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Are you saying it's not underpowered? I have a 150 yard range in my backyard and I can tell you for a fact that cheap 55 grain FMJ hits roughly 2-3" lower at that distance....don't really need a chronograph to figure out why.
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The biggest problem with steel case isn't insufficient powder load, it's the fact it's steel cased.
Brass is used because it's tough and flexible. Under pressure, brass expands and creates a seal in the chamber, then contracts back when pressure drops. Steel does not do this. This is why people think it's underpowered, and that the lacquer finish is burning off in the chamber. In reality it's because steel cased ammo does not expand when the majority of firearms rely on case expansion.
Are you saying it's not underpowered? I have a 150 yard range in my backyard and I can tell you for a fact that cheap 55 grain FMJ hits roughly 2-3" lower at that distance....don't really need a chronograph to figure out why.
In the tests posted by LuckyGunnerLabs they showed the Tula they used had velocities that were nearly as high as the Winchester brass they were also testing. It was higher than the other two types of steel cased ammo they were also testing. However the other two types of steel did not cause the issues they witnessed with the Tula. With Tula ammo the issue is not of being underpowered but one of improper burn rate of the powder being used. Since the AR uses gas pressures to operate the gun there are "Timing" issues that must be taken into account. Powder burn rates not only affect pressure but also the pressure curve after the round is fired.
Sometimes the symptoms caused by this ammo make it appear to be underpowered however in reality that is not the case. Because of the pressure curve of the powder used the carrier is trying to extract the fired case too early in the cycle. To early and the case is still under expansion from the firing which causes the case to be too hard to be pulled from the chamber. This will either cause cases to remain in the chamber or enough resistance to cause the carrier to possibly not have enough force for the extraction sequence and appear to be short cycling due to gas issues.
In other words you can't just use any powder in a 223 round and expect it to work properly. Some guns for whatever reason will work okay using this ammo and others not so much. Probably due to parts tolerances more than anything. I would imagine barrel gas port sizes have a lot to do with it as well.
ETA: Oh and bullet POI changes probably have more to do with barrel harmonics(caused by different charges) over simple velocity changes.