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want to try new powder for 3 gun .223 and 55gr


steel1212

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I've got a butt load of 55gr hornadys I've been using and I just used up my last of varget and benchmark. I've been seeing a lot of people using H335 as it meters better than the 2 powders I just mentioned. Anybody got a load for 55gr bullets, 20" 1x8 barrel and X powder? MOA accuracy is a must.

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50-55gr bullet and 25.0-25.5gr H335 is one of those loads where if it doesn't shoot (very) sub-MOA... there is usually a problem w/ the gun or the shooter... but not the load ;)

~26.5gr of Win748 falls into the same category... shoots great, meters well, etc. etc. Still a ball powder, so I wouldn't leave the ammo baking in the hot summer sun or laying in a snow bank in the winter... otherwise should be okay.

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.........

~26.5gr of Win748 falls into the same category... shoots great, meters well, etc. etc. Still a ball powder, so I wouldn't leave the ammo baking in the hot summer sun or laying in a snow bank in the winter... otherwise should be okay.

Good luck with the WW748, I've never had any luck with it, actually bad experiences so be careful if you're working near max loads. FYI, pressure rises with the temperature. If you work up your max loads on a cool day, you'll blow primers on a hot day.

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.........

~26.5gr of Win748 falls into the same category... shoots great, meters well, etc. etc. Still a ball powder, so I wouldn't leave the ammo baking in the hot summer sun or laying in a snow bank in the winter... otherwise should be okay.

Good luck with the WW748, I've never had any luck with it, actually bad experiences so be careful if you're working near max loads. FYI, pressure rises with the temperature. If you work up your max loads on a cool day, you'll blow primers on a hot day.

Agreed, max loads w/ ball powders can make for interesting times...

Thats why that load is a good bit below 'max' (I've talked to guys running 27+gr w/ the same components). They were after velocity; I was after accuracy. 26.3-26.5gr W748 behind a 52gr SMK HPBT is an excellent hunnert-yard one-holer in most guns I've ran it thru. YMMV, of course.

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.........

~26.5gr of Win748 falls into the same category... shoots great, meters well, etc. etc. Still a ball powder, so I wouldn't leave the ammo baking in the hot summer sun or laying in a snow bank in the winter... otherwise should be okay.

Good luck with the WW748, I've never had any luck with it, actually bad experiences so be careful if you're working near max loads. FYI, pressure rises with the temperature. If you work up your max loads on a cool day, you'll blow primers on a hot day.

What powder do you recommend?

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~26.5gr of Win748 falls into the same category... shoots great, meters well, etc. etc. Still a ball powder, so I wouldn't leave the ammo baking in the hot summer sun or laying in a snow bank in the winter... otherwise should be okay.

Yep. 26.8 WW748 under Hornady 55gr FMJBT, not much of a crimp, I just "kiss" the case mouth that's centered in the cannelure. <1" in three rifles now. I've never had a pressure problem but then I live here in the Great NorthWet where we generally don't have much in the lines of extreme temperatures.

Ed

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.........

~26.5gr of Win748 falls into the same category... shoots great, meters well, etc. etc. Still a ball powder, so I wouldn't leave the ammo baking in the hot summer sun or laying in a snow bank in the winter... otherwise should be okay.

Good luck with the WW748, I've never had any luck with it, actually bad experiences so be careful if you're working near max loads. FYI, pressure rises with the temperature. If you work up your max loads on a cool day, you'll blow primers on a hot day.

What powder do you recommend?

I've been very happy with Hodgdon Benchmark.... I'm not at home right now but I think I run 25.5 gr. Check the books to make sure what's safe.

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How does Benchmark run through the Dillon powder measure? I have a pound here that I've been meaning to try (along w/ a lot of other things) but I've still got 4+ lbs of AA2230C that I need to use up for 200SF/RF practice ammo first. The AA2230C was cheap, meters well, and shoots 'well enough', but not as well as H335/W748 for me. Once its gone, it's gone (they don't offer it any more). I 'know' the two ball powders mentioned work great thru nearly any powder measure made, and shoot very well, but as mentioned, they are a bit temp sensitive if you run max loads (I don't for 100/200... 600+ is another story though) and I am open to new options. A lot of my varmint hunting buddies seem to swear by Benchmark, though.

Another option I'm playing with this winter (burning through a lot of 'odds-n-ends' in the powder cabinet) is some Ramshot Xterminator. Ball powder, meters like water, supposed to be similar to H335 in burn rate and it seems to shoot pretty well so far (been working with 53gr SMK flat-base out of a Savage bolt gun w/ a 24" Lothar-Walther 1-8 twist, and a scratch built varmint/target AR w/ a 1-7 twist 20" Wilson)... so far 25.3gr of Xterminator in a Winchester case w/ a Rem 7.5 primer seems to work pretty slick @ 100yds (no chrono data yet, need a new IR screen for my CED Millenium).

