Hey Dbar,
I certainly would not mind telling you exactly what charge of 2230 powder I use for my .223 load, but as I stated earlier, I am away from home for the month and do not have the information available to me. Also, I cannot give you any chrono information since I do not own one and never used one. After reading your #18 post, you have me wondering about the correct length of my .223 barrel.
I told you that I have a Colt AR-15 HBAR with a 20 inch heavy target barrel. Then I read your post about 20 and 24 inch barrels, and I now am wondering if my .223 is a 24 inch barrel. I know for sure that it is a heavy target barrel and is the same length as a standard GI M-16 rifle. It is not one of the short carbine barrels, and it is not one of the long specialty barrels. If you look at my rifle, it looks pretty much like a standard GI issue M-16. When you pick it up by the handle, instead of balancing like a standard M-16, the front end of my rifle goes down. Again, that is not because my barrel is longer; it is because my barrel is a much thicker and heavier target barrel. Now, is it 20 or 24 inches long? I think it is 20 inches, but you have now made me doubt my memory, and I would not want to bet that it is not 24 inches. Bad "old" memory.
As far as my exact 2230 powder charge, there is nothing secretive about it. It probably came out the Lyman or Hornady loading manual, and I can assure you that it is probably near the middle of their charge weight listings. I do not shoot any loads at the top of the listings.
Again, I am sorry I cannot give you my load data right now, but the truth is my load data would only consist of the 2230 charge weight, the weight and type of bullet I am using, and the target results I keep. Like I said, nothing about velocity. To tell the truth, I never used any load data from anyone else or the internet. When I started reloading, the closest thing we had to an internet was called a telephone, and I do not recall ever calling anyone on the telephone to ask for a powder charge weight. I talked to lots of folks about reloading practices and what powder or bullet they might prefer for a particular rifle or pistol, but I always went to my books for actual powder charge data.
In your #8 post, you indicated you were interested in chronograph results folk had through different length barrels and stated that you were "...just guessing as to what kind of performance I'm getting..." I know a lot of folks base their idea of "performance" on bullet velocity, and I am afraid that I was never interested in that. My idea of "performance" has always been based on how small a group I could get with five rounds of whatever caliber. That's why I never bought a chronograph.
There are lots of folks out there who, like you, are very interested in performance in terms of velocity and have copious notes on chronograph results. You will find them here on TFL or THR or the AR-15 forums, and there will be a lot of them who will have just the information you are seeking. Ask the question about chrono results, give them a little time, and they will respond.
While I never was a great marksman, I am sad to say that I have become an even lesser marksman as I have become older. My five shot groupings have been getting larger over the past 15 years, and I am afraid they will continue to do so. In spite of my eyes getting older and my groups getting larger, I continue to use group size as my measuring stick for performance.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
