Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles .223/5.56 Load Questions

Had good luck with 75BTHP's and H-Lever (you can find some good loads in 'Stick's posts, if you're willing to decipher whatever you call the language he posts in), but I bought 1000 55 grain softs w/cannelure (pretty sure they're Hornady) in a bulk bag back during the election scare.
Thought I'd load a couple hundred for close up plinking and so forth.

I've got H-335 (not played with it much), H-Lever (way too slow), and TAC (used to shoot it very well w/65 Sierras) on hand. Cases are all Remington. Primers on hand are 400's and 205's, would go grab 450's if there's any evidence that 335 or TAC shoots better with them (seems like I used to run TAC with 7-1/2's).

Rifle is an AR, 16" Black Hole, .223 Wylde, mid length, usually ran with a 9" SAS Arbiter on it (adjustable gas).

Figuring about 25 grains of H-335 or 26 grains of TAC. Looking for about 3,000fps with good (or even great) accuracy. Mostly looking for thoughts on primers.

Anybody have anything to add?

Thanks!

Nothing to add. I strongly prefer TAC to H-335 but I'd be happy to use up remaining stocks of H-335 and not buy again. I go with CCI#41 primers as default in an AR.

Looking for great accuracy I'd hand select for quality on the soft tips and check the throat might or might not ignore the cannelure. If I ignore the cannelure, only for cause, I'd pay close attention to neck tension. For close up plinking I'd use the cannelure.

26.0 gr TAC and S&B primers is where I am with Horn. 55's just now. When I asked here about primers a while back Rem 7 1/2's, CCI 450's & 41's were the top recommendations. Fed 205's are rumored to be too soft for AR's, I have some but I'm reserving them for my bolt gun.

I've ran a lot of the Hornady 53gr v-max on top of 25 grains of H335 in R-P cases primed with CCI 400'S and BR4's.. They work just fine..

One of my goto load is 27.5gr of WC844, the military version of H335, a 55gr bullet, and CCI-450 primers.

The 450's are key, and makes a big difference on group size. H335 needs the hot primer.

I've also had good luck with TAC. It's less temperature sensitive, but the H335 load seem to work better in a wider range of guns.

Since my powder was military pull down, 27.5gr might be a some what warm with new commercial powder.

I haven't used H335 in years and don't remember now what I used it in, but the late Bob Hagel, longtime gunwriter and one of the good ones, claimed it was the best powder he'd found for the .223. This was some years ago and I don't think he used ARs, but seems H335 was a fairly popular .223 powder twenty or thirty years ago.

I like the 62 gr. Barnes. It is very accurate, hammers pigs!

CCI 400's are not my 1st choice for primers by any means but they work for some..........make sure they are seated completely & do not protrude above the rim surface, & I won't use Fed 205 in an AR.

8208 is the new 335.

MM

MM , would you use 450's with 8208? I'm thinking about trying some. Thanks

Yes, I'm using 450's, BR-4's, 41's, Rem 7 1/2's & Wolf Mag..................all are fine with 8208, 2000-MR, AR-Comp, H4895, CFE-223, VV-133 & 135, at least so far.

The VV powders seem to like the Wolf's best, & I have 3-4K left, but can't seem to find anymore.

MM

Thanks for this. I have some loads to work up with 8208 in a recently completed 6x45. I hadn't played with 8208 enough to know if it seems to have a primer preference.
Thanks.

Yes, thanks MM. I have a few thousand BR4's and a few hundred 450's. I'll give them a try with 8208. Im down to my last pound of 335 and was looking for a good replacement.

I have the best luck with WSR primers.

Velocity goes up and E.S. goes down. Especially with TAC, AA2250 & W748

Interesting. I've run several small rifle primer tests, and WSR due tend to shoot faster, but placed consistently the worst in terms of ES and SD.

And if you shoot them long enough in an AR, you will eventually find a lot that be getting pierced for no good reason.....................

To many other good primers available to use WSR's.

MM

The only 5.56 load I put together is for deer and hog hunting. I keep some aside for HD use. 64 grain Winchester PP over 24 grains of H335. I use Wolf SR primers. It's an accurate enough load, kills well on animals.

Ranch rifle group.

DF



Not the average Ranch rifle.

Pretty ranch rifle. I wonder how it would do in the black rifle challenge?

Hold it's own with accuracy...

I don't know if the Ruger mags would be as easy and fast to change out as the AR.

DF

I use 24.4 gr of h335 as my plinking load, it runs 2825 through my Rock River with a 16 inch barrel, you will probably have to use more powder to get 3000 fps, personally I would use Tac to get that velocity.