5.56 Powder Question

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Drm50

New member
Up front I’ve loaded for close to 60 yrs. Loaded 223 since it came out , for bolt actions. Used BC-L2 / 55gr bullets. Now I have broke down and bought AR-15.
I want to load GI dupe for 55gr FMJs. What is the most economical powder to do this? I’ve not used many of the powders on market today. I’m running out of stash. I’m not wanting to use up my BC-L2 for AR loads. Have lots of IMR powders but not the best for 5.56 and POA to tap down in case.
 
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Unclenick

Staff
It's no more economical than BL-(C)2, but H335 is canister grade WC844, which is the ball powder used by the military for M193. BL-(C)2 is canister grade WC846, which was first used in 303 British during WWII and was later adopted for M80 7.62 ammunition.
 
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Shadow9mm

New member
I have used several powders for my AR. with 55, 62, and 75g bullets. I have tried, Benchmark, Varget, BL-c2, h335, CFE223 and TAC.

so far I have found TAC, Varget, and BL-c2 to work best with heavier bullets.

Benchmark was low on the velocity size for duplicating military loads, but was very consistent.

I have had good results, breaking 3000fps out of a 16in barrel with a 55g bullet with CFE223. It is a pretty sooty powder, but the soot cleans up easily. with magnum primers SD and ES were acceptable, but were not good with standard primers.

I have more testing to do with H335, velocities have been low so far at Hornady max, but from my reading other manuals go higher.
 
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reynolds357

New member
Drm50 said:
Up front I’ve loaded for close to 60 yrs. Loaded 223 since it came out , for bolt actions. Used BC-L2 / 55gr bullets. Now I have broke down and bought AR-15.
I want to load GI dupe for 55gr FMJs. What is the most economical powder to do this? I’ve not used many of the powders on market today. I’m running out of stash. I’m not wanting to use up my BC-L2 for AR loads. Have lots of IMR powders but not the best for 5.56 and POA to tap down in case.
Click to expand...
Since you did mention economical, Shooters World AR Plus is pretty hard to beat.
 
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Road_Clam

New member
All the above mentioned powders are excellent for gas gun 556. The only problem is they are the most popular powders so good luck finding any.

My goto far less popular gas gun 556 powder that is possible to find currently ? Win 748.
 
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zeke

New member
Road_Clam said:
All the above mentioned powders are excellent for gas gun 556. The only problem is they are the most popular powders so good luck finding any.

My goto far less popular gas gun 556 powder that is possible to find currently ? Win 748.
Click to expand...
Yet another reason to consider 748, it has been more consistently available and less expensive. It is particularly good for 55 fmj, which ain't match bullets anyway. However have found 748 to be extremely accurate, consistently thrown through my measure and adaptable to other cartridges. Yes it is temp sensitive, but with the smaller 223 powder charges and lesser distances 55 fmj are usually shot at, not real noticeable changes.

It has performed better (accuracy) in 5.56 with mag primers, including rem 7 1/2's, in my experience.
 
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Road_Clam

New member
My bulk gas gun 556 55 gr ammo is running 25.6 gr of W748 . I like using this load as 100 yd SR reduced High Power training. W748 isnt perfect but it's a dam versatile powder that also works very well in 308. W748 is a dirty powder , and it's somewhat temp sensitive but again i've had good sucess finding this powder during panics when the shelves are stripped of Varg / 4895 / 335 and so on.
 
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Unclenick

Staff
I think 2520 is likely to do best with a magnum primer and with bullet weights at 62-grains and up to keep fouling down. With the 55-grain bullets he's looking to load for, I've used powders as fast as Reloader 10X and even IMR 4198. Benchmark and H322 are other possibilities for that weight. As with any quicker powder, you just want to be sure your gun functions well with them. They won't produce tip-top velocities without going over pressure, but I've found them good for general range fodder.
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
Most 55 gr bullets sit on powder charges of 22 to 26 gr, with a few outlying powders that range as low as 19 gr and as high as 28 gr.
Unless you really want to use an outlier, it doesn't matter too much which powder you choose. (So using what is available to you shouldn't be a big deal.)

However, I have found RL-10X and CFE223 to be absolutely filthy in all applications where I have tried them.
Avoid those powders if you don't like excess soot and grime.

My ARs eat a lot of Ramshot TAC.
 
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mehavey

New member
UncleNivk said:
2520 is likely to do best with a magnum primer and with bullet weights at 62-grains and up...
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Concur w/ Heavy/Mag
GoTo AR (Hvy) Load w/ AA2520

AR-15-77-SMK-Krieger-AA2520-sm.jpg
 
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reynolds357

New member
FrankenMauser said:
Most 55 gr bullets sit on powder charges of 22 to 26 gr, with a few outlying powders that range as low as 19 gr and as high as 28 gr.
Unless you really want to use an outlier, it doesn't matter too much which powder you choose. (So using what is available to you shouldn't be a big deal.)

However, I have found RL-10X and CFE223 to be absolutely filthy in all applications where I have tried them.
Avoid those powders if you don't like excess soot and grime.

My ARs eat a lot of Ramshot TAC.
Click to expand...
That's odd. Cfe 223 is one of the cleanest powders I have ever seen. It's only clean at near max. It makes a nasty looking carbon in the bore, but it self limits how much can build up. I put a few hundred down my White Oak barrel without cleaning. It's still dirty in the safe and still shoots 2 1/2" groups at 400 yds. The rate it's going, it may never get cleaned.
 
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Unclenick

Staff
Keep in mind that peak pressure has a lot to do with fouling levels. Too little temperature and pressure and you wind up with more fouling than when pressures are run nearer the top of the range.
 
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Jim Watson

New member
I tried hard to like AA2520, it metered so well. But in two .308 barrels and a .223, it was just not quite as accurate as extruded powders. MY barrels. Good luck with yours.
 
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