223 Powders

N

ninosdemente

New member
Hello all, I load 223 with Varget. I am getting low on supply and wanting to start loading with different powders that I can possibly find over the shelf at Cabelas. I try to order online when there is free haz mat or a low haz mat fee/shipping. I checked last night and noticed it is out of stock on the sites I go to for this powder.

What other powders can be used? I know I won't know how good it works for me until I try it out. I have some Nosler CC 69gr and just bought some Sierra Tipped Matchking 69 gr. First time trying the Sierra when I get them from Midway.
 
ninosdemente said:
Hello all, I load 223 with Varget. I am getting low on supply and wanting to start loading with different powders that I can possibly find over the shelf at Cabelas. I try to order online when there is free haz mat or a low haz mat fee/shipping. I checked last night and noticed it is out of stock on the sites I go to for this powder.



What other powders can be used? I know I won't know how good it works for me until I try it out. I have some Nosler CC 69gr and just bought some Sierra Tipped Matchking 69 gr. First time trying the Sierra when I get them from Midway.
Click to expand...
I use H-335 and Ramshot TAC.

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IMR 4320 is close to Varget on some tables, and is one choice to experiment with that has shorter grains than IMR4064, which Varget (as ADI's AR 2208) was designed to compete with.
 
I am not into super accurate shooting but just about any powder in the correct range has worked well for me .223. IMR 4895, H335, and Bechmark were all goof performers for me.
 
You can use CFE 223, IMR4320, IMR4064, IMR4166, Winchester 748, Hodgdon BL-C(2), IMR4895, H335, IMR8208XBR, IMR3031, Benchmark, H322, IMR4198, any of them are listed for the 69gr. round.
 
Thank you everyone for their input. Sure is quite a list and difficult to choose from, lol. Will compare given suggestions to what is on the shelf at Cabelas and go from there. I do know BL-C is at the store and at @ $26/$27. I do have IMR 4064 but have avoided using it due to the bulkiness.
 
I have used H4895, IMR4166 Enduron, CFE223 and VV N140 with 69 grain bullets in three different rifles, CZ 527 Varmint, Savage 12 FV, and a Les Baer Super Varmint.

In all three, I got the best results (by a slight margin) with N140. It also meters the best possibly because of the uniform, relatively small pellet size compared to all but CFE223.

The two bolt actions are 1:9 twist and the Les Baer is 1:8 twist.
I also tried Sierra 77 gr SMKs in the 1:9 twists and got great results with the same powders and again N140 maintained a slight accuracy edge.

Yes, I know that the 1:9 twist is not supposed to stabilize a 77 grain bullet, but the 77 SMKs and TMKs perform beautifully.
So much for the predictions of stability calculators - they were invented for artillery rounds and apparently don't consider the high ballistic coefficients of those two bullets or maybe any modern high BC bullets.
 
Rimfire5 said:
Yes, I know that the 1:9 twist is not supposed to stabilize a 77 grain bullet, but the 77 SMKs and TMKs perform beautifully.
Click to expand...

Do you have an idea of velocities you're getting with the 77 SMKs? Both of my 1:9 ARs shoot great with 69gr, but I've been reluctant to try anything heavier.



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+1 on post #5. All those, plus I'm fortunate enough to still have a good supply of Varget on hand for my needs. I have tried, and have used all the propellants mentioned except IMR 3031 in my M700 .223. They all perform well with the bullet I use, but I do like Varget the best in my rifle. So far, I haven't had the curiosity to try the IMR 3031 yet; have that for the 30-30s in the corral. Lately, I've been using Varget in the 30-30s, too, and found a load that's really working well in the old lever guns. Good stuff; no wonder it's out on most shelves, moreso these days...

BTW, within the past two weeks I've been in two Sportsmens Warehouses in two different towns in Wyoming, and neither had any Varget on hand.
 
There are a lot of powder that can be used as others have mentioned already.

Another overlooked powder is Alliant Power Pro 2000MR.
Alliant has data for it. Good velocities. Accurate. Plus i already had it for my 7mm-08.
 
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