I've said this for years,
its harder to find a powder that doesn't work well in a 223, versus to find one that works better than all the rest...
a 223 and powder choice, is like an old VW Motor and fuel.. they'll run on about anything...
The only powder I don't mess with anymore in a 223, is H 335..
I've had two times a standard load of 25 grains with a 55 grain bullet heavily damaged a rifle and destroyed the stock, when it blew up after pulling the trigger...
also, for alittle pyrotechics, fire a round off at night using it...the flash is large enough to light up a large sized room..
so I don't want that much muzzle flash shooting prone in a dry grass field....
so I would use anything besides H 335, because about anything else will work just fine in a 223...
also those single shot NEFs are pretty darn accurate rifles, even in cartridges that aren't known for being tack drivers...
got a pair of them in rimfire, and they shoot more accurately than any other rim fire I own...and I have some nice tight shooting rimfires from other manufacturers...
and I wouldn't worry about 300 fps one way or the other....all the difference is, will be effecting your point blank range, and not really that much if you look at the trajectory charts before ever pulling the trigger...
a 53 grain Barnes is going to work at a wide velocity range, especially on a deer sized animal...don't think it would be my first choice for hunting big black bears, but with good shot placement I am sure it could get the job done...
