Looking for a new powder to try/test for varmint load this summmer for my first Pdog shoot. Have varget to try looking for another option? seen positives for both H322 and H335 any opions of these in an AR for pdog application? "High volume shooting"

I have a RRA coyote rifle 20" H-bar barrel with 1:9 twist plan on shooting 55 gr v-max remington brass, rem 7.5 primers

This rifle loves hornadies 55gr training round, and my current blinking load of 60 gr sprire pts, rem brass, rem 7.5 primers, 27.6grs of blc2

Thanks in advance

you might want to try aa2230 this is very close to what was loaded when the m16 came out the military used it

Thanks big bill, I was not aware of that fact, but aren't the newer powders take away some of the problems associated with the m-16 when it first came out, primarily fouling the DIS and carbon build up? I have been having good results with BLC-2 witch many claim to be dirty, the PD application I'm looking at like taking 500-700 rds, for 4 days I'll also take a 17hmr and 2) 243's but most of the shooting will be with the ar, so build up in the field would be a factor for this application. also cost H335 I can get for about 1.50/lb less than H322, In bulk, would have to price out aa2230

WC-844 is what the military has been using for many years.

Rich

A buck.fifty per pound difference is hardly a drop in what you'll spend on a pd hunt!

I switched from H-335 to TAC early last year for the 55 gr. bullets in my .223 AR. It shoots .5" groups, burns cleaner, and is a dream to meter. The H-335 shot just as well.

my standard load uses h335 and has for years. but a note or 2 - i found that all my ar's much prefer the 60-65 grain bullets, which i was thrilled to find out having about 50,000 rounds of 55's loaded

Thanks Bob, that was the kind of information i was looking for, pros and cons for the powders in an AR.

OUch Butchloc, well at least you know now, hopefully with the wisdon and experience on this site I can avoid a similiar siuation.

Point noted RW, but budgets are tight and if I can get similiar performance for 1.50/lb less why would I use the more expensive powder??????

Now it performance or atributes in an AR platform are different than I'll gladly pay the extra 1.50/lb to avoid jams on the hunt.

I also currently load for 5 rifle and one pistol chambering so buying in bulk allows me to get more shooting for my dollar spent. Making a mistake when buying in bulk means you are stuck with that combination for a while. I am trying to avoid that type of mistake.

AS I have always maintained, it is harder to find a powder that doesn't work well in the 223, than it is to find one that is the best powder for the 223.

However of all the commonly used powders used in the 223, the only one that I won't use is H 335.

Not only is it a real fireball producer, which isn't good shooting prone on dry grass/weeds...
To see what I am talking about, shoot a round off in the dark and watch how big a fireball comes out of the barrel, and how much area it lights up around you... it is amazing.. even compared to a lot of other powders. ( I'd sure hate to be on a military night op, and shooting a 223 with H 335 in it...)

Moreso than the above... I have had twice, where a load of 25 grains of H 335, with a 55 grain bullet in it, has pressure spiked and did enough damage the stock was split in multiple places.. TWICE!!!

With all the other good powders available, I'll pass on H 335...

on the other end, H 322 wasn't carried in the local stores around here until a couple of years ago... I finally tried some, and now buy it in the 8 lb kegs...and use it in a lot of small calibers besides the 223..

I've only used TAC a couple of times in my 223s, but it definitely was an accurate powder..
its about availability for me...

what I can buy in town here, or have to go 45 miles over to Medford to buy at Sportsman's Whorehouse..

I switched from H-335 to TAC also, mostly because it seems to burn quite a bit cleaner, velocity and group sizes are still good. I feel that TAC is a better powder in the AR platform.

Thanks for the warning seafire,...but if I crack the stock on my Ar Free floated hogue tube I'll have other Problems before that,...like where the rest of my hand and face is!

As for local availability,...it just is plain bad mostly Hodgdon but not necassirly the powder you want and it is 25.00/lb plus 5.5% tax, So I can order online in bulk with hazmat and shipping and come in at around 18.00/lb which comes in around 8.00/lb savings but I only purchase every once in awhile. So I want to be sure of what I'm going to try.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
WC-844 is what the military has been using for many years.

Rich

Yup, and Pat's has it again for $85/8 lbs. That's up from 69.99 last time. Seems it goes up a good bit every lot.

I have 2 RRA, the predator (20" barrel) and the varminter (24" barrel).

They both shoot well with 26.5 gr H335 and a 50gr Nosler BT. Around 3/4 MOA if I do my part.

Mine also liked blc2 as well. Forget what the load is.

Found though that they shot the nosler better than the vmax. Not exactly sure why that was the case.

quote:

Moreso than the above... I have had twice, where a load of 25 grains of H 335, with a 55 grain bullet in it, has pressure spiked and did enough damage the stock was split in multiple places.. TWICE!!!

Would be interested in more details on this, as I've been shooting a bit hotter load than yours for a number of years and have had no pressure problems in either bolt gun or gas gun in temperatures between 30-100* F.

