223 Remington reloading

[Guest bta619]

I'm getting ready to start reloading 223 Remington and was curious of what powder and bullet people prefer? I will be shooting the loads out of a 18" barrel with a 1/9 twist.

Thanks

[Guest Gopher6]

I use WW 748 powder with Sierra 69 grain HPBT or Priv 62 grain bullets

[56FordGuy]

Accurate 2230 has done well for me. I just picked up some WC 846, have not loaded any of it yet.

[Westwindmike]

Win 748 for me too with either 55 or 62 gr bullets.

[seez52]

Have been working up some .223 loads with H4895 and BLC2 in a bolt gun.

I've loaded some AR ammo with BLC2 and it has worked fine and gave good accuracy. Meters good through the powder measure.

Have loaded the H4895 with 30 gr. thru 55 gr bullets.

Been thinking about trying some Reloader 7

[Guest FroggyOne2]

None of the loads that I use would work with your rifle.

[Dolomite_supafly]

I use 24.5 grains of Varget under a 69 SMK. It is a lighter load but saves your brass and seems to be very accurate in my rifle.

Dolomtie

[dlm37015]

i use wc846 which is blc2 with a 62 grain ss109 with a 1 in 9 twist it works very well for me. with a 1 in 7 twist i use a nosler 77 grain with wc 846 it works well also

[glockster157]

Winchester 748 or Hogdon H335 are both very good powders and i have had great success with them using 55 grain bullets. For IMR powders I use IMR 4198 but since going to a Dillon progressive years ago I have stuck with the ball powders because they so well through the powder measure. I have recently tried some Accurate 2520 with the heavier 77 grain bullets with very good results.

[seez52]

I've had super accurate loads with IMR4198, 50 gr. out of a 14" Contender. It would be a pain when using a progressive.

[Rightwinger]

Pick your powder from the above. I just get the Midway 55 grain FMJs when they run specials on them. Don't shoot my Nosler partitioned rounds very often but I have enough for a few mags if the need ever arose that I needed something that wasn't "plinker".

[Fox]

I am just getting started reloading and am using IMR 4895 powder and have three loads set up for testing with a 60 grn hornady vmax round.

The three loads are 23.7, 24.0, and a 24.5. I have not been to the range to test yet but plan on it soon. Also using CCI primers.

[Guest Jeffster]

I'm shooting the 700 SPS Tactical with IMR3031. So far that powder has been my most productive. My twist rate is 1 in 9 as well. I however throw all my charges and put them on the scale. Not sure if you use progressive, that would be the best powder.

Edited September 15, 2010 by Jeffster

[gregintenn]

I've loaded a few rounds, but 223 is cheap enough I usually just buy it loaded.

[Guest FroggyOne2]

Yeah.. wal-mart ammo is ok for 50 yard plinking.. but not really for real serious shooting.. of course not everyone is a competitive shooter like I am.. but then my thinking is, shoot the most accruate ammo you can make.. the load that I shoot in .223 the Hornady 75gr AMaz with 24grs of H-4895 with Lapua or Remington brass.. Wolf primer.. The brass is worked over and prepped.. meaning.. I uniform the primer pockets and the flash hole.. and debur the inside of the flash hole. Trimmed to 1.750 and then weighed into 1 grain lots. This load in four rifles works really great.. One of the rifles is a stock Savage 1 in 9 (really 1 in 8.5) twist and will shoot on a calm day.. a 6 inch group at 1000 yards.. Which is just a lil over half MOA.. In my rifle it will hold about .25 MOA at 300 yards and about .3 MOA at 600 yards.. but all times that I have shot this load I have hand to deal with shifting winds, so I have not had a chance to really shoot a group on a calm day to see how it really shoot.. all groups were shot prone unsupported with a sling using iron sights.

[glockster157]

Trust me, a good stiff load of 748, H335, BLC2, H322, AA223 (most any of the medium burning ball powders) with a good bullet, in a decent case, loaded uniformly will shoot fine for a service/plinking load. I have done really well with IMR stick powders with weighed charges and match bullets but I don't go to that much trouble loading bulk. I can turn out about 500 an hour on the Dillon 550 that will shoot a lot better than I can in a AR with open sights or non magnified electronic sights. I have shot these load in a lot of sporter weight and heavy barreled bolt guns and usually can pull of .75" or smaller group on a regular basis though with the bolt guns I normally use fire formed brass that is just neck sized. Since all of my shooting is 250 yards or less it has always been sufficient for my needs. Try 25 grains of H335 or 28 grains of 748 with commercial brass, Winchester or CCI primers under a Sierra or Nosler 55 grain BT bullet. I really like the Lee factory crimp die also. Helps in the uniformity part. If you use military brass you might back off half a grain or so.

