I'm just getting started loading for my new Kreiger barreled AR and want to get some insight into what powders work well for this caliber and rifle. I heard Varget was good, can someone suggest a couple different powders for me to begin development with. Also, is it okay to only neck size with the AR?

First off, neck sizing only in a military pattern semi is just begging for an out-of-battery explosion. A KA-BOOM in an aluminum gun will do you no good at all. Full-length only for function or for safety if nothing else. Two-two-three brass is dirt cheap anyway.

Happily, the 223/M16 marriage works acceptably well with just about any suitable combination. I use 3031 for mollied lighter bullets and something in the Varget/2520/4895/4064 neighborhood for heavier pills. There are a zillion usable recipes. This is great for lazy people like me but will drive the experimenter insane, eventually.

Have fun shooting it!

Redial

winchester 748 works great and leaves little fouling. 3031 is my second favorite but velocities are a bit slower. My AR is a 16 inch carbine and shoots into an inch at a hundred yards.

Krieger, huh? Are you shooting Highpower matches? If so, you may want to try Varget, Re15, H4895 (not IMR), maybe N135 or N540. If you are as lazy as me, just dump some Varget in it and go shoot. That Krieger ought to shoot well with it. Why Varget? It's cheap(er), meters well out of rotary measures, and is very temperature stable. It works great with everything from 52s up to 80s.
Sometime I'm going to try some Re15 because I don't have that nice of a barrel.

I shoot BL(C)-2 through my 24" AR. I have never tried any other powders but plan to soon. I use small base dies on my brass, but I've heard that full length will work.

H-335 (WC 844) is the consummate powder for the .223. However, many others, including WC 846 (commercial grades: Bl-C2 and WW 748), along with 4895, N-135, AA 2230, and any number of others also work well. This is assuming that you're using the conventional 55 grain bullet. With the heavy weights, slower powders may be indicated.

As others advise, you are likely better off with full-length sized cases in a self-loader.

We use RL-15 for almost all of our loads. We have tried most powders such as 748(heat sensitive)etc. RL-15 is not the best powder to measure but then again it's not the worst. For our heavier bullets such as the 77grain Sierra we use 24.0 gr of rl-15. As noted above you'll go crazy with the powders/bullet combinations. The nice thing about the ar is that most will shoot way better than you'd think.

24.5 grains of Varget behind anything from 52 to 80 grain Sierras works great out of mine.

ww748 up to 69gr, over 70gr use RL15, Varget, or VV540

Benchmark works great in my AR with 55 grain bullets.

I use AA2230, 748, and H335. A powder that I don't hear many people mention that works very well in my AR's is AA2460. Good luck with your choices.
Jeff

[ 04-25-2003, 09:36: Message edited by: Jeff57 ]

I've tried Benchmark,W748, H335,Blc2,Data 2200. I also have a 24" Kreiger 1-13 twist AR. Barrel and chamber from Compass lake. Blc-2 shows some promise, but velocity was anly around 3150 w/ 28 gr blc2. Pressure still seemed low( primers weren't flat). Benchmark was better, 26.5 gr giving 3350 w WSR primers and 50 gr tnt mollied bullets. Accuracy was decent, 9 shots into 3/4"@100 yards. W748 seemed too bulky, can't get enough powder for max pressure/accuracy.
I'd really like to find a super accurate Benchmark load because its so temperature stable. I can use the same loads to shoot pdogs in the summer and yotes in the winter. That i would like. We will see. 1" groups @ 200 yards will suffice.