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Author Topic: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?  (Read 10643 times)

Offline acnewman55

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Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« on: March 19, 2015, 12:17:53 PM »
I'm not a re-loader yet but I'm planning to start sometime this year.

I know that components can be hard to come by, so I figured I'd start keeping eyes out for them when I'm at my local shops.

I'm curious which powders are commonly used for reloading 223 for Semi-autos?

Offline h20hunter

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2015, 12:20:36 PM »
Varget is my first choice.

Offline 300rum

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2015, 12:24:00 PM »
H335 meters like water and can be used for a wide range of bullet weights and is very accurate.  Varget is a good powder but feels like grinding your teeth when you meter it. 

Offline stevemiller

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2015, 12:42:07 PM »
I lime IMR always available meters good and shoots great.also use it in several other cal. :twocents:
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Offline JimmyHoffa

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2015, 12:50:29 PM »
H-322 is pretty good.

Offline Jingles

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2015, 01:01:58 PM »
Once you decide to reload you are going to find that different manufacturers recommend different powders for their bullets even different weights of the same bullet style then you get into the different calibers more choices.
 As an examplefor Sierria 60grain Hp for 223 you can use any of the following"
Viht N130
IMR4198
Viht1 N133
RE-7
IMR3031
H322
AA-2230
748
H335
BL-C(2)
IMR-4895
Viht N135
IMR 4064
IMR 4320
Some of the above powders will give you speeds out to 3100 FPS with average being in the 2900 FPS range
The sierra recommended load for accuracy is 25 grain of 748 and the hunting load is IMR 4320 25.4 grains
  So a lot is going to depend on what you want to shoot and what is available and how serious you want to get into accuracy / hunting and reloading
 So breaking it all down to one simple sentence . There is not one universal powder for reloading regardless of what some say...


Disclaimer the above information was taken from the Sierra Rifle reloading Manual 4th Edition
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Offline andersonjk4

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2015, 01:02:39 PM »
I haven't tried any of the new copper fouling reduction powders, but if I was reloading for high volume shooting such as an AR-15 I would definetly look into them.  Hodgdon recently released CFE-223 specifically for this and IMR has the new IMR-4166 Enduron.  Just a thought. 

Offline actionshooter

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2015, 02:15:32 PM »
 I like the performance from Varget, but it doesn't meter the best.
 I have had good luck with H322 and Win 748 in the past also.
 The powder somewhat depends on what bullet you want to shoot.

Offline DJ_Mack

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2015, 02:28:19 PM »
The first powder I used for .223, was Western Powders X-Terminator with 55gr v-max bullets.  I hunt small game with it and target shoot.  I found that 22gr gave me sub moa groupings.  But I was a newbie and only bought 1lb.  Just remember that depending on how much you want to reload depends on how much powder you use.  I wish I would have bought as much of it as possible, because I have yet to see it since.  It metered well and shot great.  Whatever you use you will want to buy enough that you can have it on hand.  Now, I have to go through and find out what powder grains I need for whatever powders I can find.  Takes a lot of time.  Good luck.
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Offline thinkingman

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2015, 02:39:28 PM »
Varget is my first choice.
Varget is probably the most useful rifle powder there is.
Benchmark is another.
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Offline 300rum

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2015, 02:51:36 PM »
Good note, I don't even buy one-pounders anymore.  Order a few 8 lbers online when you find it that way it will be from the same lot too, which can make a difference depending on the powder. 

The first powder I used for .223, was Western Powders X-Terminator with 55gr v-max bullets.  I hunt small game with it and target shoot.  I found that 22gr gave me sub moa groupings.  But I was a newbie and only bought 1lb.  Just remember that depending on how much you want to reload depends on how much powder you use.  I wish I would have bought as much of it as possible, because I have yet to see it since.  It metered well and shot great.  Whatever you use you will want to buy enough that you can have it on hand.  Now, I have to go through and find out what powder grains I need for whatever powders I can find.  Takes a lot of time.  Good luck.

Offline b23

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #11 on: March 19, 2015, 04:12:21 PM »
Bullet weight has a lot to do with which powder/s work best for said bullet.

I've used a lot of Benchmark.  It's an excellent powder choice for bullets up to about 55 grains.  It'll work for heavier bullets than that but there are better powder choices for the 55 and over bullets. 

H335, Win748, Ramshot TAC, are all good universal powders that can cover a wide range of bullet weights, well. 

Varget is a good powder and usually produces good accuracy but it's bulky and the 223 case is small so you can't hardly get enough of it in the case to produce very good velocities.  It'll work if that's all you have but there are certainly better powders to use in a 223.

Online jrebel

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2015, 06:10:40 PM »
Can't speak for .223 but for .308 the CFE 223 powder works pretty well.  Less is more and volocoties are high.  Start with the lowest reccomended charge
.....it will exceed volocities of other powder max loads.

Offline Hunting7mm

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #13 on: March 19, 2015, 06:32:36 PM »
Alliant Reloader 10x...  :tup:
Love God and try to be good!!! Phil Robertson

Offline usmc74

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Re: Which powder for reloading 223 for AR15?
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2015, 07:45:59 PM »
I shoot my AR for competition

1:8 twist, 77 gr SMK, 24.1 gr RL-15.

I have hit all 10's at 600 yards.  Not the fastest, but consistent.

Check the reloading page here: http://www.njhighpower.com/

 


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