[Guest Archminister01]

I have used IMR4198, H4895, BLC-2, H4198 and W748 with much success for an AR setup using 55gr FMJBT and 62gr FMJSCBT bullets. Started with manual suggested loads and worked them until i found the best loads for that rifle. Rifles loaded for had a 1/9 and 1/7 twist respectively.

[7mmvol]

25.6 gr Win 748 under Hornady 55 gr Vmax in my 14" Contender, or the same under 55 gr Hornady SP.

[leroy]

...Trust me, a good stiff load of 748, H335, BLC2, H322, AA223 (most any of the medium burning ball powders) with a good bullet, in a decent case, loaded uniformly will shoot fine for a service/plinking load. I have done really well with IMR stick powders with weighed charges and match bullets but I don't go to that much trouble loading bulk. I can turn out about 500 an hour on the Dillon 550 that will shoot a lot better than I can in a AR with open sights or non magnified electronic sights. I have shot these load in a lot of sporter weight and heavy barreled bolt guns and usually can pull of .75" or smaller group on a regular basis though with the bolt guns I normally use fire formed brass that is just neck sized. Since all of my shooting is 250 yards or less it has always been sufficient for my needs. Try 25 grains of H335 or 28 grains of 748 with commercial brass, Winchester or CCI primers under a Sierra or Nosler 55 grain BT bullet. I really like the Lee factory crimp die also. Helps in the uniformity part. If you use military brass you might back off half a grain or so. ....

Glocksters advice here is a good starting place. "Back in the day" we used to shoot lots of 222 and 223 in bolt guns with 1 in 12 twist barrels (...i know that is an oddity today...) 55 grain hpbt (...or spitzer flat base---couldn't tell much difference out to about 200 yds...) bullets (....it dont matter the brand; they are all good...) and a "stiff load" of ball powder. They would all shoot well enough for ya to lay a dime over them at 100 yds with a good scope if you can hold it that close. The 223 aint too finicky as to loading as long as the powder charge is "stiff" or near maximum. I also agree with Glockster's observation RE: stick powders. I could never find much of an improvement over the ball type powders when shooting the 222 or 223.

I cant give too much advice on AR type loads, because we just started fooling with them after 30 years or so of making fun of them. "Back in the day", the 1 in 12 twist AR's were a joke to us old bolt gun men. That being said; they aint a joke anymore. I'm working on loads for a 1 in 9 HBAR carbine right now. It already shoots better than i can. Plan to use WW748, Hornady A Max 55 grain spitzer flat base bullets (...they were on sale...) and military brass.

Hope this helps

leroy

Edited February 6, 2011 by leroy

[Guest DaG]

24.8 Varget or 25.0 of 2230 under a Hornady 55 FMJBT. Both out of a 20" 1/9

DaG

[Guest gw2and4]

24.8 Varget or 25.0 of 2230 under a Hornady 55 FMJBT. Both out of a 20" 1/9

DaG

+1 on 25 gr of 2230 under a 55-gr FMJBT.

Sent from my iPhone 4

[Kenstaroni]

24gr WC 844 (military version of H335) under a 62gr SS109 bullet does touching or near touching holes at 50 yards out of my LWRC M6A2 1/7 twist. My Ruger SR556 with a 1/9 twist does about 1-1.5 MOA with it. I've loaded Varget in the past but for $90 for 8lbs, the WC 844 gave me better groups and has saved me some cheddar.

Edited February 8, 2011 by Kenstaroni

[Rock Ridge]

WW 748 and Hornady 75gr HPBT Match.

[glockster157]

Has anyone noticed the pattern here. A near max or max charge of a mid range powder, i.e. 748, H335, BLC2, H322, A223, WC844 or 846, Varget, etc. over a good bullet. 223's/5.56's are nit that picky if you have good brass, good barrels, and a good crown. Just be consistent in your powder charges, don't be afraid to push the load to max and use a decent bullet.

[Guest mr.big]

I use 26 grs Varget with just about ever bullet I load,,the 55 Hornady FMJBT the most,,some 68 gr Hornady BTHP .

the Hornady FMJBT is just as accurate in my rifles as anything,,I keep some 60 VMaxes loaded for coyotes