Hi fellas. I need a little help working up some loads for the rifle I posted about under Small Caliber



PRELIMINARY LOADS

I broke in the barrel and fireformed a few pieces of brass.

-Identical powder charge used for all loads = 26.0 gr. of Hodgdon H335
-Used 3 different bullets:
-Hornady 55 gr. V-Max
-Hornady 52 gr BTHP
-Winchester 55 gr. FMJ – bulk “el cheapo†bullet

There was a 5-10 MPH wind mainly from my back, so I think it was negligible at 100 yards. However, for some reason I kept pulling shots to the left all day so those may be flyers in the two Hornady groups… dunno. Regardless, I think the rifle is showing some potential given that these were random loads that grouped well and shot to the same point of impact.





I'm having a heck of a time trying to decide what powders to use with it. Maybe you can help.

As you know, gas guns are naturally dirty, so my favorite powders that I like to use in a bolt action .223 Rem. rifle are a lot dirtier in the autoloaders.

Namely my two favorite ball powders: H335 and Win. 748

**Do you normally use "Magnum" primers with the ball powders? I am using a Federal 205M primer.**

**I'm considering some of the following Extruded Powders instead. I will be shooting the 50 gr. Hornady V-Max exculsively. What are your recommendations?**

Vihtavuori
-N130
-N133 (Developed by Vihtavuori for SS109-M855 ammunition in .223 Rem. with 62 gr bullets)

Hodgdon
-H322
-Benchmark
-H4198


I've been referencing an older Speer #11 manual because they uses a similar rifle for data development. They used a Ruger Mini-14 with an 18.5" barrel (1/2 inch longer than mine) and Winchester cases (same as me).

My sons uses 20grs. RE7 in his ARs with 55Rem. FMJs, for the 50VMAX I'd use 21.5grs RE7, should be similer to 21.5grs. H4198, which I see from the Speer manual gives 3053fps, H4198 would be my second choice, heck, buy em both and see what you get, both powders will go a long way, in other words, many shots per pound of powder. BTW, we use mostly LC brass and wsr primers, 7 1/2 primers are good, too. Jay

Actually, H4198, not IMR4198 has a max of 21.5grs. for a 3223fps from a 24" tube.(Hodgdon manual), so, of course, work up.

Does RE7 burn clean? What about H4198?

How temperature sensitive are the ball powders compared to the extruded powders? I hunt coyotes and varmints in varied temperatures (from Southeast Texas to South Dakota to California to Missouri).

It seems like eventhough the ball powders have given me great accuracy over the years in my bolt guns, the velocity tends to fluctuate a lot. (Std. Dev. up to 75-150 fps)

Thanks

It's probably not the cleanest powder, but a hell of lot cleaner than H335 and 748, I've used H335 in my 223, and it's filthy. Ball powders are known for their temp. sensitivity, do know that H4198 has the necessary elements to make it extremely insensitive to hot/cold temps. Not sure about RE7, give Alliant powders a call @1-800-276-9337, they'll give you some good info. Jay

Another powder I'd suggest is RE10x, very close to RE7 and H4198 on the burn rate, I use 20.5grs of it with the 55VMAX in my bolt gun, very accurate, 23.6grs. is the max with the 50gr Hornady, RE10x is supposed to be the "powder" for light bullets in the 223. Benchmark is also a very good powder for what your looking for, shot extensively last year with both Benchmark and RE10x in my VS, both turned in very good accuracy, 10 shot groups hovering around 1.25" @200yds. Jay

N-133 From 19.8 grains to 26.2 grains
Remington 7-1/2 Primer

Jay,

I'll definitely look into the RE7 and RE10x.


Ricciardelli,

Have you found N-133 to be consistent? "Clean" burning? A lot of benchrest guys use it, huh?

Thanks,

Kenati