Favorite powder for 55gr 223 AR rounds..what say ye?

I'm loading IMR4320 until I run out, as they have stopped making it. I guess I'll switch to Varget or Winchester 748 after that.

cfe 223 ....H335 .....tac

IMR 3031 is what I use. Bullet is the 50 gr, Nosler BT, but I'd still use IMR 3031 with a 55 gr. pill.

Mine are:

CFR223 for my 3Gun and practice loads with 55 & 60 FMJ from a Dillon 550
TAC with my 55BT varmint loads and 69grn TMK tgt loads single stage press, using a Harrells
Varget with 77grn OTM precision loads single stage press, Harrell's and a trickler.

Midway has Benchmark 8# jug for $277

Pick one there are plenty of good ones...CFE223, AA2230, H335, Varget, AA2460, I4895 and quite a few more.

I am trying LeverRevolution with heavies in my 223s but have not used it with lighter bullets.

TAC.

CFE223

For the heavier 70-88Gr bullets I normally shoot I have had great luck with 8208XBR. It meters fairly well and gives awesome accuracy. Better velocity than either Varget or H4895.

Varget

Anyone tried LT32 ??

I use BLC, CFE223, mostly now. Used to have a big jug of W748 and it was good.

I have found good shooting loads with about every powder tried, though the most accurate isn't the fastest all the time.

CFE223

There are as many powders that work good in the 223 as there are pills in a bottle of Doane's Little Liver pills.

Truly, lots of good powders for a 223.

For heavy bullets, if I could only have one, it would be VV-540.

For lighter bullets of 60 & less, then VV-133 for sure.

Either bolt or in a semi.

MM

4198 or h4894

Benchmark, but only if you like velocity and accuracy.




P

I use H335 mostly. I bought a couple jugs of the stuff. I think that there may be better powders out there. Better = reduced copper fouling. I have no issues with this powder though. My 223's don't foul partially due to Dyna-Bore treatment.

RE 10x works well for me

H380 until it runs out. 28 grains with a Speer 70 SP. Then IMR 4198.

Accuracy, yes, top velocity? No, far from it.

MM

My favorite w/ 53 vmax is Benchmark. Very accurate and top speed from a 20" AR. It meters ok for an extruded powder, but not as good as a spherical.

If you want a spherical powder, CFE223, H335, and TAC work well. H335 does tend to have muzzle flash, but it is normally available in times of powder shortages.

TAC

TACs a close #2 for me, 8208 is my favorite. But like many have said, there are a lot of good .223 propellants.

Show me where I said “top” in my post.

I looked all over for it and couldn’t find it.




P

I believed you. I've seen how you pack the powder in.. Turning the .223 rem into the new improved 22-250..

So you want to play semantics, eh?

Even squib loads will give "velocity"; the clear implication in your post was that BM gave "high" velocity coupled with high accuracy..............it's all about the context, baby.

How much accuracy? Can you quantify how much better than any other powder?

Wanna be an azz??????????????????????

GFY

MM

TAC, although I have some N133 loaded to try.

With the lightweight bullets the OP is asking about, I prefer TAC, BLC2, IMR4198, and I hate to say it, but H335. I know some guys have had issues with H335, so I keep a close eye on the stuff. If the OP was asking about heavier bullets, which I prefer to use, the list of powder would be different and smaller..

With this being said, some are listing CFE223, which I have not had the best results with in the 223 rem. YMMV..

Benchmark and CFE23 for 40-55 grain bullets, Varget for heavier bullets for me

I pity you guys that have to di ck around with Vargay powder in the 223 rem. All of my 223 charge weights are dropped right from the powder measure/uniflow. Makes life much simpler.

CFE 223. With 62 grain Bear Claws is the ticket for piggies

I've mostly used CFE223, AA2230 and TAC, but a number of other powders will also work pretty well.

N140 for heavies in this house, rost recommended it and darned if he wasn't right.

Every one seems to have a favorite...

But I've said this for decades.... its really harder to find a powder that works best in a 223, than it is to find one that DOESN'T work well in a 223.

I load all sorts of wide variety of powders in the 223, to include a lot of pistol and shotgun powder reduced loads.

Pretty much ALL of them can turn in "minute of sage rat" results to 200 yds and beyond...

