A number of years ago I bought one of the first Remington Model 7 Predator rifles in 223 that came on the market. It quickly became my favorite coyote and varmint rifle. Right out of the box it shot almost everything well, but a little experimenting showed that it liked 50 grain VMax's. I settled on a load of 27.5 grains of surplus WC846 and the 50 VMax, chronographing around 3375 out of the 22 inch barrel. I have killed coyotes out to 450 yards, and this rifle would be one of the last ones I'd ever part with.

I am down to my last 8 pounds of 846, and needed to load up some more ammo for this rifle. I had a pound of BLC-2 that I'd had for at least 15 years, and knowing the correlation between it and 846, I decided to try some. Hogdon lists 28.0 grains as max, so that's what I loaded. These loads shot exactly to the same POI as did the 27.5 load of 846. There is a little cratering to the primers, no flat ones, and no other signs of too much pressure, but I'm at my max load.

Out of curiosity, I'm just wondering if anyone else has any experience with this powder in the 223, and what their loads are.

Read through the sticky thread here in this forum and you'll find some good info on using BLC-2.

I used to use 26.0 grains of BLC2 with 55 grain bullets. It always produced excellent accuracy. I have now switched to 25.0 grains of TAC but still have some BLC2 that I intend to use up. TAC may be a little cleaner burning but accuracy is excellent with either one.

I use a number of powders for the 223. I reload for 4 different bolt rifles, and several AR's. The 223 isn't fussy about powder, and I could probably get by with a couple rather than what I'm using now. I like a ball powder because it meters better and makes my reloading go a little faster. H335, H322, W748, WC846, Benchmark, BLC-2, X-Terminator, TAC, and Varget are what I mostly use. I also have used some of the Shooters World AR Plus. In my AR's I mainly load for accuracy and reliability, while in bolt rifles I try to get as much speed as possible, without sacrificing accuracy. Powders like the 846 and BLC-2 usually are both fast and accurate.

Yes. I've burned a good bit of WC846 in 556 Chambers.
My goto is 28.5gr behind a 52gr match bullet lit with either a CCI 450 or S&B small rife primer. It's very accurate in every 5.56 I've tried it in. This is close to the Vietnam era loading for M193 ball rounds. It's a max load. Be sure to work up to this, perhaps backing off a little more than normal to allow for the greater variance between lots of surplus power, but you already knew that.

BLC-2 is my favorite powder. I use it in the 223 and 6mm PPC. The 223 bolt action likes the 55 grain Sierra spitzer BT the most. I was kind of surprised and expected the match bullets to do better but they didn’t with it. I use 27.1 grains of BLC-2. It’s not the max load, but anymore and it loses a little accuracy. The 223 AR hates it and likes TAC and CFE 223 more.

I use lots of it, a bit flashy near and after dark.

BL-C2 and 60 gr Hornady spire pts allways been a tack driver in my bolt 223's...mb

i have used both with about equal results

I won't use H 335 whatsoever, but I am definitely "Good to Go" with BLC2.... never an issue with it, and it turns in great accurate results..
That and W748 are my Ball powder "Go To" powders...

so much so, even tho I've tried TAC and CFE 223 and a host of other ball powders...
I just keep on circling back to BLC2 and W 748....

never let me down...

Just curious as to why you don't like H335. I have found it to be a great powder for the 223.

335 is a great powder in 223, except it’s prone to extreme pressure spikes in hot weather. Sometimes it goes boom instead of bang. I use it once in awhile but never over 80 degrees.

H335 also lays down a nice bed of tough fouling.

I trust you seafire and swifty on this subject, but I ran a confirmed 7+ pounds of H335 through this Ruger m77 mkII .223 rem with no ill effects, records show 2,000 rounds. It took a while, but the bore still looked great and rifle was still plenty accurate when I sold it. I know I must have been lucky. This is how the rifle shot right around the time I got rid of it, the reason the scope was off:


As for BLC2, I used it a little, but never found the accuracy I did with H335. So eventually gave up on it. The same can be said for IMR4198 and benchmark. While not doing extensive testing with that powder, I'm sure they are great. With that being said, I am thinking I'll sell some of the newer H335 powder I have, at my clubs next gunshow. I know a lot of my club members still use it with good success...

I could cut some nice groups using H335 too.

What was your cleaning routine and interval for that Ruger?

Guarantee you have never won a match with that combo

I am in that camp as well...much better options.

I did as well. It’s a good baseline.

You’re right. I don’t compete in Matches.

I clean after every use. Use shooters choice, so it takes care of the copper for the most part. Probably works well enough on powder fouling too. That Ruger was a great rifle. I foolishly sold it after I got into AR's. Figured I didn't need a 223 rem bolt gun. Now I miss the dang thing. It was very accurate for a Ruger..

Would that be twenty rounds? Fifty? A one hundred round afternoon of plinking fun?

50-100 rounds..

I wish I had Bore Tech cleaners back when I shot 100 rounds using H335.

I agree with you. Its a lot dirtier than newer powders like AR Comp. BLC2 powder is also a dirty one, as I didn't notice much difference between it and H335.

The Flash it gives for starters...

I've used a standard load of 25 grains of H 335, and a 55 grain SP bullet.... that blew up TWICE in a Ruger 223....
not my handloads, but factory loads... one by Remington, and then later by Black Hills.. 8 weeks a part.

both times enough to destroy the wooden stock on it...second time, screwing up the bolt that needed repair.

with ALL the other powders that work well in a 223, why bother with it?

