Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Cleanest burning powders in 223 & 22-250 for prairie dog shoots, what to use?

Hey guys, what powders do you use on your 233 & 22-250? We are looking for something that burns clean.

Thanks for looking.

Tracy

For a 223 for me, it's TAC. Very clean burning, and easy to load. JB is a big fan of it for its accuracy and clean burning.

Steve

I will second on how clean TAC is also shoots great out of my 223.

+3 for TAC in the 223, and Big Game in the 22-250.

N120 in the 223(very clean and fast for 40gr bullet) and N135 or N140 in the 22-250.

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+4 for TAC and Big Game.
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For the 223 calibur, I would vote for Winchester 748 and for the 22-250 H-380. Hope this helps, it works for me.

N133 (.223) and Benchmark (22-250).

I have to vote for Blue Dot in my 223s... I have shot anywhere from 100 to 200 rounds in row and had no loss of accuracy, so I just kept on shooting!

All of the other powders mentioned above, I've also had very good luck with, except the Finnish powders, which I have never had the opportunity to use..

However I have never shot any of the others a 100 plus rounds and not had to stop to clean the bore due to decreased accuracy...

In my 223's benchmark,N130 and N133 seem very clean burning, in my 22-250's H380 and W760 have worked well.
When tinkering with finding a good load for one of my 22-250's I tried H414 and it shot surprising well but it is hands down the most filthy powder I have ever used so you can strike it off your list.
B

TAC for me.......I started using it about the same time I had aquired a couple new varmint guns and was amazed at how long I could go before cleaning......I was congratulating myself on lucking into a couple of very smooth factory tubes ; but then I hear from J Barshness that TAC actually has a "de-coppering" agent built into the stuff.....so kinda sorta you are self cleaning the bore with every shot !

Isn't H-414 and W-760 the same powder? Or am I thinking of something else?

Yes give or take 1/2 a grain.

Is TAC a spherical powder? I shoot a lot of H-380 and have shot lots of H-335 and they are NOT a clean burning powder, not terrible bad but definitely not as clean as others.

For large volume shooting I don't consider a powder that can't be accurately thrown directly into the case. Spherical powders are the only rifle powder I know that meets my requirement.

I used exterminator but have not been able to find it lately and might switch to TAC which is all over the dealers shelves. Is exterminator discontinued?

All of the Ramshot powders are sphearical. I've used TAC and X-terminator and both are very clean burning. TAC, Benchmark and RL-15 are all great choices.

That's funny It is exactly the opposite for me can not find TAC but they always have exterminator.

You couldn't go wrong with Varget in both guns IMO.

I've never liked H335, finding it not only sooty but leaving a very hard to remove fouling behind (which I discovered when reviewing a borescope). H335 also makes a serious fireball and blast, especially in my 14" Contender barrels. W748 and AA2230 were much better, and they became my standard sphericals for the .223. That is, until I started using TAC.

I no longer have the borescope, but TAC leaves a clean-looking bore in two or three patches. For me, that's about a tenth of what it took with H335, plus there's MUCH less blast and fire. Add in Ramshot's claims of a de-coppering agent AND temperature insensitivity, and I'll happily put TAC at the top of my "fave" list.

I have never owned a 22-250, so the above are .223 comments only.

So far I really like N135 in my 22-250.