Best powder for 62 - 68 gr. .223 bullets?

[Cosmic_Charlie]

With all the fast twist AR barrels out there now what kind of powder are folks using for heavier bullets? I really wish 1/9 twist barrels were still common but all mine are 1/8.

[Hick]

For cast I use a lot of HP-38, W231 and Tightgroup. They let me get 1" at 100 yards. My heaviest bullet is 62 grains. Typically these loads are in the 5 grain range-- which is not much in the case, but they meter and burn well so it works out.

[high standard 40]

Jacketed or cast? my favorite powder for 69 gr jacketed in my AR is Varget. For 65 grain jacketed in my bolt rifle I use N133. These combinations have yielded the best accuracy in those rifles.

[bigwagon]

Varget or RL15.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Thanks guys. I ran out of 2520 and 3031. Got 8 lbs. of 2230 coming but that is better suited to 55 grain bullets. The 3031 worked well with 62 gr. fmj.

[lotech]

H4895 for jacketed bullets and TAC is a fairly close second.

[sigep1764]

Ive been using 748. Lots of loads in the Lyman manual and its a ball powder. Nothing meters better.

[Plate plinker]

Thanks guys. I ran out of 2520 and 3031. Got 8 lbs. of 2230 coming but that is better suited to 55 grain bullets. The 3031 worked well with 62 gr. fmj.

I ran 2230 until I depleted that supply.

Question here are there other brands that are the exact same as 2230 under a different label?

[dougader]

I ran 2230 until I depleted that supply.

Question here are there other brands that are the exact same as 2230 under a different label?

I have the Western 1 manual. Under the 223 Remington section it says:

"Ramshot X-Terminator (Ballistically similar to Accurate 2230 in this cartridge)."

[Larry Gibson]

AA2230 is a bit fast burning for the 62-68 gr jacketed bullets in the 223/5.56.

To duplicate M855 ballistics (2950 -3000 fps from 20" barrel) with 62 - 64 gr bullet AA2460 an Winchester 748 are excellent powders to use. For the best in target accuracy with 68 gr bullets Varget is the powder of choice.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I feel fortunate to have found a jug of 2230. It will have to do until supplies loosen up. I imagine it will be a while before we see the likes of Varget.

[ebb]

748 or 4895

[Eddie Southgate]

I have the Western 1 manual. Under the 223 Remington section it says:

"Ramshot X-Terminator (Ballistically similar to Accurate 2230 in this cartridge)."

Key word being " Similar " . That does not always mean exactly the same .

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Was able to get some AA 2460 and some Ramshot Tac. We shall see how these do with 16" & 18" barrels.

[recumbent]

Varget and CFE223

[dougader]

Key word being " Similar " . That does not always mean exactly the same .

If you compare the printed load data of the 2 powders, you'll see it is identical.

I would think starting low and working up loads slowly is the way to go, as always, and any difference between the 2 might be as great as the lot-to-lot difference of the individual powders.

[K43]

Was able to get some AA 2460 and some Ramshot Tac. We shall see how these do with 16" & 18" barrels.

Tac is wonderful through a Uniflow. I check every 10th round and it's spot on as long as I use the same up + tap, down + tap consistently (I turned my handles upside down because it feels more natural to me). I haven't used it in a progressive, but it should be really good there.

Edit: To answer the original question, I use VV N135 for 68/69 grain match ammunition.

[1006]

IMR 8208 has worked well for me. I ran a test in a 18inch AR15 in which I hand weighed the powder of 25 rounds loaded with Varget and used the Dillon Powder Measure to load 25 with IMR 8208. Varget does not meter well in the Dillon, and I do not like to weigh each charge by hand, but I like the performance of Varget. The velocity of each load was very closely matched, as they had the same basic point of impact at 600yards. The bullets were 75Grain BTHP from Hornady. The results showed the 8208 to be the most accurate. The Varget hand weighed accuracy did not match the 8208 loaded from the Dillon.

[goryshaw]

I shoot HiPower so matches rifles are 1/8 or 1/7 usually for 77gr hpbt over RL-15 for about 2750 fps pretty much the standard load for hipower.

[Greg S]

Varget is a great powder but meters like rice. For 55-69 I like 748 and TAC, 69-80, TAC and H322, 55 and under Benchmark. For 55-62 I like AA2230 and TAC.

[centershot]

Varget or RL15.

^^^ This! ^^^

[xringshutr]

Any of the previously mentioned powders will work very well for heavy 223 Rem/5.56 loads. I'll add IMR 4166, IMR 4064, Power Pro Varmint, AR Comp, VV140, and even BL-C2(a little too slow). Although Varget works well, it is a tick slow in burn rate to maximize efficiency in the 223 case. I've had my best accuracy and velocity with 8208 and VV135. I too am a High-power shooter and have fired and tested a LOT of load combinations. With 68-77 gr bullets 8208 is my favorite, with RL15 a close second.

Sent from my moto g stylus using Tapatalk

[BadgerShooter]

I really like AA2520 for heavy bullets in the 223 as well as lots of other calibers. Shooters World Match Rifle is supposedly the same Lovex powder although I have heard that AA2520 is no longer made by them but it is as identical for most practical purposes. (No end of rumors...) I bought lots of it before the sillyness so I better like it. I've used Re-15 and Varget a lot too. In my experience, Re-15 was slightly more accurate and Varget was a bit less temperature sensitive, YMMV Both were great powders.

[NuJudge]

Beware of 748 in hot weather, because it has given me pressure spikes. In cool weather, I have used a lot of 748 in the .223 with 52 grain bullets, with excellent results, but not with heavier bullets.

Varget is the Hodgdon short grain equivalent of 4064. I have gotten excellent results with 4064-speed powders in the .308 and .30-'06, but just OK results with the .223.

In the .223 I have always gotten good results with Reloader 15 and jacketed bullets, especially in the 69 and 80 grain class.

I used to shoot a lot of 4895 in the .223, but switched to Reloader 15 when 4895 became unavailable, and never switched back.

Long ago I shot a lot of cast in a .223 AR15, and I used 4198.

[Lex]

I use variety and 4064 with the 69gr bullets.

[murf205]

Varget is good but try to find some. IMR 4166 is about as close as it get performance wise and is temp stable. In my LGS it shows up fairly regularly but Varget is a fond memory. My CZ 527 223 loves BL-c2 but it is dirty. WW748 is not quite as dirty and both shoot well with 69gr Sierra MatchKings. I use CCI 450 mag primers with BL-c2 and 748 but TAC gets standard primers.