88 eld-m in .223 bolt gun

mpwolf

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 17, 2014
182
47
Got a 21" 1-7" .223 barrel coming for a the Tikka. The idea is to shoot 88 eld-m. Interested to hear from those who have done this, to see what the optimum powder is. I'm thinking H4895 might be pretty great, but I've also got RL15, Varget, N140, N150, 540, 8208, and a few others.
 
Got a 21" 1-7" .223 barrel coming for a the Tikka. The idea is to shoot 88 eld-m. Interested to hear from those who have done this, to see what the optimum powder is. I'm thinking H4895 might be pretty great, but I've also got RL15, Varget, N140, N150, 540, 8208, and a few others.
I had pretty good results with Staball Match for the 88’s in 223 wylde 8T for a temp stable option. AA2520 matched the Staball for speed, but isn’t temp stable. Best speed and SD was with Lever. My Barrel is 26” though.

I would like to give N540 a try.
 
I do have Staball 6.5 as well. Just wasn't sure if it was too slow or not. I also have Lever, but am hoping for something a tad more temp stable.
 
I'm choosing the 88 because it's a pile driver when it comes to killing critters like white tails. It's definitly on the big and slow side of the ballistic equation, but it makes the .223 punch way above it's weight.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chickentoast
I shoot cfe223 and have great results. Get hits out to 1000 at matches with it. People can’t believe it’s a 223. My chamber has a long freebore so the 88’s are loaded long. I had to modify my accurate mags so the bullets would fit. Can’t run tac worh 88’s in prs but I don’t care. I just use it for 1 day matches and run in open. I actually won a regional prs match with it last year, match had about 30 shooters.