Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles What powder are you using for a full case load?

I have been using TAC in my .223 under 62 gr TSX's and 60 gr NPT bullets. I get good accuracy (24.5 grs) but want to fill the case up to prevent any setbacks. I have been crimping with a Lee die, but want to get away from that with a full case.

CFE 223 seems like a candidate with a NPT.

Varget usually does a good job. RL15 used to also. As did N540.

Even WC 852 which was surplus bulk.

I have not shot any of the new powders though. Can't comment there.

27 grns of Varget under a 55 grn Hornady V Max

Compressed load and right at the top of the p

CFE223 or Leverevolution will fill the case and give excellent velocity.

Nobody loved TAC more than me but since I haven't seen any in a year and am down to my last 5 or 6 pounds, I started looking for a replacement. Lever and CFE223 are it.

I tried RL15 it just about fills the case. 24.1 grains plus a 77 grain match king.

Has your accuracy changed from TAC to CFE223?

TWR what kind of accuracy are you getting with the Lever?

I use RL-15, TAC, and Varget. TAC gives me the best velocity but isn't always as accurate.

Accuracy has been at least as good as TAC or better, CFE223 I'm using in my 223AI and for forming loads in my Montana. They are probably the same powder but with the copper fouling remover.

I think I posted this before but here is a group with my 223AI Kimber Montana and we all know those things won't shoot.

I'm likin' CFE.223 and the 75gr. HPBT.

450yds.


10-15mph gusting right to left. Measured 2.7ish.






Travis

For 60 bullets or heavier, RL-15.

MM

TWR,

TAC isn't available everywhere right now, but if you haven't found any in the past few months, you haven't been looking very hard. Several Internet sites have had it, not all the time but off and on--but it goes quickly. You just have to keep checking and order it ASAP.

Right now Natchez Shooters Supply lists 8-pounders in stock.

Really? I haven't looked very hard just the 5 gun shops I frequent every two weeks and waiting for e-mail alerts from Powder Valley and Midsouth Shooters, not to mention the back order I have had with Brownells for well over a year. If I have to search the net daily for something, I'll pass.

I still have several pounds left but Lever and CFE are working better for me anyway.

223-55 gr running Varget
223-69 gr same Varget

TWR,

Good to hear you're satisfied. I was just suggesting a place to find TAC right now, though a number of stores and websites have had it since around the first of the year. In my experience it's been just as available as CFE223--and sometimes one works better in certain applications, and sometimes the other. Which is why I have plenty of both on hand.

I haven't found ANY powder to be constantly available, either at stores or on the Internet, for quite a while, so tend to buy a sufficient supply whenever I find a useful powder. This doesn't require checking the Internet every day, but 2-3 times a week can. But then I check more than 2-3 sites, and I haven't found Brownells to be the most reliable in terms of actually having powder, perhaps because they got into selling reloading stuff relatively recently. They're a great company and I buy other stuff from them frequently, but they're not on the front-line for reloading components.

Dunno if you've checked LeveRevolution in various temperatures, but it isn't nearly as consistent as CFE223 or TAC. That may not be a factor in your shooting but it is for some other handloaders.

I have a different solution to crimping. I polished the expander ball on my FL sizing die .001" or so. This creates additional neck tension without the need of a crimp.

I doubt Natchez actually has it in stock. I quit bothering with them awhile back cause they were always out of things I ordered that showed in stock. CFE and Lever has been on the shelves at every store I frequent. As I said, I'm down to 7 or 8 lbs of TAC so it was time to start looking at other options.

I've ran both CFE and Lever from 70-100 degrees. I always start working with a new powder in our heat. I will see how it chronographs in the cold when I get the chance but for now yes I'm satisfied.

I haven't experienced that with Natchez, but have only been ordering stuff from them for about 1-1/2 years. Have from other companies, though.

One of the two unopened 8-pounders of TAC in my loading room was ordered from Natchez, sometime since the first of the year. There's also another jug with about 6 pounds left.

Where do you live that heat is the big factor? Just curious. Here in Montana there are only a few "hot" days of 90+, and then have to put some ammo in a plastic bag to get it significantly hotter for a real test.

Southeastern Oklahoma, it's been well over 100 all week long. I shoot year round so I always find max in the heat.

Sounds like the way to do it, for sure.