Powder advice

[VarmLR]

A bit new to reloading and a little confused by differences between various load guidance tables!

 

Bought some N140 on recommendation of a gunsmith to use for two calibres. One is .223 in 1/8 twist (26 inch Lothar Walther target barrel) the other .308 in 1/11 and 24 inch barrel.

 

I want to try two different bullets for the .223. One which looks suited is the 69 grain Sierra Match King. Other is the 60 grain V-Max (heaviest in stock when I went to buy). The 308 shoots beautifully using 155 grain Match Kings and I'm looking to use Gamekings for deer in 165 grain. VV N140 looks ideal for the 308, and I was told it would also be fine for the .223 but I'm wondering if that's in fact the case now since some load tables show N140 as being at the extreme of performance (ie full casing for loads), whilst others show it part way up the list!

 

Does anyone else here shoot a .223 in 1/8 and have any comments on suitability of N140? (N130, or 135 in retrospect, may have been better as an all round choice for both calibres).

 

 

[onehole]

Hi VarmLR,,,,,Vit 140 all the way home,,,,,,,for the 69g in 223 and 155g in 308. Vit 135 may be a tad better for the 60Vmax.Vit 150 may be a tad better for the 165g in 308.Your gunsmith was basically correct I reckon.With the 1/8 in your 223 why bother with lighter bullets try and get hold of some Sierra 69g or 77g TMK,s perhaps,,,,take care ,,,,O

[VarmLR]

Hi VarmLR,,,,,Vit 140 all the way home,,,,,,,for the 69g in 223 and 155g in 308. Vit 135 may be a tad better for the 60Vmax.Vit 150 may be a tad better for the 165g in 308.Your gunsmith was basically correct I reckon.With the 1/8 in your 223 why bother with lighter bullets try and get hold of some Sierra 69g or 77g TMK,s perhaps,,,,take care ,,,,O

 

Pretty much spot on what the gunsmith mentioned (ie stick with 69 grain for the 223 and VV140 is fine for the 308 at 155). The problem is my local supplier only had the 60grain Vmax in stock, but next load I'll use 69g Sierra Gameking I think. I have the 69g match kings for target which should be ok (in fact 75g might be a better bet for target using 140). Was just testing the waters to see if it was worth swapping the unopened powder for perhaps 135 or 133 as a better all round bet?

[VarmLR]

double post

[gbal]

AS onehole- Vihtavuori is consistent,excellent,available and affordable.

140 will do both-excellent for mid range (155 -165 ish ) 308;long distance heaviers too,though V150 would be a good choice there too.

 

140 will be fine in 69/77 223,and as onehole says,the heavier 223 will perform considerably better as target range increases.

 

V133 is powder of choice for 68g in 6PPC (like Berger /custom) Bench Rest 100y-but that is specialised ,near perfection precision.

 

V135 is OK for the 223s -and light 30s( 125 g 30 BR)...but whether you'd see any benefit is marginal.

 

Keep it simple (but very good- as you are doing,including bullets,presumably for different applications) until you reallly have a good amount of experience-you will only get a few hundred shots per kilo anyhow (obviously nearly twice as many for 223 as 308). Usually we all try something else,then settle for what works very well and you can get it (sometimes US availability is distincty sparse-Varget for example-and it's users suffered!

Really specialist niches aside-maybe- the Vihtavuori powders are safe bets,sometimes the best.If you get the 'velocity' arguments,have a look at the minimal difference 100fps makes,until you shoot very long range.

Good shooting,and enjoy.

gbal

[VarmLR]

Thanks gbal. Yes, trying to keep it simple. Have ordered some TMK 69gs for the 223 and will try those with 140 as well as the Matchkings. The 308 is shot at medium distance up to 400m and seems to do well with 155g Matchkings and 168g A-max.

[deadcenter]

I use N140 with both .223 and .308. Great powder for both with my combo, which is nothing unusual.

Remington 700 with 1:9 twist 69 gr SMK and TMK.

.308 Remington 700 1:12 twist 155 and 168 SMKs.

 

As said above, if it works for you, it's easier just having one powder.

[Re-Pete]

Before you order a 20kilo drum of N140, try RS52................higher speeds at lower pressures.

 

Pete