Which powder for reloading for AR???

[markm]

No way am I going to ditch the RL. I heard that that's the powder that the Special Forces use when they reload.

That's true.

[JohnsMyName]

One of the 'silver linings' of all this hoarding of ammo, ARs, components, etc., is that since it has been harder to find my pet .223/.308 etc. powders, that I have had to buy whatever is on the shelf.

My preferences for .223 are 748 and Varget, with 8208 and CFE223 thrown in. However, I have now worked up loads using 4064, 3031, RL17, 335, 322, AA2520, and more.

It made me realize that there are a lot of good powders out there, and to be a little more versatile. I feel like i have loads for a lot more powders now that I am happy with, and don't much care what's on the shelf. Plus, with powder like RL17, which is pretty slow for the .223, virtually no load data exists for .223, and not really made for it at all, my interest in load development has been 'reborn'.

I have a customer and range friend who won't load anything but 4064 for his .308, and is now out of powder for it because, well, I don't know why exactly. But he's out of powder, and I'm sitting on 40+ pounds of just rifle powder because I just bought whatever came in. His loss....

What weight bullets with the W748? As I understand it is slower burning and better suited for lighter bullets. Also have you noticed it being temp sensitive?

[mic2377]

I also agree that there are lots of useful powders out there that are ignored for the 223.

For example, I found an old tin of IMR 3031 that must have been 20 years old. I had a bunch of 40 gr V-maxes lying around which actually turned out to be a good bullet weight for a faster powder like 3031. After loading some up I was pleasantly surprised by some excellent accuracy, which I did not expect. Now I will say that 3031 does not meter very well out of my RCBS uniflow, and it can sometimes be a bit tricky to pour into the 223 case neck. In this case a ball powder would be much better.

BUT - I got it for free and it keeps me shooting! Sometimes the enemy of good is better - an adage that can be aptly applied to the obsessive compulsive habits of many reloaders.

[Alaska3006]

Surplus the new WC 842 would be nice

I prefer heavier bullets 62gr to 77 gr in my SCAR with 1:7 twist

TAC , Varget and Reloader 15 get my vote.

Ramshot TAC has the best loading data for 5.56