223 load development questions

[Truck Fireman]

Getting ready to start load development on my 223. 20 inch 8 twist Bartlein barrel and impact action. Plan on using H4895 in Lapua brass and 75 ELDs. Wondering what grain to start with. I was thinking of 23 and going to 25 in .2 grain increments for the ladder. Is this a solid plan or should I start somewhere else with this combo? Thanks!

 

[DIBBS]

well there is this..... hella lotta data, and perhaps a recipe or three to your liking. Personally I am using Varget and 8208 XBR with 75's/77s

.223 - 5.56

Same Data

www.snipershide.com

Only your rifle can tell you what's best

 

[Truck Fireman]

I understand this may not be my end all combo. Just trying to figure out a starting grain for load development.

 

[Cowcatcher]

Off the top of my head I'm gonna say the 25 grain charge will be a tight squeeze. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but I'd sure be feeling my way along and studying my cases after about 24 grains.

 

[Flightmurse]

Nearly all of my experience with .223 loads is with varget, but I am waiting to try some of that new Winchester 6.5 stuff to see if it meters better. Varget really doesn’t do well in a Dillon.

 

[Danattherock]

~24 gr of 8208 with 77 smk has been a great load on my Dillon 550. I got 6k 75 elds recently from Mid-South Shooting Supply and will be trying the same with it. PMC bulk brass. With LC or Lapua may need slight drop in charge to test initially.

 

[Truck Fireman]

Thanks for the help guys. I decided to load a ladder from 23 to 24.5 and 5 thousands off the lands. Loads starting getting compressed at around 23.8. I’ll see what the pressure signs tell me and hope I end up with a solid load. COAL ended up being 2.368 so I definitely have a short throat it seems.

 

[Steel head]

23-24 grains of 8208 is a very well known load with 75/77 bullets.
Just sayin.

 

[AIAW]

Nosler Custom Comp 77's on LC brass: 24.2g of Benchmark. 2782 fps out of a KAC SR-15 LPR.

 

[DTF370]

For what it’s worth, I shoot 75 gr BTHP’s with H4895. My sweet spot was about 22.9 grains, and I started seeing pressure signs at around 23.5 (of course your mileage may vary). If you going above published max charges, go very very slow. That extra grain or 25-50 FPS gain is not worth the wear and tear or the potential danger.

 

[Heffo]

Howdy my sweet spot is 23.5gr AR2206H (same H4895) with both 73 Berger’s and 77SMKs. Alternatively I mainly use AR2208 (varget) with the same projectiles. Cheers.

 

[padom]

Here is 75 ELD / H4895 OCW and Seating Depth test out of a 26" Mullerworks 1:8. H4895 is roughly 100fps faster than Varget with the same components. Both are equally accurate.



H4895 OCW






H4895 Seating Depth Test







Varget OCW






Varget Seating Depth Test

 

[padom]

What's your take away for jump on those ELDMs?

.01 was optimal

 

[Truck Fireman]

I really never found a flat spot with the ladder so I tried a OCW test. ES and SD were horrible for all charges. I’m pulling my hair out trying to figure out why. My 6.5 creed produced great ES and SD with about anything I threw in it and I’m doing the same brass prep and loading procedures. I’ll keep working on it. Thanks for the help guys.