Which powder? 5.56 55gr FMJ

[18Bravo]

H335 with the lighter 52gr to 55gr bullets. Can't speak for the 50's since I don't shoot them. For bolt guns I load 25.2 gr of H335. I've also decent results with Benchmark.

[waco]

I like H335
Sub half inch 5 shot groups at 100 yards with 25gr and a 55gr Nosler Varmagedon.

[M-Tecs]

H335 has been my go to powder. Still is with 40 grain bullets but I tried 8 pounds of CFE 223 this year for prairie dogs and 55's. Really liked the increased velocity and accuracy was the same to so I ordered a bunch more CFE 223.

[Rick Hodges]

I use 748....because I have a lot of it. Mostly with 55gr. fmj, 55gr. sierra BTsp and 60gr. Hornady HP's. It works good so I see no reason to change. Try them both and see what works for you.

[gnoahhh]

I was a fan of H-335 over all the rest in my 1-9 AR with 55gr. Hornady SP's, and then I tried CFE-223. Now I'm hooked on that stuff.

[Loudy13]

BLC-2 ...I like that it measures consistently

[Big Boomer]

Can't speak for W748 ... but some old W844 that uses H335 data (from Pat McDonald, Massillon, O) works well. 26 or so grains in a Ruger Mini-14 and a Ruger AR-15 works very well with Winchester's 55 gr. fmj bullets (same as SS109 I was told). Am 'puter challenged so do not know how to post pics but out of the Ruger AR-15, three rounds touching vertically with two rounds away from the first three rounds but all within 1" at 100 yds. From sand bags, of course. Big Boomer

[MUSTANG]

Can't speak for W748 ... but some old W844 that uses H335 data (from Pat McDonald, Massillon, O) works well. 26 or so grains in a Ruger Mini-14 and a Ruger AR-15 works very well with Winchester's 55 gr. fmj bullets (same as SS109 I was told). Am 'puter challenged so do not know how to post pics but out of the Ruger AR-15, three rounds touching vertically with two rounds away from the first three rounds but all within 1" at 100 yds. From sand bags, of course. Big Boomer

Oh the glory days of relatively inexpensive W844 and W846 powders. You can still occasionally find them for sale, but at the same price or greater than all the "Commercial" offerings. I have a few ounces of each left; but for 55/60 grain 223's now use H335, W748, IMR4198, ...and for heavy .223's I use W760.

[308Jeff]

BLC-2 ...I like that it measures consistently

BLC-2 has performed well for me in both 223 and 308, but it only seems to want to group well with charges near start level.

[BCB]

Oh the glory days of relatively inexpensive W844 and W846 powders. You can still occasionally find them for sale, but at the same price or greater than all the "Commercial" offerings. I have a few ounces of each left; but for 55/60 grain 223's now use H335, W748, IMR4198, ...and for heavy .223's I use W760.

Indeed concerning the WC-844...

I went through two 8-pound jugs of it in the 223 Remington, 30-30 Winchester, and 7-30 Waters...

And now am about half way through my last jug of WC-844. I wrote the price on it and all the hazmet fees and taxes are included (the hazmet was divided amoung 6 kegs a couple of us bought). The price was $60.84. The previous 2 jugs were even less...

Gone are those days for sure...

Good-luck...BCB

[1browski]

I still have a couple pounds of WC844 and WC846. Loaded a lot of 223s with the 844 and 308s with the 846. I have seen the 844 recently but definitely not at the old prices.

[MT Gianni]

I have a 1 in 7 twist that loves 748 and 70 gr bullets. That being said I truly believe Winchester will break your heart and discontinue any powder at a moments notice.

[fcvan]

I like H335
Sub half inch 5 shot groups at 100 yards with 25gr and a 55gr Nosler Varmagedon.

Nice shooting WACO, but you missed the dime.

I started 30 years ago with 21.5 grains of IMR 4198. My Mini 14 and AR 15s like it. Oh ya, I tried 748 and liked it but I buy 8lb jugs generally, and was only able to score a pound of 748 at the time.
My single shot likes 3 grains of bullseye under a NOE 62 RN PB PC, but the squirrels don't. My Mini, ARs, and Single Shot all like 14.5 grains of IMR 4227 for about 2250fps under the same NOE pill, powder coated of course.

[M-Tecs]

H335 is still my go to powder for 40 grain bullets but for 55 grain bullets I switched to Hodgdon CFE 223 this year. I went through 8 pounds of it last year shooting prairie dogs and I was very happy with it so I ordered 40 pounds of CFE 223. That will last me about 3 years.

[45workhorse]

25.0 grains of h335, 55 grain fmj. Just like factory load same poi/poa. Works for me.

[dougader]

I used a lot of AA2230 and some 2460 in the past and was happy with it. I've used H335 but stuck with the 2230 for the 55 grain fmj's.

[Lloyd Smale]

aa2230 if I have to buy commercial 335 if I cant find 2230. I still have quite a bit of wc844 and wc846 that I will use until its gone. bottom line though is if accuracy is your main concern then 2230 is hard to beat.

[Hickok]

AA2230, have used it for years.

[Electric88]

I've had good results with H335 in the 223, using the same (or similar) load as Larry and a few others have posted. I've also used TAC with great results.

When I first started to reload 223, it was during one of the powder droughts during the Obama administration. All I could find at the time around me was IMR-3031, and that also worked pretty well. I would use it again if I couldn't find some of the listed alternatives.

[Streetwalker]

I have a 1/9 twist barrel on my rifle and both 748 and 335 work very well with the accuracy edge going to 748. However, I really like Tac and CFE223 for accuracy and cleanliness plus they are easier to locate in my area near Reno, Nevada.