With all the other good powders available for 223/5.56, some of the proponents of Lever, please tell me why it's "better" & how it's "better" & why I should switch or even try it, other than for the sake of just saying I tried it.
MM
I haven't had the success some claim in 5.56 with Lever. However, in several other AR15 cartridges I've had excellent results, meaning better accuracy and higher velocity than anything else. I'm not interested in high velocity without accuracy, but when you can have both, that's the best of both worlds.
For example, in a recent load workup with the 105gr BTHP in my 24" 243 LBC, I did a seating depth test with charges at each seating depth ranging between 30.1gr and 31.4gr (max). At 2.235" OAL, it shot a very acceptable group of 5, even though the charge weights varied by 1.3gr. Going back to test further at 30.8-31.0gr, that load gives better velocity than I can get with any other powder I've tried, accuracy is as good as anything else I've used, and the load isn't sensitive to velocity variations from different charge weights. Hard to beat that.
In my short barrel 6.5 Grendel, Lever and the 129gr ABLR bullet seem like they're made for each other. Every other powder is either too bulky for good velocity, or too fast burn rate. With the 123gr ELD in the same rifle, Lever adds 100-110 fps over my 8208 XBR load with equal accuracy. That rifle is not a tiny bughole shooter, but is one of those that shoots acceptably well with just about everything.
The 40gr V-max in my 23.5" 20 Tactical is another example; most of the common powder recommendations do 3600-3750 fps with varied accuracy results, some good some bad. But with a near max charge of Lever, it shoots as well or better than anything else, and does an honest 3900 fps.
However in the 5.56 I've mostly tried it with the 75gr BTHP, and had similar accuracy results as other powders like TAC - pushing it up to it's potential made accuracy fall apart. Maybe it's the particular rifle I tried it in, but my load of 23.5gr Benchmark shoots a lot better, even though it gives up ~150 fps. I also found that with the rifle tuned well for the Benchmark load, the Lever loads were pretty overgassed, to the point of being intolerable when the suppressor was added on (lots of gas and tearing up brass). Tuning the rifle for Lever meant that it didn't cycle the Benchmark load or some of the other 223 factory ammo I had on hand (although it was OK with M193).
So, I like Lever for some cartridges, but it's not magic for everything, and it's not for me in the 5.56 ARs. It's probably better in bolt guns, but I no longer have one in that cartridge.
Hope that helps.