I do trim cases every time they are resized and load relatively short COAL to fit AR magazine which probably allows some bullet jump in both rifles. Does your rifle have a snug chamber or perhaps short throat?

Regards,
hm

Mgoodrich,

what is the twist on your barrels? Have you tried heavier bullet weigths? I'll have to try some NBT's in the future.

On a side note any preferences +/- for the predator 20" vs the varminter 24"? I have an second lower 6 position that is begging for an upper but have been looking at either the RRA 18" ATH, or the midlength 16" preadator.

quote:

Originallyposted by Big Bird: seen positives for both H322 and H335 any opions of these in an AR for pdog application? "High volume shooting"

I have a RRA coyote rifle 20" H-bar barrel with 1:9 twist plan on shooting 55 gr v-max remington brass, rem 7.5 primers

This rifle loves hornadies 55gr training round,

quote:

Originally posted by Big Bird:
Mgoodrich,

what is the twist on your barrels? Have you tried heavier bullet weigths? I'll have to try some NBT's in the future.

On a side note any preferences +/- for the predator 20" vs the varminter 24"? I have an second lower 6 position that is begging for an upper but have been looking at either the RRA 18" ATH, or the midlength 16" preadator.

Have never tried the v-max but my Bushmaster 1:8 and FP10 w/1:9 twist both love the 55 gr. NBT's and they hold MOC (minute of coyote) out to 300 yds or so.



The FP10 didn't care for same load behind 53 gr. SMK's but the BT's shot so well, I didn't pursue the MK's.



The ball powders sure work nice through the measure; have you had any bridging with Varget?

Regards,
hm

hm,

nice groups,

The varget I only tried with 68gr bthp with service rifle data, they were horrible, test loads I always throw short and trickle the final weight. So no bridging problems but small sample size.

The plinking load with blc2 and 60gr sp shot so well I hadn't pursued much after that,...until the pd hunt came into reality. Now varget in my 243 and 75gr v-max is lights out!

Looks like i'll work up test loads with, varget, blc2, and most likely TAC.

Excellent groups w H335. Have not been able to get those with an AR. Even with a Tikka Varminter. Group size seems to go H335 > H322 > RL-15. RL-15 has been better for me than anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Bird:
Mgoodrich,

what is the twist on your barrels? Have you tried heavier bullet weigths? I'll have to try some NBT's in the future.

On a side note any preferences +/- for the predator 20" vs the varminter 24"? I have an second lower 6 position that is begging for an upper but have been looking at either the RRA 18" ATH, or the midlength 16" preadator.

1 to 8 twist. Yes, but haven't shot them that much (Sierra match in 75 gr with varget). Have some 60gr BT Nosler that I am going to try next.

The 20" predator. Quite a bit lighter than the 24" Varminter. The predator has the RRA match barrel on it.

I use WC-844 in my AR's and it says to use H335 load data.

quote:

Originally posted by Big Bird:
Looking for a new powder to try/test for varmint load this summmer for my first Pdog shoot. Have varget to try looking for another option? seen positives for both H322 and H335 any opions of these in an AR for pdog application? "High volume shooting"

I have a RRA coyote rifle 20" H-bar barrel with 1:9 twist plan on shooting 55 gr v-max remington brass, rem 7.5 primers

This rifle loves hornadies 55gr training round, and my current blinking load of 60 gr sprire pts, rem brass, rem 7.5 primers, 27.6grs of blc2

Thanks in advance

Ive been using 20grs. RE7 & LC brass in my son's RR carbine with 55FMJs, much more economical than about any other powder, never had any problems with jamming, etc. Same powder worked well in my 700VS, also.

I tried a load in my 16 inch AR that worked well. 26 grains of WC844 under a 52 grain match bullet of unknown manufacture. I bought a thousand of them at a gun show a while back. Its a hollowpoint with a cannelure. DW

I shot a 15 round semi rapid fire group on Sat. 12 of the 15 are inside an inch. The other three stretch the group to 1 1/2 inches. It was my fault, not the gun, but it's still a lot of dead prairie dogs. DW

I switched to Tac last year, very clean burning and I get good accuracy and velocity in my barrel.

Not and auto shooter but I suspect that H335 is more suitable in an auto as it would tend to burn at a rate that would cycle the gun better??

That said, I use a lot of H-322 and H335, both suit me well..I would say that H-322 is the most accurate powder I have used in the 222, 223 and my 6x45, H-335 is very close to that same accuracy and you get more velocity with H-335..The extra velocity in the hot 22s or my 6x45 doesn't means much to me..They are all plenty fast to start with using about any usuable powder..

quote:

Originally posted by swampshooter:
I switched from H-335 to TAC also, mostly because it seems to burn quite a bit cleaner, velocity and group sizes are still good. I feel that TAC is a better powder in the AR platform.

+1, TAC also works great in 2 bolt actions as well as an AR. You won't find a cleaner burning powder that leaves very little fouling in the barrel. I also use Accurate 2015 with 40 gr bullets for max velocity loads, but my standard .223 varmint load is 26.0 gr TAC with 50 gr bullet, usually Nosler.