Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Favorite powder for Hornady 55s in 223?

I'm usually a 50 grain guy in 223, but came across a bunch of 55gr V-max bullets. Shooting a Rem 700 Classic 1:12 and a Tikka 1:8 rifle. Like the title says, what's your favorite powder? I have most powders applicable in that burn rate.

H 335 for me. Varget works also, but not as good as H 335

Easy.......

Benchmark......H4895.......IMR8208

Prob my 3 favorites

In order of preference: Xterminator, TAC, IMR8208, Benchmark but the order can be shifted depending on what's available and at what price. All four work very well for me in my rifles, not only with 55gr bullets but 50 grainers, as well.

A bunch of powder will work. I have gotten some very accurate loads using W748, as well as H335.

AA2460 and IMR3031.

kwg

I’ve had good luck with Benchmark.

Benchmark and H4895 shooting 53 and 55 gr Amax!

my favorite is N133 but as a second choice Benchmark

Another H335 here, crazy accurate!

Said this for decades... Its harder to find a powder that doesn't work well in a 223, than to find one that works better than "all the rest"...

even moreso with bullets like the 55 grain Hornady....or the 50 or 60 grainers as well.

You're right, Seafire. Gotta love the 223.

I enjoy ringing steel out to 430 yards with 55 gr Hornady FMJ or HPs in front of CFE 223

Been using AA2230 for the last few years, it works. I would agree with Seafire's Post, it's hard to find a manual listed powder that doesn't

H335 is my go-to for just about everything .223.

Fallbacks would be H322, Benchmark, CFE223, AA2230. I haven't tried Win 748 but I think it belongs on the to-try list. I'd stick with spherical powders unless I'd tried all of them and none worked well. Then I'd weigh trading in the gun vs cylindrical powders.

Mine shoots small groups with thrown charges of N133.

I haven't tried H322 but I have the rest of your list. In the same burn rate as H322 is RL10x and AA2015. I have had very good accuracy from both of those powders. As per the loading manuals the velocity if typically less than the slower burning powders. But, accuracy is among the best. The worst accuracy is Win 748 in my experience but I have a bunch of 748 on hand.

kwg

TAC or CFE223

I never tried CFE223, but have a full pound. I might give this a try.

Benchmark, Tac, or CFE223.

Benchmark and IMR 8208 go through a powder measure quite nicely. The kernels are tiny, and the thrown charges are uniform.

Benchmark, 8208, & TAC. Just started with N133.

.223 is just plain easy.

H335, TAC behind any 55g.

Any love for RL10X?

H-4895 for all .223 loads 55gr-75gr.

Benchmark, TAC, CFE223 and 748 for me in that order. 8208 also was good but not shot as much.

W 748 performs best when using close to max loads...or max....

Never had to try anything but benchmark in the 223 for anything up to 65 gainers. I do have 8 pounds of cfe 223 I haven't cracked open yet

RL10 and AA2015 are real close to each other. They both shoot .223 very well. They are fast burning powders so I'm guessing you will not get top velocity but you will get very good accuracy.
kwg

I guess I will have to soup my loads up a bit.

kwg

IMR 3031

The most accurate loads in four of my 223's with 55 grain bullets is with H335. I've sold two of those 223's and they both got near 1/2 MOA with 55 grain bullets and H335. The old model 78 I've shot PD shoots ever since the 78 came out still shoots just under 1/2 MOA with 26 grains of H335 and 55 grain bullets. The throat is getting quite worn and I thought about re-barreling it, but it keeps on shooting.

Try 26 or 27 grains of H 322....

X2

748 is tough to beat. My high volume loads are 748
Or surplus 846 which is BLC2.
Funny. I only had one rifle really prefer h335
It was a savage. H 335 is a go too
For most guys. My hunting pard burns a ton of it
Me seem I get better results with other powder
Have no idea why

27 grains of Varget behind Hornady or Sierra 55 gr soft points have been my most accurate 223 loads. PP Varmint does well with Sierra hollow point gamekings and meters nice. Have plenty of H322, but I use that for 6.8 spc loads.

