encore 17" barrel in the 223 will be shooting 40 and 50 grain bullets. The twist is 1-9 and it will be used for winter coyotes.

IMR 4198

I've poured more H335 into .223 cases and into wildcats based on the .223 than all other powders combined. Day in and day out, it will give you tremendous consistency and a wonderful blend of both velocity and accuracy.

I have had outstanding accuracy with H-4895 in 223 and 7tcu.

Old tried and true BL-C(2)

H335 is best
Bill

Don Shearer says that XMR 2015 is THE powder for the .223! I'm going to try some real soon!

Bob

They all are good in 223 from 4198 to 4320.

Here is another vote for AA 2015BR. Has worked extremely well for me in this caliber....

Mike and mranch-
I've used a bit of 2015 and found I could get terrific groups. But what bothered me most was the variations in burning rates/pressures between lots. Granted, this may have been a one-time thing with the powder and nothing more than a very isolated incident. Murphy's Law tends to like me sometimes <grin>

But anyway, have you noticed any such discrepancies between lots?

My affection for H335 is its tremendous consistency from one lot to the next. That's not to say things don't change with H335, but even so, it is minimal. My "original" load for a particular 6mm-.223 from back in the 80s finally had to be changed by one grain around 1997 in order to maintain the same degree of performance. And that same load continued to perform at the same level of velocity, accuracy and apparent pressure until I finally parted with that gun earlier this year. And that's a perfect example -- and just one of the many reasons -- of why I am so endeared to H335.

Bobby,

I use about 15 pounds of XMR 2015 per year. That is pretty well distributed between a 22 PPC rifle, a 223 rifle, and a 223 Contender 14" plus whatever else I'm working on that can use something in that burning rate. So far I haven't seen appreciable differences in burning rate from lot to lot. Also, one of the reasons I like 2015 is its ability to produce consistent muzzle velocities. Normally I am able to get velocity standard deviations for 5-shot groups consistently less than 10 f/s, an a lot of the time it is 3 to 5 f/s.

Kevin,

Are you sure that twist on your Encore is 9 inches? If so that is awfully fast and must be made for really big bullets. If it is that fast, make sure you don't shoot any small (55 gr. and less) thin jacket bullets at velocities above about 2800 to 2900 f/s or they will come apart in flight.

I'd like to hear how this one works out.

Don Shearer

Bobby - I have only been using AA2015 for a few years and have not noted any problem with a burn rates/pressure. I currently have enough stock of this powder that it will probably last me for the next 5 years! Guess i need another barrel/cartridge that uses it!

Make that three on the 2015BR. Although Bobby has influenced me to try the H335 and I ran across a case for $5 a a pound how could I go wrong.

Bobby, had the same thing happen to me a few years back, just buy an 8 pounder and you are set for a couple of weekends of shooting.
Jeff

Mike, a pound of powder and a box of bullets takes you that long to shoot? (5 years)

Bobby and Don, I only saw this with the 1 pound bottles and I wasn't using much then.

Jeff-
I only used the small containers as well , and perhaps therein lied the problem. But like I noted, this has been a good while back, and by now, all could be well with this propellant. I am a creature of habit, though, and if something works well, I tend to stick with it until I find a need to change.

LMAO.... WELL NOW.... weren't we real helpfull. Woulda been a shorter list if we told him wich powders NOT to use. [ ]

No Herco or Bullseye.

Don Shearer
The barrel is a 1-9 twist or at least thats what VVCG told me. This is a inventory barrel so other than the twist every thing else is standard.
I heard alot of people shooting light bullets with the 1-9 twist with good results so Why can't I be that lucky but if not a 60 grain bullet should work and still have enough hitting power to do what I want. I still am going to try the lighter bullets frist. The barrel should be here next week so it shouldn't be very long before I have some results to post. Now I have to split my time between my two favorite sports winter coyotes and snowmobiles just got another sled today.

Kevin, Congrats on your new barrel! I have two, 14" Contender barrels in 223 Rem and both have proven to be real good shooters! I did extensive load development w/ the first barrel, incl H4895, H335, H322, WW748, VarGet, RL12, RL15, VV130, AA2015BR, AA2230, and AA2460. My main use w/ the 223 is prairie dog hunts so muzzle blast is a legitimate concern for me. I settled initially on H322 as it gave a good combo of performance and muzzle blast. At least in my gun, AA2015BR and H322 behaved quite similar w/ similar load data as well. I understand the load data for these two may differ some now. In my barrel, H4895 and H335 had a great deal more muzzle blast w/ similar performance, compared to H322. RL12 was ok, but of course it's since been discontinued.... The others had subpar performance in my barrel. So what load(s) do I use? Initially (both Rem brass, Rem 7 1/2 primers, and H322), Speer 50 gr TNT/24.7 gr powder/OAL 2.330"; Nosler 50 BT/24.5 gr powder/2.335" OAL. Both loads generate about 2950-3000 fps w/ sub-MOA accuracy. But, the 40 gr "plastic tipped" bullets were NOT available when I first got my 223 barrel. Since the 40's are now available, looks like I'll change to 40 gr Hornady V-Max/25.5 gr Vihtavuori 130/2.350" OAL/3300 fps (also sub-MOA). I particularly like the VV powder as it's muzzle blast is even less than H322. The worst things about the VV powders is the availability (limited) and smallest container size (TWO pounds) . It's a small grained, extruded powder, similar to H322, that meters quite well. Let us know how the fast twist barrel handles the lighter bullets. Gary T.

[ 01-15-2003, 18:40: Message edited by: Gary T ]

Gary T

Thanks for information that really gives me something to chew on. I have used H-322 in the past and that was one of the powder I am going to test.