Some are better than others for benchrest contests, but for practical field work, about all of them work real well...

we should have all the other cartridges work so well.

CFE 223, BLC-2 and TAC. I think BLC is more accurate in my bolt action. TAC is cheap and does a decent job in a few ARs, it can smell foul at times when the wind is unfavorable.

I have a few pounds of Varget to try out and also plan on 8208 xbr. I shoot a lot of 55 grain but also 69 grain.

H322 for me.

Light bullets in an AR?

H335 WC844 BLC-2 WC846 whichever I can buy cheap. Of course they are the same powder just different lots.

How many Billions and Billions and more Billions of 5.56/.223 rounds have been loaded and fired with WC844? Probably more than all others combined.

IMR 4198. A pain to load due to it being an extruded powder…..but, I’ve made some darn accurate loads with it! memtb

26.5 grains, no more, just like it says in the book.




P

Benchmark does result in high velocity. Reloading manuals support that statement.

Benchmark also delivers accuracy. Nosler’s reloading data supports that statement.

Re-read my post. ‘Taint semantics, it’s communication. You tried to insert a meaning into my statement that I did not make, and now you’re all butthurt (I do like that term, butthurt, it’s hilarious) that I called you on it.

Ease up on the invective and the question mark usage, you’re not a 14 year old girl.





P

Not the least bit butthurt, especially about anything coming from a know it all jerk such as yourself.

Words & phrasing contain implications as they are meant. Your phrasing implied exactly what I said it did so don't try to crawfish it & once again, & imply that it didn't.

90% of what you post, you imply is gospel.

Do with it what you want, I'm done with this & you as you are usually about the last person on here that I pay much attention to. This was an exception.

MM

For 55 gr bullets, I’ve been running W748. I’ve got some loads I need to test with Shooters World Tactical at the moment.

AA2230/X-Terminator or TAC

Not butthurt, you’re funny. Twenty-two question marks.

I post my experience, nothing more. And sometimes that experience is what not to do.

End of hijack, apologies to the OP.






P

A lot of powders work well in the .223, but I really like TAC.

I have loaded thousands of 50gr v-max bullets over 26.0gr. of H-335. I can shoot 2-300 without accuracy issues while in the prairie dog towns! I’m shooting them through a Savage 112 with a 26” heavy varmint.

I also load the 40gr. V-max with 28.0gr of H-335 for my heavy barrel upper AR. Makes the dogs absolutely disappear! Lots of fun!

When the 335 is gone I have a jug of TAC on the shelf. There may be better powders than those two for the 223, but I have never been sorry I have them!

Elk Country

I've used quite a few different powders. H335 to CFE, Varget to StaBall Match. 8208XBR has by far been my favorite for the heavier bullets, but it doesn't meter like a ball powder. StaBall Match is like ball powder Varget and has proven to give me the best results in both precision and consistency of velocity.

I must be the only one who can’t find the ‘node’ with Varget, 69’s or 50’s…….Same with CFE223,

Benchmark or 8208 for me,

TAC and cfe 223 just for the smooth metering alone. Fug the stick powders in 223..mb

Benchmark for me

Benchmark is what I use. Only shoot 50-55’s though. I don’t have a need for heavies.

GreggH

When loading 223 or 5.56 I have rules I use a single stage loader and I trim and gauge all my brass because it needs to work in my bolt guns and ar-15 platforms interchangeably that simple. 55 gr horn sp's and tac or cfe223 are the tits for general purpose shooting and fairly inexpensive to put to gether. 60 gr horn sp and Bl-c2 shoot well in both platforms also. Stick told me hint 75 gr hornie hpbt's and lever was the tits in quick twist barrels as usual he was on the money they also shoot in my t3x hb 1 in 8 twist. Gonna work up a lever and 77tmk load. I use what appropriate stick powders I have left in my inventory for 222r and 222rem mag. Never anymore in 223..mb

I made it easy for myself, used what I had left of H335 in the garden a couple years ago, works as good as dog schitt for fertilizer.......

for 55gr and lighter it's hard to beat VVN133

For 60gr and heavier it's hard to beat VVN140, people used to shy away from Vihta Vuori because it was so expensive........but now the tables have turned

Varget is about the same burn rate as VVN140 but is $15-$20 a pound more and does not work as well in a 223