loading .223 - what powders meter well?

[EJSG19]

After having my very first experience handloading what I hope to be accurate loads for a .223 rifle, weighing by hand each charge, and trickling onto the scale by hand also...

What powders meter out well through a powder measure on say a Dillon 550? If I'm within .1 or .2 grains I'm happy but if its better then great. only powder I have right now is Reloader 15, how about a few others to keep an eye out for which will flow well?

Thanks for the input.

Also, shooting between 55 grain and 80 grain bullets only.

[jac714]

I have had good luck with Winchester 748 for the .223.

[Keith]

I love Varget but my 550 doesn't.

I've pretty much decided to stick with 335 or 748.

[Einthoven's Triangle]

For light wt bullets to mid wt. bullets I would look at N133 or H322 or H335 meaning 40 to 55gr.
For mid wt bullets to heavy wt bullets there is nothing that will beat TAC.

748 is a very temp sensitive powder to be working up loads in the cold....you may get some surprises if you are using loads to the high end when shooting in the summer temps.

Varget can be tough with higher charges in 223 with light wt bullets through the DPM.....the DPM needs to have so polishing and radiusing of the powder funnel. And, it is just not fun to use.

[JFettig]

I've always used H335 after I found that W748 wasn't allowing me to get even close to velocity before I lost accuracy. I could only get 2600fps out of W748 before accuracy opened up(and quick). H335 is extremely accurate in my guns.
I use it primarily on 55gr bullets but I have used it on others.

I now use Varget on my .204 and its not fun to get it in the cases.

Jon

[macphisto]

I've had good results with H335 as well.

[45usp45]

I've burned up a few 8lb jugs of h335 loading 222,223 over the years with good results.

[pastorpaul]

when i got my m4gery and started to reload for the .223, john at gunstop leaned me toward h335. altho i have not used others (except for an imr powder that did not flow well) i am pleased with the consistency and performance of the h335.

[EJSG19]

I see. Thanks for all the input. Sounds like some of the more popular powders will meter pretty well. I have some R15 on hand, that I may use for handloading, as its a stick powder, even though its pretty small compared to Varget. I'll look into some of the others for slapping together (term used loosely) some good loads on the Dillon.

With anything else will just use the Dillon as sort of a single stage.

Is it typical that small rifle primers well get turned upside down when using the magazine tube and auto primer feed? Seems wasteful to see those come out the wrong way, and its time consuming to pull the case back out after priming just to check to see if the primer is right side up. Wondered if other 550 users ran into that?

[Vlad]

The only time that I had primer flip issues is when the primer arm and metal it rides on was dirty and the arm was not moving smoothly.

[Pinnacle]

Try AA2230

This IS THE powder that was specifically developed for high speed loading of 223 for the military - it flows well - provides adequate gas pressure to operate an AR and is a very nice clean burner as well.

Pretty stable stuff.

[Einthoven's Triangle]

You could always get the Powder Die Funnel and hand dump Varget. If you are after bulk decent ammo then look for TAC with the mid to hvy wt. I can not imagine not finding a great accurate load with H322 and 50gr bullet of just about any variety. A side bar: I once had XP100 in 223. I consulted a good source......he told me H322 and a 53gr Sierra HP with some WSR's. There was not one of the trial loads @100 yds that was over an inch.....all from a whimpy 15in bbl and Burris 2xto7x scope.....prone off sand bags!

I sure wish that a fellow would have bought a lot of AA2200 years ago! But, I have never been a real fan of Accurate powders due to the the temp sensitivity..... especially in 2520 I once played with....And, another temperature story comes from way back when the AR15 A2's appeared.....and the first heavier target bullet that came out was the Sierra 69OTM.....and back then Sierra indicated the go to powder was 748......well when shooting a match.....in the ND heat of July we had some issues......one blew primer into the lower......locked up the gun tight! Had to totally take the lower a part! And, well the loads were worked up in the cool spring air in the 40's..............

Varget is about as good as it gets for temp insensitivity. But good luck finding any! My best overall accuracy in the 223 vote would be Varget from light to heavy.

N133 and H322 are darn tough to beat for sure. IMR4895 with Sierra 55gr Sierra HP is an awesome choice.

[pastorpaul]

IMR4895 with Sierra 55gr Sierra HP is an awesome choice.

that's the imr powder i used but couldn't remember the #. it is also the one i used in my .222 varmint loads.

[Sigfan220]

I have had very good luck with 335 and 50gr Hornady SPSX bullets. Works well on dog hunts regardless of temp changes. Meters better in the Dillon than my Redding.