Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles .223 Rem. 844 Load Data

844 Military Surplus �Pull Down� Powder

I recently bought a couple of kegs of 844 pull-down powder from Widener�s along with a supply of 50g Vmax�s for plinking. Load data for 844 is sparse. According to internet sources (for what it is worth) , the original application of 844 is U.S. 5.56mm NATO Ball M193 (55gr) & M855 (62gr), plus Tracer M196 & M856. Military Ball Powder varies from lot to lot, so it�s always best to start your load low and work up. A �hot� primer such as Winchester SRP, CCI #41 and magnum small rifle primers are recommended.

Sources suggest that 844 is a ball powder which can be loaded using Hodgdon H335 data, but remember they are NOT the same. Typical starting load for 5.56 NATO 55gr bullet is 25.0g and work up. Military specification is 28.5g, but approach with caution this is a maximum 5.56 load and is not recommended for .223. Many shooters report that 25.5g works well for a moderate plinking loads. With 62g loads, start at 24.0g and work up to the military spec of 26.1g. If you are shooting a Barnes TSX or similar all copper bullet, reduce charge by .5g to account for longer bearing surface. For more load data do a web search of �TM 43-0001-27" for the ARMY load manual.

To determine the safe operating range, I decided to run an unscientific pressure test using my Rem. 700 .223 with a 22" LVSF barrel 1:12 twist, with the chamber set back, bedded in a McMillan Classic stock, topped with a Leupold Mark 2 6-18. Since I was checking pressure, not accuracy, I loaded 3 rounds of each charge weight using W-W cases, WSR primers, capped with 50g V-max�s seated 2.260" OAL. I used 2.260 OAL because that is the OAL of my current load.

100 yard range, sunny, 87 degrees and rising, 4,000 ft asl. Average velocity shown measured 10 ft from muzzle with Oehler 35.

Results:

1. 24.0g 2979fps Mild pressure
2. 24.5g 3027fps Mild
3. 25.0g 3065fps Mild
4. 25.5g 3115fps Mild
5. 26.0g 3198fps Mild
6. 26.5g 3226fps Moderate
7. 27.0g 3290fps Cratered primer
8. 27.5g 3294fps Cratered primer

For comparison, my current load of 50g Vmax/25.9g of Benchmark shows moderate pressure and runs about 3350 fps. Another load, 50gVmax/26.0 grains of H335 runs 3250fps. Since 844 was probably designed to run 55-62g bullets, I would venture to guess 844 is a little slow for 50g and under bullets, and better suited to 55g and up. That will be a later test.