Single powder recommendation for .223 and .308

[Rob62]

Hi All,

I am looking for your speciffic powder recommendation of the powders listed below, if you could ONLY have one to reload BOTH .223 and .308 Win.

I know this is very subjective.

IMR 4064
IMR 4895
H335
Win 748

.223 loads will shoot 50-69 grain weight jacketed bullets
.308 loads will shoot 145-180 grain bullets.

Not trying to get match accuracy here. Just trying to get decent accuracy accross the spectrum of both .223 & .308.

Thanks in advance. And for "that guy" who is going to tell me to use Varget, note it is not on my list of powders.

PLEASE only recommend a powder from these listed powders.

Regards,

Rob

[Happyguy]

748 will work for both very well, David.

[62chevy]

Haven't been able to find Varget so can't say it's good or bad AND don't load 223/556. I did get some IMR 4064 last year and one this year for my .308 Savage. I'm thinking 4064 might be a bit slow for 223/556, nope Lyman says it's good to go and a lot say it very close to Varget.

[Point-Man]

I load my 5.56 with H335 and my .308 ( 7.62x51 )with IMR 4895. If I had to choose one powder it would be the IMR 4895 for both.

Happy loading

[Rob62]

Well you guys are no help ;)

Three different responses and three different thoughts. I argue with myself all the time about which one to go with. From all my research and reading, I think it's a toss up. Not sure what will be the deciding factor. Probably which one is available.....

Keep the suggestions coming.

Rob

[gandog56]

I use H4895 for both of them. I like the powder for the .223, as it takes up about all the space and you can just seat the bullet with no compacting of the powder. An absolutely full case can't be bad. The only other powder I've used for .223 was H4198. It had a big fireball, though.

[Rob62]

Well guys, things sometimes work out as planned and sometimes they don't. I live close to the nationally known reloading company Georgia Arms. They sell the whole gamut of re-loaded or re-manufactured ammunition as well as components. They have a small retail space in their production facility and sell directly out of there for all local customers.

Plus they send folks out to do a lot of gun shows in the region - over as far as Fairfax VA. And who knows how far out west.

Without going into more details that anybody probably cares about, I purchased two LBS of H335 for the .223, and two LBS of IMR 4064 for the .308. There may be some cross over but I don't think I will have that much powder left over after I load each caliber.

The prices were $28 per LB for the IMR4064 and $27 per LB for the H335.

They did not have any 4lb cans of either of these powders, but did have some 8 LB cans of H335, which were $200.

They had a fair assortment of primers on hand, and I got 1K of CCI standard small rifle for $30.

So that's it - now I just need to take the time and sit down at the loading bench for a marathon reloading session.

Thanks to everyone that posted.

Rob

[62chevy]

No problem as we all need to ask questions to see if we are headed in the right direction. I use IMR 4064 because that is all I could find. Once my brass gets fireformed then I will load cat sneeze loads for economy.

[DukeInFlorida]

IMR 4064 is fine for both.

The small rifle primers that you bought are OK for the 223 Remingtons.... but.. the 308 uses a large rifle primer...

[Rob62]

Thanks for the reply Duke, I only needed primers for the .223, I have 1K plus of large rifle match primers, which I use for all my large rifle reloading.

I was disappointed that Georgia Arms did not have any 4LB cans of any of the above powders. 8 LBS of the H335 would have been too much for me and I don't know when I would have used it all up. Right now I have on hand probably more powder than I care to admit......(I'm good on basic pistol powders - Bullseye - Unique - Green Dot - probably for life).....but that's a good thing isn't it?:cool:

[Mbaker78]

Hodgdon does not make any of the above powders in 4lb cans, just 1 and 8.

Right now I'm working my way through an 8lb jug of IMR4064 for 308, it's given me my best groups to date but I suspect that it won't meter worth a crap in my pro auto disk... So I use ball powders only for 223, I have used BLC2, CFE223, 748, and H335 in the past for both calibers you're asking about, but I think I'm going to settle on H335 mainly because it'll also load 6.5grendel when I'm finally ready to start loading that.

H335 seems to have given me the lightest comparative recoil while still maintaining decent velocity/accuracy in 223 compared to the aforementioned powders as well, so I would have to give that my recommendation.

Out of curiosity, what powder measure are you using? Single stage or progressive press?

[gandog56]

which I use for all my large rifle reloading.


That sounds expensive! I think my last 1K of Wolf rifle primers I got at $20.

[Rob62]

Reference H335 powder in general. I have found that it is the best powder for the .223 loads I put together. Getting consistent outstanding accuracy with it. Reference the IMR 4064 - it's one one the most accurate powders in the .308 loads I put together.

So by going to these two powders respectively for .223 and .308 I have the best accuracy potential out of each speciffic cartridge. What I want to avoid in part is cans with a few ounces of this and a few ounces of that powder. I am willing to give up a bit of accuracy to accomplish that if I have too.

About primers - I have not seen any for less than $25-$30 locally at places such as gun shows, gun shops, and any other place that has reloading components for sale. As a general comment about gun powders. The least expensive I have seen are in the $24-$25 range for 1LB cans.

I tried to get motivated last night and do some case prep work. But with using a single stage press (By choice). Looking at 3-5K of various brass is a daunting task.

Rob