Used several jugs of H335 to make MG food for self and others. But never tried to duplicate M193. The charge was 24 gr behind 55 gr fmjs. Always. So not to worry about lot variation.

Zero issues. Ran everything, including 249s.

But that's the only use I have for the stuff. Many better choices, if slightly less economical or not as reliably metering.

I've never had it go boom, but on a 105 degree day, in a 22-250 I had it weld a case to the bolt.

Interesting back quite a number of years I was messing with 335 in a 22.250 No.1 it was around 90-95 degrees one shot spiked 200 fps and I couldn’t extract the case. Had to take it home and wrap it in cold packs for a couple hours. It finally let me extract the case. If you can’t operate a No.1 action then that is really stuck. Weren’t No boom but close enough.

I'm down to my last 8 lb jug of WC846 (out of 4) and have used it for several different cases. Most of it has been with 223s. Have used 26 grs with both 55 and 50 gr bullets for years. Nice accuracy and adequate velocity with no pressure issues, and both loads shot to the same POI.

Recently, a friend gifted me with an 8lb jug of Data Powder 2200. I loaded a few 50s and 55s with the max charges shown on the original data sheets that Accurate put out for the powder back in the 90s. They surprisingly shot to the same point of impact as the WC846 loads in my L46 Sako. Just for slaps and giggles, I shot one of each of the 4 loads as a group before leaving my range. There were no diamonds left without holes, so I used a corner of the big diamond as the aiming point. The result is shown below. This group was actually smaller than the individual groups...go figure:

Were you guys weighing charges, or just dropping them from your powder measures? Its because of this that I dont trust h335 in hot weather. Thanks

Hard to beat that. Unless you use 3 different rifles and same load and it does that. You have a good rifle there, that isn't finicky. One of my cheapest rifles (Steven's 200) is like that.

Guess its how you look at weighing. My procedure
Set measure .01 grains under max if and when I got to that point as all measures and most scales are +- .01
Drop and weigh 5 , drop 4 weigh #10, drop 9 weigh 10 and so on for the number I am loading. Baffles are used.

Ohh, believe it or not on a 95+ degree day at a match I had a max load of benchmark start giving stiff bolt, hard extraction in 223. Therefore I don’t use max loads of any powder(except Vargay cuz it slooooow) on hot days. Kinda like playing Russian Roulette. Win some but.

I've shot a lot of BL-C2 in my 223's. I like the way it meters and its accurate enough to suit me. 5 shots will consistently group into 9/16's to 5/8's. But a safe load here in Arkansas will flatten primers in the Texas Panhandle in the Spring and Summer.

Thanks swifty. That is good advice. I was wondering because I just drop from my uniflow. That sob drops such accurate charges that I just go with it. Fast and easy that way. The one I use is old and I don't use baffles. I know others always suggest using them, so they sure can't hurt. As long as it works right? I know mathman doesn't concern himself with even .02-.03 gr differences in weight. Maybe that was just for his 308w loads, 223 may be a different story?

That's where real temp stable powders come into play and are highly appreciated. The op is getting some great info.

Under the right conditions even so called temp stable powders can give pressure spikes. Benchmark is one of those as I stated earlier. MD has said many times that they are stable only when used in their designed application, different cartridge or bullet can change that.
I really don’t chose a powder just because it’s supposed temp stable.

Now as far as baffles, my reasoning is if you have ever watched the effects of a small outlet hole on things such as grain bins, coal hoppers or lots of other granulated products in a bin or hopper, they usually have knockers, vibrators, baffles or a combination to stop ratholing, clumping or bridging.
By using the baffle it allows for a stable level and weight on the powder feed. This helps in getting consistent drop charges. Now it’s not really super beneficial with ball powders, but still if you have consistent level and weight it will make drop variations minimal.
They really do shine with flake and coarser powders especially in the Uniflow for the same reasons. A quick test is fill your hopper then drop 25-30 charges back into the jug, weigh #1 then #30 if ratholing or bridging is going on the charge weights will start getting lighter. Then finger snap the hopper a couple of times the first charge will be heavier, while the second should be back to nuts on, or at least it’s always has for me.
Baffles when properly set cures 99% of that.

For those who like to tinker or a baffle isn’t available for your hopper go here, I made my own for an 80’s vintage Hornady measure.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26566&d=1288932878

Who makes the best powder measure?

Lee Dippers do....IMHO.

fancier the gizmo, the more room for something to go wrong.

I use 26gr BLC-2 on most bullet and rifle combinations. I like using the uni-flow.

I very seldom blow a snot bubble but you got me with that one..........you cant be serious

I will stay with my Harrell's and on occasion use a uniflow

Now YOU'RE making me laugh...

Serious as a heart attack.....

I've tried a bunch of those different types, that friends wanted me to try because they loved them so much and were so proud they'd bought then...

I didn't like them.... self taught on a beam scale and Lee Dippers.. started there and will finish there...

they do the job I want them to do, never break down, and I don't need a high volume set up....

a Doctor friend gave me a Dillon 550 years ago, when he bought a 650... I tried it a week... gave it back to him...

Yeah, I might be the Fred Flintstone of reloaders, but it works for me just fine...

I probably put 5 to 8,000 rounds down range annually...