.223 for a 24" AR

[Dark Mod]

Instead of buying a bunch of components, i built a 24" AR with a 1/8 twist.

At any rate, my go to .223 load is a basic multi purpose load that works well in my other rifles, but id like to maximize velocity with my new rifle and see what she can do at 300-400 yards.

Anyone have any suggestions on what powder to start with and what results i can hope for? Trying to keep to 55 grn bullets since i have a surplus and dont really wanna buy anything special.

Also interested in hearing anyones experiences in loading for such a long barrel.

Im sure theres plenty of bolt rifle shooters out there that have gone to town on this caliber.

[CEDaytonaRydr]

You can go a little heavier with a 1-8" twist. I used 62gr FMJBT and they did pretty good. I've used IMR 4064 and Varget; of the two Varget is better.

[highpower790]

24.5 gr of varget and a 75gr hpbt give me 2800fps from a 20" barrel.80gr bullets give a little less velocity

[huckberry668]

24" 8-twist will get you out way beyond 400 yards. 24.5gr of IMR4895 or 25gr of Varget behind a SMK or Nolser Customer Comp 69gr will get you out to 700, 800 yards without needing max loads from my experience.

Share some velocity data from my Armalite 24" T:

24.5gr IMR4895, SMK69, 2905fps. less-than-MOA hits out to 600 yards. Easily gets out to 700, 800 yards if you read the wind right.

25.0gr Varget behind SMK69 got me 2829fps. Same accuracy at 600 yards.

[Ferrum]

I personally like IMR 3031 with the lighter bullets and will move to 4064 with the heavier.

I have started to play with CFE 223 and am working on my loads development at this time.

[bubbapug1]

You can use a slower burning powder at 24" which will allow you to get faster velocities and still stay below maximum chamber pressures.

With a 24" barrel and 55 grain bullets you can load up some very high speed loads. But for best accuracy eventually you need to go to 68, 77, or 80 grain noslers or SMK's. And if you hit the lottery you can buy Bergers.

[1idcat]

The 1/8 24" barrel is made for 77 gr. bullets.

I shoot 77 SMKs/ Noslers out to 800 yards regularly.

Try Varget, RE15, TAC, or IMR4320. My go-to load is 24.0 gr Varget behind the 77 SMK or Nosler.

The 55 gr Vmax also shoots well in my gun out to 300 yards or so. I like 24.5 gr of AA2230.

With a good barrel and quality loads, you should stay under MOA out to 800 yards.

[74c5]

I personally like IMR 3031

Do you find that to be a little dirty? Seems dirtier than mil 55gn loads.

[windrunner]

I use 23 grains of Accurate 2520 in a 24" Lilja for a match bolt rifle.

77 & 80 gr SMK HPBT's

[3RDGEARGRNDRR]

300-400 yds is dependent on several factors, surplus bullets in 55grain may not be reliably getting you there with decent accuracy however I don't know the BC of the projectiles in question. Cheap and accurate at long range are generally oxymorons, start heavier and don't look back, 69 grain should work in 1-8 twist, with a 24 in tube you might need to work your loads around, don't know where your port is located but you might get early unlock with slower powders.

[Dark Mod]

You can use a slower burning powder at 24" which will allow you to get faster velocities and still stay below maximum chamber pressures.

With a 24" barrel and 55 grain bullets you can load up some very high speed loads. But for best accuracy eventually you need to go to 68, 77, or 80 grain noslers or SMK's. And if you hit the lottery you can buy Bergers.

Thats kinda what i was thinking, i dont need to shoot terribly far, but i would really like to get max velocity. Any reccomendation on powder?

24" 8-twist will get you out way beyond 400 yards. 24.5gr of IMR4895 or 25gr of Varget behind a SMK or Nolser Customer Comp 69gr will get you out to 700, 800 yards without needing max loads from my experience.

Share some velocity data from my Armalite 24" T:

24.5gr IMR4895, SMK69, 2905fps. less-than-MOA hits out to 600 yards. Easily gets out to 700, 800 yards if you read the wind right.

25.0gr Varget behind SMK69 got me 2829fps. Same accuracy at 600 yards.

I think ill work my first ladder with 4895, i use it alot and its always been good to me.

The 1/8 24" barrel is made for 77 gr. bullets.

I shoot 77 SMKs/ Noslers out to 800 yards regularly.

Try Varget, RE15, TAC, or IMR4320. My go-to load is 24.0 gr Varget behind the 77 SMK or Nosler.

The 55 gr Vmax also shoots well in my gun out to 300 yards or so. I like 24.5 gr of AA2230.

With a good barrel and quality loads, you should stay under MOA out to 800 yards.

Thats impressive, i never imagined reaching out that far accurately with .223. Although now that i think about it, as the velocity gets closer to .22-250 territory it should shoot much flatter

300-400 yds is dependent on several factors, surplus bullets in 55grain may not be reliably getting you there with decent accuracy however I don't know the BC of the projectiles in question. Cheap and accurate at long range are generally oxymorons, start heavier and don't look back, 69 grain should work in 1-8 twist, with a 24 in tube you might need to work your loads around, don't know where your port is located but you might get early unlock with slower powders.

Yeah, its looking like im just gonna have to experiment. Ill start with 55 grn bullets above 4895 and go from there. I wont really be shooting that far, but i would like to get as accurate as possible with 55 grn bullets

[3RDGEARGRNDRR]

I've had dwell time issues in my Ar and had to go faster in my powder selection, Not an issue with long piped bolties

[the86d]

I have used Accurate 4064 in my 20" H-BAR 1:8.

Accurate 4064 and IMR 4064 are very close on this burn-rate-chart: http://www.imrpowder.com/burn-rate.html

I was using 25.0gr of Accurate 4064 under some SS109 projectiles, and there was no noticeable recoil difference in these vs XM855-Actual, but I rarely notice differences with a full A2 stock between much (unlike the noticeable difference in Federal .223 vs XM855-actual in a M&P 16" 1:7), but I don't usually load to max. In working up, I was able to get around NATO velocities with compressed Varget-loads, but I didn't work-up too much w/Accurate 4064.

Maybe this will help?

...
I was able to find some more references to Accurate 4064 data

Bullet	Charge	FPS	BARREL
--------------------------
53      25.5	3100	16"
55	26	3150	26"
55	26.5	3180	
55	26.5	3222	26"
65	22.7	2462	16"
65	24.2	2877	16"
68	23.88   2636	
68	24.5	2749	
75	23.88	2636

...