I put 10 rounds through it and after the first shot it's hard not to giggle a little bit at the lack of recoil and blast. Way more pleasant to shoot than Redsnake's beast!

JG - What's your load to get to that 2900? I'm running Varget in mine with 75's and I'm getting 2773. I love the sub 0.5 MOA all the way out to 600, but I start hitting the wall on this load at 700.

Are you A.I. or standard .223?

Guys on SH are getting stupid high velocities on 223 with H-4895.

I was only getting 2,650 with 75 grainers and CFE223. Shot good, but boy was it slow...I also hit a wall between 600 and 700.

4895 is good for speed but can be hard on brass life.

Standard

I don't think you can get more speed. You can switch powders and try it, but I doubt it will get to 2900 with that bullet.

How so, dee?

Dangit! Forgot to turn the camera sideways again!

Update on the "trainer". I've almost got 400 pieces of brass fire formed. I cleaned and neck sized the 300 that are, and ladder tested again. Based on what I learned in the ladder, I group shot these fire formed loads. I did not quite beat the mirage this mid-day, so I think this could shoot tighter.

MV

3086
3083
3089
3103 (soaked in the chamber waiting on wind)
3085




I think I'll roll with this load.

Are you gonna try the 88 ELD?

If I can stabilize it in a 1:7.7, and if it will feed from the mag, absolutely!

Monster BC for a .224 bullet!

I ordered a 1:7 yesterday. What kind of velocity you think I'll get with 88s?

With a 24" barrel, north of 3k, fire formed. Efficient little case, it is. Best fuel mileage I've ever seen.

I'm going with a 26" barrel. Should be legit.

So, you like the .223AI better than the .22-250? JG?

to make a .223 700 bolt gun into a .223AI, all is needed is a re-chamber, correct?

Barrel has to be setback just a touch on a rechamber

ditch the varget and use 8208 start at 23.5 and work up,

I'm getting 2940 w/ a standard winchester case 75amax out of a factory 22" tikka barrel my load is topped out at 24.3grs......

thanks Dee, if you were rebarreling to .223AI. What barrel would you choose? Lighter contour

also would an .223AI be a waste of time in a 20" barrel?

What powder are yall using for 85-90 grain bullets? Some folks say 8208 XBR is too fast for heavier bullets and that Varget will get better velocity. Anyone have experience with it?

Ive heard the same thing but mostly with respect to bigger calibers not 223, for example my 8202load is the cat's azz in my308 W 155's but marginal to no gain in speed w 175's. I haven't gone that heavy w/ .223 but 80amax bullets loved the 8208 when I had some....,

I have a #6 broughton at 21" that gets 3009 with 80gr berger vld. It's light for a target gun but heavier than most hunting setups. Nice blend.

I use 8208 with my 223ai and 80's. Will play with it soon in 7mm-08 and heavies as hodgdon lists it having a speed advantage. It being an extreme powder is nice too.

Time will tell. The .22-250 makes more velocity, but with significantly more powder, like about 30% more powder. The small rifle primer is a factor. I will find out how long this brass will last, with an annealing schedule of every 2 firings. I think if a guy wanted to skip the .22-250, and go straight to .223 A.I. he could justify a hydro forming die. Remember, my fire forming load produced 2800 fps with an 80 gr bullet. Once in A.I. shape, I have gained 280 fps, that is very significant, IMO.

I'm on IMR-8208 right now. Dee pointed me that way, and it has been great! This last load is compressed, even with the small kernals of 8208. Even with a drop tube, I just don't know if you can cram enough H-Varget in there to get these speeds.

What bullet you want to run, Buzz? What's the rifle for? Mine is a trainer, so a shootin gun, so it is in an M-24/M-40 contour. It soaks up lots of rounds before I feel significant heat on the outside. It'll be another prairie dog rifle, as well.