i have been loading 21.7gr of imr 4198 with a 55gr hpbt seirra with rem brass my quiestion is all my books say this is a max load but it seems really lite my brass looks like it isnt sealing in the chamber has anyone went up in powder if so let me no thanks hunt8mm

I have used 21.5 grains of IMR-4198 with 55 grain bullets since forever in the .223. Have gone up to 22.0 with 50 grainers.

That 21.5 load in my mind is as much of a "gold standard" for the .223 as 60.0/H4831/130 grainer is in the .270.

Not sure why your rifle would show symptoms of not sealing but I'd be careful of raising the charge much. IMR-4198 is pretty fast and pressure tends to go up quickly with small increments of additional powder.

thanks alot jim in idaho it is really accurate i will just stay were it is my brass might be brittle my gun is a savage stevens 200 with about 350 rounds through it so far so i dont think it is the gun

I used 22 grains with a 50 grain bullet and made little-bitty groups all day long.

I had very good results with it when loaded with a 40gr BT. Haven't tried it with heavier bullets since I already have a ton of good powders for them.

Looked it up on the Hodgdon web site. Their reloading data shows IMR 4198 max load 20.4 grns producing 53,600 psi. So according to that you are over max. I am not an expert on "brass" but could you maybe be using a tough brass designed for military use in semi-auto/auto rifles and it does not expand well.

yeah that was it tryed it today with regular brass and it was fine thank everyone for posting hunt8mm

gone several grains beyond that..

you are safe... no worries...