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My recipe for 5.56 for 3 gun, am I okay?


cbmax

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Hello,

I am working up a load for my 3 gun rifle with a 16 inch barrel.  Yesterday I shot the rifle with this load:

1) Once fired 5.56 brass

2) Primer pocket swaged and cleaned

3) 55 grain Hornady bullets with cannelure

4) 24.8 grains of IMR 8208 XBR

5) 2.215 OAL

6)  CCI Benchrest primers

I chronographed 5 rounds and got an average velocity of 2,850 FPS. Accuracy was plenty sufficient.  So the questions is should I up the charge powder charge to get a little more velocity?  I will be shooting the rifle in a club level rifle only match this Saturday.  For what it's worth, the maximum distance is usually about 200 yards. I think I am slightly below a minimum power factor, but Im not sure.  I will be shooting Tac Ops.

Chris

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Yeah that's plenty safe especially with a 5.56 chamber or wylde. 

Benchrest primers are not needed for what you're doing. 

Putting more powder in will depend on your rifle.  It depends on what pressure signs you're seeing and how it feels to shoot.  You may get more velocity but it might jump more (or less?). All you can do is test it.  If you're powder dropping with something like a dillon, check at least 10 drops in a row to see how consistent it is.  I can not get a dillon powder drop to have a variance less than .8 grain on a stick powder like 8208. When you get closer to the pressure limits that can get dangerous.

 

Nick

 

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I am using the BR primers only because that is what I had available.

I use a Dillon 550B.  I get a little variance in powder charge, but not .8 grains. I know the load is safe.  What I am trying to determine is if I have enough power to knock down steel out to 200 yards.

 

Thanks.

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Gotcha. I wasn't sure on the velocity aspect as factory ammo with the same Bullet weight would be closer to 3,000 fps. The load seems to work, but I need further experimentation.

Edited by cbmax
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Your way good with that load. 

I load 24 grains of 8208 behind a 55 at 2.255 and I kill steel at 200.

Also I'm using the Hornady powder measure and I get almost no variation in drops. 

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Hello,

I am working up a load for my 3 gun rifle with a 16 inch barrel.  Yesterday I shot the rifle with this load:

1) Once fired 5.56 brass

2) Primer pocket swaged and cleaned

3) 55 grain Hornady bullets with cannelure

4) 24.8 grains of IMR 8208 XBR

5) 2.215 OAL

6)  CCI Benchrest primers

I chronographed 5 rounds and got an average velocity of 2,850 FPS. Accuracy was plenty sufficient.  So the questions is should I up the charge powder charge to get a little more velocity?  I will be shooting the rifle in a club level rifle only match this Saturday.  For what it's worth, the maximum distance is usually about 200 yards. I think I am slightly below a minimum power factor, but Im not sure.  I will be shooting Tac Ops.

Chris



Looks good to me. I would use cheaper primers, I like Rem 7 1/2, but nothing wrong with the BR4's.
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I use the same combo of Hornady 55 FMJBT-C seated to center of Cannellure and 8208XBR except I use 25.5 gr. and crimped lightly on a lee FCD.  Velocity is close to 3000 out of 14.5in barrel no pressure signs but I use only LC5.56 brass.  Groups decent at 1-1.5 MOA to 100.  I'm sure I can go lower on the powder down to 24gr.

I love 8208XBR it is surprisingly clean and has a wide node.  Meters plenty accurate out of 1050 maybe .1-.2 gr variation which I don't mind, since these are plinkers, but high quality plinkers nonetheless.

I also use 8208XBR for my 308 gas gun on lighter bullets up to 155gr.

I only use CCI #41 military primers in all my 5.56 AR's for peace of mind.  I believe the #41's are closer to a magnum SR primer with a hard cup.

Edited by chrishoesel
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I quit using the #41 primers because I would get 2 or 3 in every thousand that were so hard the wouldn't go off in my AR. Rem 7 1/2 have never failed me and are always most consistent primer I have used. I also like the Federal AR Match but they are impossible to find reliably.

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  • 2 months later...

Does the rifle shoot this load to your needs? Can you hit the targets you need to hit? I would not spend the extra money on the BR primers since that level of consistency isn't needed for your application. When I ran out of wolf srp I went to Winchester because they were on sale and I have had no problems with those primers in an ar platform. 

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