223 Powder Advice

tkdgeek · Oct 30, 2017

Taking the wealth of advice I received on .45 I spun up about 50 Rem .223 to test powder grains and I think they were fairly successful.
For general/plink type load where sharp accuracy is not that important, is there a powder for 55gr/62gr that works well in Oklahoma? I grabbed one pound of CFE223 and some Hornady 55gr FMJ/BT w/Cani to get my feet wet. I think about 26g seems to be a decent general watermark. I think maybe some WC748 might save 1g so isn't that big of savings but seems easy to find as well.
Also, are there some places other than Cabela to grab some one pound or eight pound? Rifle goes a lot faster! I checked Internet sources and generally found the HazMat makes it not that appealing.

dennishoddy · Oct 30, 2017

Varget is my go/to powder for .223.
It’s very stable to temperature extremes. Since I shoot .223 in the heat of summer to the sub zero of winter, that was one of the considerations I looked at when choosing this powder.

beastep · Oct 30, 2017

I also shoot Varget. It may not be the absolute best but you cant go wrong with it. Plus it works in a lot of different calibers.
But you already have CFE 223 so wont hurt to try it.

Norman · Oct 30, 2017

Varget works well for heavier bullets, but it can be a pain to meter. A charge master helps a lot, but it’s slower.

The most accurate powder I’ve found for Hornady 55 grainers in my rifles is Benchmark. I don’t get top velocity, but with bulk with my SPR I get around 3/4 MOA to 1 MOA with bulk Hornady FMJ/SP bulk loaded on my 550.

Not quite as accurate in the SPR, but as accurate in others for me is CFE223. I’ve come to love this powder for 55-77 grain projectiles. Ball powders are more user friendly in 223, as extruded powders tend to ‘bridge’.

I buy all my powder, and pretty much all my primers from Gene Sears in El Reno. When they get more CFE223 in I’ll buy a keg or two. Their public website is
store.thirdgenerationshootingsupply.com

You can pick it up in person and save hazmat

Pokinfun · Oct 30, 2017

the cre 223 meters well. I like varget but I just ok I k with a 223.

swampratt · Oct 30, 2017

I found Varget gave me good groups "Cloverleaf" at 17 degrees outside.
When temps hit 55 my groups opened to 1"+.
I must say though this was with 60gr V-Max and CCI400 primers I believe or 550.
24.5 gr 25.0, 25.5 gr all shot under .85" with varget in 17 degree temps.
None of those shot tight in the heat..Dennis may have better luck.

For me I use H4895 with CCI 450 primers.. shoots the same sub freezing to 100+.
Maybe the CCI 450 did the trick. I never revisited Varget.

As far as metering goes Varget and H4895 do not meter well.
But if you are weighing the powder on your scale then all is good.
If you want some varget to try I have some I will give you to try for free.
For just plinking loads that you can run through a powder measure BL-C2 meters really well.

I have never used CFE223.

Yes Gene sears in elreno.
I 40 west exit highway 81 go north past the loves gas station. about 50 yards on the right is a gravel drive.
That is the place back behind a house.
You would miss it if you did not know where it was.

Here is a read with pictures on my Varget testing and my savage axis. when it was cold outside.
https://www.okshooters.com/threads/savage-axis-223-wow.221854/

223 Powder Advice

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