Just started testing with Benchmark and it is looking promising.

H335 is a good powder, but your loads will vary a lot between a below zero winter day and a 95 degree August day with rifle and ammo baking in the pickup while you are doing farm work. Benchmark, TAC, 8208, and other modern powders are less temperature sensitive and leave your barrel cleaner. On a SD prairie dog hunt I put 430 rounds with 8208 through a .223, then shot a few groups back home before cleaning on general principal. Groups were still tight, and cleaning was routine.

Try and find all that powder that works in a 223. All the concern about temperature sensitivity is inconsequential, at the end of the day, you won’t probably ever shoot in the extreme temperature differences that people claim are critical and if you do, I doubt you will even see a difference.


All the so-called better powders won’t kill more varmints and you can’t use what you can’t find…



https://www.powdervalleyinc.com/product/hodgdon-h335/

A very obliging cartridge. Depending on the barrel/chamber, everything that's been mentioned works fine in a .223. AND what you can get. My favorite - fastest most accurate - with 55's is VV135, and VV133 with 50's. But you gotta use what you've got or can find.

Shrapnel, you're correct about using what you find. But, I carry a rifle in the summer while on the family farm, and I've had H335 loads that were mid range according to the chrono on a summer morning get squirrely when shot in a hot rifle on a hot day. H335 will vary 300 fps from very cold to very hot. TAC and 8208, much less.

Have used Varget, H335, and A2015 with excellent results.
Starting using the 2015 when I found some at a great price.

Up to 55g 1/12 twist

W748
H335
Everything else

This ^^^^^^^^^

With 50 - 60 grain bullets, you'll have a really tough time finding a more consistently accurate powder than VV's N-133..........................if you've got a decently accurate rifle.

MM

This is how I have done it for years, used my Harrell's to throw charges for 50-60grain bullets with VVN133.
As an added bonus (not sure what year VihtaVuori changed it ???) the newest lot I have was made in 2021 it has a de-coppering agent added that makes it cleaner burning than ever without changing the burn rate

For my 3gun loads I use CFE223 as it meters well and is OK accuracy-wise.

For my coyote loads I normally use Varget, but have also had very good luck with TAC and it also meters very well.

THIS both volume load excellent

Why no love for BL-C (2)?

I'm not recommending it. I'm just surprised it wasn't mentioned.

Has to do with most folks seem to prefer using the latest greatest powder, instead of older powders that have worked for decades upon decades.

I tend to be the opposite.. I reach for W 748 before BLC.2 but I'll concede I wouldn't be surprised if they are out of the same factory, like W760, 2700AA and H 414 are essentially the same powders.

Anyone of those, are good old standard performers that are good to fall back on, because they have always worked.. and will continue to work.

Okay. That's a fair answer.

All I've noticed is that BL-C (2) has generally given me more variability in velocities than other powders, specifically H4895. I've generally used BL-C(2) for .223 blasting ammo that I run through the progressive.

Outside of that, BL-C (2) is one of those powders that's been on my shelf since I got started. There always seems to be a listing for it, no matter what I'm loading.

I've been reading this thread with interest. I'm currently resurrecting a Savage 340 for coyote hunting, and I have 55 grain Hornady SP and I just ordered some 52 grain Speer HPs as well as BL-C (2), Varget, and CFE223 to replenish the larder.

BLC2 works pretty darned well for me. 3031, I4895, H335, I4198 all have provided accurate ammo for me in my 223 rifles.

H 4895 is just about my favorite powder

This for me as well. Works in both bolt and AR 223s I have. Are there faster powders? Yup. Are some slightly more accurate? Yea. But H335 works in a number of my applications and remains cheap and easy to acquire. Nowadays, with the type of shooting and hunting i use my 223s for, this powder is becoming a favorite of mine.

BL-C (2) is so close to Winchester 748 I tend to get what is available and best price. I use it in .308 and 30-06. Unfortunately, I don't think either give me the best accuracy. That would be Varget. For .223 it is H335, AA2015, RL10x, AA2230 and AA2460.

kwg