Loaded up some rounds for my gunsmith to test in his rifle in preparation for Manners finally getting me my stock after 10 months. Hes building mine with the same reamer and bartlein blank so why not use his barrel life to develop the loads instead of mine right? 
My main intention with CFE 223 is to get a pretty accurate load that meters great on the Dillon 550 so I can spend less time loading and more time shooting.
25.4gr under 75gr Amax loaded to 2.46(for my 22" 223 bolt gun match chamber with long throat do not copy) got me respectable ESs and SDs. Seems to run just fine with the wolf SRM primers. Across the temp ranges we tested it at, it performed decently well. Not as good as the hodgdon extreme line of powders but this can also be loaded on the Dillon.
The numbers I got out of it aren't what Id call benchrest accurate but for a mass blasting 223 load for training I think itll be awesome. With this info I think itll work just fine as long as when I plan on stretching it out past 600yds I plug the temp into my ballistics calculator. For matches/hunting Ill probably load varget but for practice CFE looks like itll do great.
Ambient ~70*
After laying on the hot radiator
From the freezer
Havent temp tested it in 308 yet but in 45* weather it shows some promise. Lapua brass, federal 210 primers with CFE again. These are out of an 8 twist 16" hart barrel so in my opinion theyre pretty damn fast given the barrel length. Top is 175 SMKs at 2.81 over 46.5gr, its a little warm for warmer weather and I don't intend on shooting 175s again so Im not going to mess with it. This barrel was made to shoot heavy for 308 weight pills and was just for break in but I imagine dropping the charge a couple tenths or stretching the COL out a bit more would allow me to run these in warmer weather but they were loaded just for barrel break in. The numbers I was really interested in were the 208 amaxs. 2350fps is the crossover point where I needed to get the 208s for them to outrun my 178 load from a 24" barrel and it achieved that easily. At 1000yds they have the same come up but 40% more energy and a few tenths less wind all from an 8" shorter barrel. With the faster twist it should make the supersonic transition well. May even get retarded and try em at a mile on a calm day but Ill need a custom base to get that crazy.
With a few more tweaks I think Im really going to like this rifle. Needs paint, bolt fluted and probably going to run my specwar on it for bench work and the omega for hunting. Once I see if I really like this combo, Ill redo it but in a Manners T2FA, stiller action and proof barrel with either NF ATACR F1 4-16 or MK6 3-18 and a TBAC ultra 5.
If it runs well in these two Im going to try it in some other 223 loads for the AR and a 125/130gr 308 load.
My main intention with CFE 223 is to get a pretty accurate load that meters great on the Dillon 550 so I can spend less time loading and more time shooting.
25.4gr under 75gr Amax loaded to 2.46(for my 22" 223 bolt gun match chamber with long throat do not copy) got me respectable ESs and SDs. Seems to run just fine with the wolf SRM primers. Across the temp ranges we tested it at, it performed decently well. Not as good as the hodgdon extreme line of powders but this can also be loaded on the Dillon.
The numbers I got out of it aren't what Id call benchrest accurate but for a mass blasting 223 load for training I think itll be awesome. With this info I think itll work just fine as long as when I plan on stretching it out past 600yds I plug the temp into my ballistics calculator. For matches/hunting Ill probably load varget but for practice CFE looks like itll do great.
Ambient ~70*
After laying on the hot radiator
From the freezer
Havent temp tested it in 308 yet but in 45* weather it shows some promise. Lapua brass, federal 210 primers with CFE again. These are out of an 8 twist 16" hart barrel so in my opinion theyre pretty damn fast given the barrel length. Top is 175 SMKs at 2.81 over 46.5gr, its a little warm for warmer weather and I don't intend on shooting 175s again so Im not going to mess with it. This barrel was made to shoot heavy for 308 weight pills and was just for break in but I imagine dropping the charge a couple tenths or stretching the COL out a bit more would allow me to run these in warmer weather but they were loaded just for barrel break in. The numbers I was really interested in were the 208 amaxs. 2350fps is the crossover point where I needed to get the 208s for them to outrun my 178 load from a 24" barrel and it achieved that easily. At 1000yds they have the same come up but 40% more energy and a few tenths less wind all from an 8" shorter barrel. With the faster twist it should make the supersonic transition well. May even get retarded and try em at a mile on a calm day but Ill need a custom base to get that crazy.
With a few more tweaks I think Im really going to like this rifle. Needs paint, bolt fluted and probably going to run my specwar on it for bench work and the omega for hunting. Once I see if I really like this combo, Ill redo it but in a Manners T2FA, stiller action and proof barrel with either NF ATACR F1 4-16 or MK6 3-18 and a TBAC ultra 5.
If it runs well in these two Im going to try it in some other 223 loads for the AR and a 125/130gr 308 load.
