AR Sponsor
Posted: 8/20/2014 4:48:25 PM EDT
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I'm afraid that either I can't get the hang of searching here on the site, or the search utility just sucks. Either way, I can't find anything about a question I've been pondering.
And that is... AR pistols are generally said to be flame throwers because of all that unburnt powder from 10.5" and shorter barrels. Apparently, powders used in most all 5.56/.223 ammo are designed to work well with carbine and longer barrels. So I'm wondering if any handloaders out there have come up with a good perfoming round using a faster powder that will burn up (mostly) in the shorter AR pistol barrels between 7.5" and 10.5" and still maintain safe pressures and reliability. I imagine it would take some experimenting because other factors come into play as they do with all handloads for any application, but if there are any handloaders out there who have come up with a recipe they'd like to share, I'd sure like to hear it. |
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You might get more replies in the reloading section so you may want to cross post the question over there. Have a look at the Burn Rate chart published by Hodgdon. I've had good luck with some reloads using IMR 4198 that work well with my 26" pistol/firearm. You'll need to use a lighter projectile with a fast powder like that. 55gr and under probably. I don't notice much of a fireball but I also have an extended flash hider on it because I didn't want a lot of muzzle flash. So YMMV. |
| Correct powder and muzzle device selection can basically eliminate muzzle flash. H335 will flash every single time. AA2230 with a STD muzzle device will have very little flash if any at all. With a Kaw Valley comp on a 7.5 barrel I get a flash once every five rounds or so with 2230. |
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I hope you find something or someone has some good info on this subject. I would be interested in this as well, however most threads asking about 7.5 inch barrels turn into arguments about 7.5 vs 10.5 inch barrels.
Thanks for posting this question. Please let us know if you find anything in your searching. I'd also like to send out a thanks for the search tip using google. That'll really help out too. |
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Thanks guys, now I've got a place to start.
On the chart, it appears that Reloader 7 and AA2230 are pretty close to each other. I've been using H322 for my Contender 10" barrels, so that works fine, but I still want to go a little cleaner burning. The Reloader 7 and AA2230 both seem to be a bit faster, but not a lot, so those suggestions seem to fit in with what I want to do. I understand that choosing a load is about other factors as well, but what I am specifically trying to do is to come up with a load that will burn up mostly "in" the barrel and not a couple of feet beyond it, a tall order when dealing with 10.5" and shorter AR barrels. Clearly, the trick for finding a non-flamethrower load is to try to find a faster powder that isn't so fast as to create pressures outside of the design of the firearm. That chart was a big help and gives me a starting point, so I think I'll round up those two powders noted above and then see if I can find some .223 published recipes that use them. While I mostly have in mind my 10.5" AR pistol, I also have a 7.5" AR pistol and a 10.5" 300BLK AR pistol upper that I swap with the .223 10" upper. Once I settle on a good clean burning load for the .223's, I'll then start looking for a load for the 300BLK. Putting out this question may even result in my finding a better powder for my Contenders as well. A "win-win" always works for me. 
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AR Sponsor