Powder preference for .223 Rem..

Arby

I'm going to load .223 Rem and 55gr pills with Varget. Does anyone have any other powders that they prefer? Why?

Win 748 and BL-2(c) looked pretty good also...any comments?

guntech59

I have used W748, but not the others.

My powder of choice for 55gr would be IMR 8208 XBR.

skyfish

For 55 grain pills. Xterminator by Ramshot if using progressive. Accurate 2015 if not. XBR 8208 would be slower powder, but may try. Varget, Acc 2520 are better for heavier bullets. 68 and up.

BHAVIN

Although I love Varget and load with it for several calibers I use H335 for the .223. It measures great, is easily found at shops and is cost effective. It is a very accurate powder. One of the great things about the .223 is the wide variety of powders that shoot very well in it. BLC(2) also works well. Both H335 & BLC(2) are used in U.S. military 223. Surplus powder is sold as WCC844 & WCC846 respectively.

woodchuckjohn

748 is a great powder, meters well and consistantly. Gave me great groups and with Sierra Blitz does a great job on woodchucks.

dcs shooters

For 55gr I use BL-C2 or 2230. H-335 works good too.
I use Varget for heavy 223.

midnightrunpaintballer

I tuned my loads to .40" 5 shot groups at 100 yds out of my remington 700 .223 using W748.

cpermd

H335
BL C2

Justjump

748
Always been a great powder...

shoff14

Varget
BLC-2
H335

I want to try XBR 8208 because it is said to measure pretty well. Varget just plain meters like crap and I find it a drag to measure every case.

5mmgunguy

748 is the best.

Hollywood

748
H335
BLC-2
[;)]

jimbowby

[8D] Extreme accuracy, out of a run of AA2230c and Sierra 55 gr HPs

[:o)][:o)] JIMBO

Mk 19

Over 50gr: Varget
Under 55gr: Benchmark

Subsonic loads: Bluedot

Read this article, it'll tell you more about loading the .223 than you ever wanted to know:
http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.html

sandwarrior

Arby,

I like H4895X as opposed to Varget for that weight. When the load gets up to 60 gr. bullets to 75, I like Varget better. It's just the speed difference between the two. All the things that were done to Varget were done to the newer H4895X (X=Extreme). Again, it's just speed. And I should mention that, that is an AR load made for a little more speed. My accuracy load for .223 is 23.8 gr. of AA2015 out of my bolt gun. I can't push it as hard as H4895X or Varget because it's too fast. But, it's extremely consistent with the lighter pills, esp w/52's too.

Out of my AR, I use Re-15 for the heaviest pills I can shoot. It's slow enough and produces great pressure. My Ar I might add is a 5.56 chamber not a .223. I have to back down .7 gr. to not get the pressure signs in my bolt gun.

As far as Win 748 and BL-C(2) both are very good powders for the .223 and 5.56. You do have to anticipate though what temp changes they will have. You cannot work up a load in Winter and not work it back up again in spring. They are both that temp sensitive. At least up here in the North Country where I've tested them both at -18F on up to +90F. At any given temperature with a load that is reasonably below max, they will produce consistent groups.

So, there you have it. I think you're just a shade on the slow side using Varget, but it will shoot accurately.

I like AA2015 and H4895X for the light stuff in a .223 Chamber. AA2015 is what I would use instead of the Varget in your case for precision shooting. Otherwise H4895X is much more plentiful and does nearly as good a job.
Heavier, I like RE-15 (acknowledging it's a double based powder and a bit more sensitive to temp than Varget.) And for Accuracy loads w/heavier bullets, I like Varget.

for general loads 748, Bl-C(2), AA2520, TAC, X-terminator (lighter bullets) are all good.

Arby

Thanks for all the good info on powder.

I chose Varget to load 55gr pills thinking that I can the fastest muzzle velocity (about 3100fps) without getting in to the max load limits. Win 748 would do the same but it looks like BL-C2 might be even better in that respect.

I could go up to 60gr which is about the heaviest pill that the Galil 1:12 twist barrel can optimally handle...anything heavier would probably require 1:9 or 1:7 twist.

I am not looking for this thing to be a "Tack Hammer" but a nice tight group would still be nice. I will work up about eight 5-10 round tuner loads to see what works best...if Varget doesn't work out Y'all have given me some good options to work with.

Using a digital dispenser and scale, which of the three (Varget, Win 748, BL-C2) would feed the best.