223 Rem. Loads

[LBEdgin]

Looking for some loading help please. I picked a 223 rem. in 1-8 twist bolt action And I'm looking to find some loads for Seirra 69gr hp & 77gr hp. I tried both with Varget and they preformed ok but not great. I have both H335 & CFE223 coming, and would be thankful if anyone would share some pet loads with these two powders and also your coal. Or if think I would be better served with another powder. Thank you in advance for you help.

 

[RegionRat]

https://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/223rem/

It will be tough to beat Varget under an SMK 69 or 77.

Spherical powders are known for their ease of use through powder drops in progressive presses. Don't get me wrong, their accuracy is good, but there is a reason folks still prefer an extruded powder with temperature stability being a good reason. Ball powders do okay, but they are not the equivalent of the extruded powders.

I run H335 and CFE223, but I use it for bulk loading prairie dog ammo where the focus is usually under 450 yards in 40 grain VMax loads. I have to anticipate and compensate those for the temp swings I get in prairie dog country during the summer.

The Sierra 69 and 77 SMK and TMK are more along the lines of XTC ammo at mag length for the 200, 300 yard lines. Most folks single feed a SMK 80 for the 600 yard line.

Part way down the page on that link, you will see the Sierra Manual pages, one for bolt and one for AR. In addition to Varget, N140, RE-15 and ARComp are popular and have been around for a long time.

Not sure why you were not happy with Varget, but could it be expectations are different?
Tell us what you loaded and maybe a little about your process and results. You may be just fine, or you may be off someplace, but there is a whole world of load recipes out there for 223/556 and that may not be helpful.

 

[Dmagna]

Cfe 223 is too temp unstable for me, I use varget in my AI

 

[waspocrew]

Varget is tough to beat in the .223. Since it's not working for you, I've also had great luck with RL-15.

 

[MagnumManiac]

Benchrest works very well, otherwise 748 has never disappointed.

Cheers.

 

[birddog 68]

Typo ^^ I believe. Benchmark has worked great for me with 50-55 grain bullets and is good for most bullet weight in 223. I couldn't get CFE 223 to group with any bullet yet.
IMR 3031 is another good powder for most bullet weight in 223 but temperature sensitive if that bothers you.

 

[GRG]

I didnt chrony these but shoot really well. I just put together a inexpensive round as my son shoots ammo like he doesnt reload. Guess what, he does'nt reload but I have started making him buy powder so he has a little skin in the game. haha

A couple of these rounds I was doing minor tweek on scope adjustment.

I have found I can buy Hornady 55gr FMJ 100ea for $12 so will see if they shoot good in our AR's for steel. 24gr of TAC and it is $29 per lb and very plentiful. Good Load for shooting steel and having fun. Both AR's are Wylde barrels his a PSA and mine an AR Performance and both shoot great With H4895 and Sierra 65- 77gr bullets. I think his prefers 69's and mine really shoots 65's well but not a big difference.

To add I just load to mag length on AR's. Im prior military and to me AR's are for putting bodies on the ground, now it is primarily focused on coyotes under 400yds. Bolt guns for everything else and serious precision. haha Not that they cant do it but just not my thing.

 

[Dirtrax]

Tac for any weight, 8208 heavies, 748, rl 15, and the list goes on.

 

[HandgunHTR]

TAC would be my first recommendation as well. It seems to be working well for the folks who post in the .223 for deer, bear and elk thread over on Rokslide.

 

[mongo4567]

I quit using cfe223, it is too temp sensitive. My pet load for heavies uses 748.

 

[xsn10s]

I like TAC but the pressures can spike fast when I used it during the summer. For the 77 gr I found TAC and H4895 both worked well. The 223 is easy to load for, sometimes a given powder works much better with a different primer.

 

[stovepipe]

Rwpoader 15.5 works like a charm with 77 grain tipped matchking

 

[MagnumManiac]

Yes, autocorrect strikes again…yes Benchmark!

Cheers.

 

[Moondoggie]

I like TAC but the pressures can spike fast when I used it during the summer. For the 77 gr I found TAC and H4895 both worked well. The 223 is easy to load for, sometimes a given powder works much better with a different primer.

^^ try different primers on Varget, cause that'd be my go to.
Have you tried different seating depths?
Different bullets? Every rifle I've every owned had at least one bullet it would 'hurl', and one it loved.
RL 15
only ever used cfe223 for banging steel with AR using 55 grain fmj