I know this is an old topic but i was wondering if anyone is still working up loads in the 18" barrel. I am currently loading 123gr Hornady SST with Hornady brass and 29.7gr of CFE223. right now i am getting an average of 2400fps with a bear creek heavy fluted barrel and getting .8 5 shot groups at 100 yards. Max loads for CFE223 is 31.2gr of CFE223 (according to the book) but not sure how much extra velocity i will get with going up in the powder since i might run into unburnt powder as well so not really helping just wasting powder.
