new gun, new powder, need suggestions

L

Lilswede1

New member
Browning X Bolt, .223 Varmit Special, 1:12 twist, 24" barrel.
Can't find any Accurate 2230 so am going to try 2200.
Bullet is a Sierra Blitz King, 50 gr.
Having a little trouble getting it to sub MOA.
How much freebore do you leave in your loads?
 
I don't know of any way to predetermine what will work best in your particular gun. Back the load off 10% and start with the bullet in the lands and tweak the load for best accuracy. Back up in 0.030" steps as Berger recommends.
 
If you like 2230, try 2460, its nearly the same powder except it will take about .4 grains more or so to get the same results as the 2230.

in a 50 grain bullet with 2.260 or longer OAL, variable, I know...I would start at like 25.5 grains and work up to 26.X. The sweet spot will probably be a little over 26, depending on OAL
 
whats wrong with good ol' fashioned 335 or 322 for lightweight .223's? maybe easier to get ahold of and does a pretty fantastic job
 
H335 is great although can be temperature sensitive at times. All 3 of my .223s perform extremely well with 50 & 60 grain bullets and Benchmark.

As for OAL, like as already been said you'll have to tailor that to your particular rifle.
 
I saw a couple #'s of hodgdon'd "BENCHMARK" today. it was priced 8$ a pound more than the standard .223 powders, so I guess it's more for a reason. does anyone have experience with it? is it really 30% better than the others?

from hodgdon
As the name implies, this Extreme Extruded propellant was developed for precision cartridges. As such, it is ideally suited for benchrest and small varmint cartridges like the 6mm PPC, 22 PPC, 6mm BR, 223 Rem. and 222 Rem. Additionally, it performs superbly in the 204 Ruger and with light match bullets in 308 Winchester. With small, easy metering granules, competitors will love how it flows through progressive presses. Available in 1 lb. & 8 lb. containers
Click to expand...

sounds interesting, but I figure if I did work up a good load, I would probably not be able to find it again
 
Sorry for the blunt post ........................ got some bad medical news from the Doc and it's been a very trying day.

Benchmark is a great powder for the .223 and several other cartridges. It rarely displays temperature reactions and burns cleaner than a lot of others. It meters well through most powder measures and I have also found it to be fairly consistent from lot to lot. It is my go-to powder for our .204 and .223 caliber rifles.
 
Hidalgo,
Don't want to butt into another guys thread...
How does Benchmark do with 60 Gr. Varmint loads?
I mostly shoot 55 & 60 grain V-max for Coyotes and I was wondering about Benchmark, some other guys talk it up like crazy...
 
It's easy not to get groups under 1" at 100Yds. I suspect you could be shooting in a cross wind, poor rest there could be lots of reasons you are having problems. Give us more info detail.
 
I have about 16lbs of WC-844, military surplus powder, which is about the same H335. I get great results with it, but it is pretty temp sensitive like others stated. I recently bought some Benchmark and have been getting some very impressive results out of my 223's. Probably my new favorite for the 223.
 
@JeepHammer:

The 60 VMax is about all we shoot in our ARs. Does a wonderful job on coyotes and feral hogs. Benchmark with the 60s is well under MOA on all 3 of our rifles.
 
Mebbe I'm jes ignert, but not being familiar with AA powders I checked my Lyman 49th, and in the data section for .223 I saw no loads for 40-60 gr bullets using 2200. I then checked the Powder chapter and saw no reference to 2200 in the Accurate Powders section. Am I missing something? What's 2200:o?
 
AA 2200 works well in 223. I use 19.5 grains of powder with a 55 grain projectile. For a while, AA2200 was everywhere, and cheap, too, at $140/8lbs jug.
 
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