55 grain range I have had good luck with W748, AA2015, Benchmark and H4895.
For the low 60’s I like AR-Comp and AA-2015
 
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After testing many loads I settled on H322. It performs the best in my gun spitting 50 Grn ballistic tip Noslers
 
Man, seems like there's a bunch of powders that work for .223, just depends on your bullet. I shoot 52gr Speer HPs out of my 22" Bull barrel AR and that one likes H4895.
 
I've loaded 50gr Vmax and 50gr Nosler with 26gr varget for my CZ 527 .223. It shot great. It's a compressed load.

More recently my go-to load has been 25.5 gr H-335 and a 55gr Sierra gamaking. It performs well too. It's a non-compressed load that fills the case around 85% I think.

I've loaded some with Exterminator and been pretty happy with that as well.

Ball powders are easy to measure, generally cheaper, and often produce higher velocity, but my understanding is that they can be temp sensitive. I think the extruded powders have a reputation for being more temperature stable. I haven't noticed problems with mine, but I've considered going back to extruded powders just based on the general advice of others. I usually load my ammo in the fall/winter. Then use the same boxes of ammo for hunting coyotes in the winter, often below 32 degrees, and for rock chucks in the summer where it can be 90+ degrees.
 
I was out in the shop last night and realized I left out a powder that was my go-to for years and one of more accurate ones 3031. It meters terrible but is accurate and gets top velocities. I save it for the old timers that don't have data for new powders. It works well in just about any medium capacity round from 222 Rem to 458 Win Mag and was my go-to powder for the 223 after Herters powder went off the market.
 
Stick powders for hunting... ball powders for plinking...
Benchmark, h4895, varget, n133, n135, n530, n540.
I've always used hodgdon but gradually switching to Vihtavuori due to price
 
Satern 22" 1/12 heavy barrel in 223, and 20" Shaw 1/8 medium profile in 204R. Both like H322 first, then H335. Figures..... 335 is $50 and 322 is like $60 a lb.:(
 
Hellgate said:
My most accurate load is the Sierra 53gr SMK and 26gr H335. That load is a sub MOA in several semi-autos. The W748 is very accurate with the Sierra 40g HP and 50 gr HP bullets. My most accurate load is the Sierra 53gr SMK and 26gr H335. That load is a sub MOA in several semi-autos. The W748 is very accurate with the Sierra 40g HP and 50 gr HP bullets.
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Bowhntr6pt said:
I get best results in my rifle using the 52gr SMK and W-748.
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arlaunch said:
For the 55 grain range I have had good luck with W748, AA2015, Benchmark and H4885.
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coyote_thumper said:
More recently my go-to load has been 25.5 gr H-335 and a 55gr Sierra gamaking.
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W748 was also good in the .223, but I settled on the H335. I don't know, but I never ran into any issues w/temperatures/ball powders everyone speaks of and my 25.5gr H335 grain is a bit over max according to some books. I use same load year around; normal temperatures range between mid 20's to 110*. I am very careful not to leave ammo in sun or hot truck cab, no matter what powder I'm using, however.
****Nosler lists 25.0 grains as max. load @93% case capacity as their most accurate load, so usual safety warning: start low and work up in your rifle.
NOSLER 55 GR. BT 223 REM. LOADING DATA
 
Benchmark, H322, TAC, RE7, RE10,X-terminator, H335,XBR8208 is about all ive used with 52s and they all did good.
Tac was the fastest, Benchmark was the most accurate.
 
hm: Yes, that 25.5 gr load of H-335 is a pretty warm load. Thanks for pointing out that some load books recommend not going that high. I forgot about that when I made the post. I figure anyone on this forum reading about load data has heard the standard disclaimers MANY times, but still a good reminder.

In my rifle(CZ 527 American), 25.5 gr is producing mild cratering of my primers. I've shot this same load in winter and summer, without noticing any variations due to temperature. However I can't say I've ever deliberately tried to measure the effects of temperature variation either. I've just used the rifle....and I haven't noticed issues.
 
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