so, i picked up the latest copy of Hodgdon's magazine. CFE 223. wow is all i have to say. reading the article inside, i was blown away by the accuracy, speed and cleanliness of this powder. The only problem i am finding so far is that no load listing for 220 swift. that has been a complaint with me about my swift since i got one. if this really does work, it could be game changer. I have, with other powders, used load numbers from the 22-250 and started low to work up. probably what i will have to do here. i was reading and they are showing just under 4K with 52's from a 22-250. I love shooting 52's from my swift and i would be blown away to get that velocity within pressure and the bonus of easier clean up. thoughts, comments??
Cfe 223
- Thread starter greggohrc
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B23
Well-Known Member
Greg, you should give Hodgdon a call 1-913-362-9455. I called them yesterday because I was looking for some load information using CFE223 in my 223AI and they got me hooked up right away. Less than 5min and I had what I was looking for.
bubbagump11
Active Member
Might want to ask them how well the Superformance worked in the Swift while you're at it- if it's speed you want, that powder is getting 100 feet per second on the CFE with a few different bullets out of the -250, with lower pressures?! I've got some of the Superformance and the max load they've got, isn't max in my T3 Tikka. I haven't pushed it that far, but half grain past max isn't showing pressure.
I'd also like to try the CFE so let us know how it works out for you.
I also talked to the techies at Hodgdon and found out that the powder used in Hornady's Superformance ammo line is NOT the same blend as the powder offered to reloaders. I was wondering why there wasn't load info for the 50 gr bullets or lighter and they let me know that they weren't getting the velocity increase with it that they were with the heavier bullets. I still might try to stabilize a 60 gr pill out of my 1-14" barrel because that 3738 fps they have posted with a 60,000 psi is quite appealing.
I'd also like to try the CFE so let us know how it works out for you.
I also talked to the techies at Hodgdon and found out that the powder used in Hornady's Superformance ammo line is NOT the same blend as the powder offered to reloaders. I was wondering why there wasn't load info for the 50 gr bullets or lighter and they let me know that they weren't getting the velocity increase with it that they were with the heavier bullets. I still might try to stabilize a 60 gr pill out of my 1-14" barrel because that 3738 fps they have posted with a 60,000 psi is quite appealing.
I purchased a 1 lb container of CFE 223 brought it home opened it to look at what it looked like as I wanted to use it in my 220 swift. no loads posted so called Hodgdon asking for advice on the 220 swift. Its not what I wanted to hear "not recommended for the 220 swift even marginal in the 22-250" Went back to my reloading room and pretended I didn't make that call. Being in my early 60's I'm allowed to ignore professional advice. I used the low end 22-250- data and went from there. started with 36 grns pushing a 52grn hpbt.
rifle is a 1994savage with 26" barrel 1 in 12 twist. about a 1000 rnds through the barrel.
attached are targets used to try to develop a load using CFE 223 no signs of excessive pressure until the 38.4 grn load that showed maybe a bit of cratering the primer.
steve
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I've used a lot of CFE223 in the 22-250 behind 55 gr. ballistic tips for prairie dogs. It gives better velocity than just about anything else in that round so I don't know why hodgdon's tech would say it's marginal for the 22-250. I've never had a problem finding an accurate load with it. The only negative I can say about it is it's a bit less temperature stable than some other powders so I switched to AR-Comp for my 22-250 PD loads, I can get a barrel pretty hot out there and didn't want temp stability issues. It's the canister grade version of the powder used in the current issue M855 5.56 ammo. It's a very versatile powder and not much out there will beat it for velocity.
I went away from CFE 223 in my 204 for the same reason.
