223 factory duplicate

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oldies

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 10, 2005
Messages
358
Location
loveland ,colo usa
Our son shot the mini 14 today with ultra max ammo.
Don't know what their loading is, but he hit everything
he shot at. standing on his "hind legs". One 5 shot
group you could cover with a quarter was at 50yds.

Pulled a bullet and found the powder to be 24gr. of
fine granular shiny looking propellant. Anyone have
an Idea what would be a comercial duplicate of it?

Thanks in advance,
oldies
:)
 

redsouthpaw

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 20, 2007
Messages
66
Location
Colorado
Most ammo companies don't use commercial powders available to the public.
It is possible that it is WC844. The equivalent would be H335.
 

contender

Ruger Guru
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Messages
25,150
Location
Lake Lure NC USA
As noted,, ammo companies won't tell you what components they use,, except for the bullet.
You have weighed the powder,, now you can start by experimenting with powders used in .223 to see if you can duplicate the load,, or get close!
 

Rick Courtright

Hawkeye
Joined
Mar 10, 2002
Messages
7,897
Location
Redlands CA USA
Hi,

Winchester's the only company I can think of who's ever published "this duplicates factory ballistics" recipes, using all their own branded products, of course. Even then, "duplicates" is the operative term: it doesn't mean we're loading the same "ammo" at our bench they are in the factory.

None of the big factories uses the exact powder you can buy off the shelf. They might be "similar" but not the same. For example, Red Dot's been a popular shotshell powder for decades, and Federal loaded a line of target shells w/ what "looked" like Red Dot but the load averaged about a grain and a half over the max book load. A conversation w/ our Federal rep yielded this advice: "Yes, it's a Red Dot variant, but DON'T load the commercial variety to the level we do. You'll damage something using the powder you can buy." I later learned there have been something like 18 variants of RD, and we, the public, only get ONE!

I dunno what the smaller, custom or semi-custom loading companies do.

So...

When I'm trying to duplicate a factory load, I start w/ the chronograph and try to establish a base line performance level, then work toward it, using powders I have and/or like (a little research often reveals what powders are "long time" favorites in a given cartridge.)

Once I can come real close on velocity and consistency over the chrono, the paper punching's next. It will usually be good if the rest of the things I've checked are in the ballpark w/ the factory ammo.

Naturally, there are lots of ways to approach this. Mine's but one...

Rick C
 

gregs45auto

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Messages
491
Location
utah
I also use H335 in my 223's. With military brass and a 50 gr bullet, I have harvested a lot of big Idaho chucks. hth greg
 

Beaver Creek

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 10, 2005
Messages
318
Location
Denham Springs, LA USA
Since H335 has gotten so scarce I've tried lots of others, BLC2, AA2230, AA2460, W748 just to name a few. Haven't found one yet to equal H335 in the .223. I'm down to my last 2# and am about to panic.
 

BrokNAirow

Bearcat
Joined
Aug 19, 2005
Messages
18
Location
Florida
Hi .....I have found that h332 will also work when h335 is not available..my results have been satisfactory for the groups I have been getting with that powder.... YMMV

I'm Brok :mrgreen:
 

Three44s

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 7, 2005
Messages
304
Location
The better half of Wa. State
I have heard great things about H335 ....... but never used it.

My bolt gun did good work with Varget and 55's ...... but now I find it does GOOD work with RL15 and a pretty full case.

Not a progressives' dream but ..........

Three 44s
 

papajohn

Bearcat
Joined
Dec 19, 2009
Messages
11
Location
A Target-Rich Environment
If you're getting good accuracy with a particular load, the easiest way to duplicate it is to use a bullet as close to the factory's bullet as you can get, then try to match the velocity. I've had excellent results with Varget, as well as H335, and H322 gave me some surprisingly high velocity with less powder. Then there's AA2230, and AA2460, and 2520 for heavy bullets, and I've also used up several kegs of IMR-4895 in the 223 over the years. I'd find a powder that meters well in your powder measure, and start experimenting. Who knows, the rifle may not be finicky at all, and you may find several recipes that work well. Enjoy the process!
 
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