Edited by milanuk
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How does Benchmark run through the Dillon powder measure? I have a pound here that I've been meaning to try (along w/ a lot of other things) but I've still got 4+ lbs of AA2230C that I need to use up for 200SF/RF practice ammo first. The AA2230C was cheap, meters well, and shoots 'well enough', but not as well as H335/W748 for me. Once its gone, it's gone (they don't offer it any more). I 'know' the two ball powders mentioned work great thru nearly any powder measure made, and shoot very well, but as mentioned, they are a bit temp sensitive if you run max loads (I don't for 100/200... 600+ is another story though) and I am open to new options. A lot of my varmint hunting buddies seem to swear by Benchmark, though.

Another option I'm playing with this winter (burning through a lot of 'odds-n-ends' in the powder cabinet) is some Ramshot Xterminator. Ball powder, meters like water, supposed to be similar to H335 in burn rate and it seems to shoot pretty well so far (been working with 53gr SMK flat-base out of a Savage bolt gun w/ a 24" Lothar-Walther 1-8 twist, and a scratch built varmint/target AR w/ a 1-7 twist 20" Wilson)... so far 25.3gr of Xterminator in a Winchester case w/ a Rem 7.5 primer seems to work pretty slick @ 100yds (no chrono data yet, need a new IR screen for my CED Millenium).

Wonder what the difference is between Ramshot TAC and Xterminator? Some have posted a liking for the TAC with 55 and 69's.

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1st choice: H335 meters very well and shoot great. A bit temp. sensitive. My best groups are with this powder.

2nd: Tac. It's very clean burning and can be found very cheap. Shoot well and meters well. Limited load data, though.

3rd: 844 cheap mil surplus. only because it is cheap and grouping is ok.

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.........

~26.5gr of Win748 falls into the same category... shoots great, meters well, etc. etc. Still a ball powder, so I wouldn't leave the ammo baking in the hot summer sun or laying in a snow bank in the winter... otherwise should be okay.

Good luck with the WW748, I've never had any luck with it, actually bad experiences so be careful if you're working near max loads. FYI, pressure rises with the temperature. If you work up your max loads on a cool day, you'll blow primers on a hot day.

What powder do you recommend?

I've been very happy with Hodgdon Benchmark.... I'm not at home right now but I think I run 25.5 gr. Check the books to make sure what's safe.

Thanks :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
.........

~26.5gr of Win748 falls into the same category... shoots great, meters well, etc. etc. Still a ball powder, so I wouldn't leave the ammo baking in the hot summer sun or laying in a snow bank in the winter... otherwise should be okay.

Good luck with the WW748, I've never had any luck with it, actually bad experiences so be careful if you're working near max loads. FYI, pressure rises with the temperature. If you work up your max loads on a cool day, you'll blow primers on a hot day.

Agreed, max loads w/ ball powders can make for interesting times...

Thats why that load is a good bit below 'max' (I've talked to guys running 27+gr w/ the same components). They were after velocity; I was after accuracy. 26.3-26.5gr W748 behind a 52gr SMK HPBT is an excellent hunnert-yard one-holer in most guns I've ran it thru. YMMV, of course.

I've been playing with 748 and am not particularly experienced in any of this, but working up to 27.1 grains with the Hornady 55 was not going to make power factor in a 16" barrel - assuming I'm understanding the rules right and 160 is minor PF floor. I get 2899fps or 159.4 PF with 27.1 grains, so I sought to go higher based on working up slowly and experience from others here. I'm not a velocity nut. I just want to make ammo that meets the criteria in the games I want to play. 26.2 grains is the max published load as of right now. I understand that reloading particularly beyond published max loads is at your own risk, but W748 seemed common so I used it as a 1st load. Hope I don't blow anything up.

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  • 3 weeks later...
In America the PF for minor is 150.

Well Sheeeoooooot.. . Are you serious? that means I've got all kinds of room to spare and still make 150 PF. I guess I reserve that batch of 400 I just loaded up at 27.4 grains for cold weather. It's been unseasonably cold in the Bay Area these last couple of weeks.

Back to the drawing board I guess. I had only measured velocity, and having determined I have to push way way past max load, I figured I didn't have much room to wiggle, so accuracy would just have to be whatever it was as I loaded for the velocity I needed. Now that I can back it down, but I'll have to figure out how far.

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