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Posted: 9/18/2011 11:07:19 AM EDT
| My winter project this year is to load 10k of 223 in varying weights and purposes. My dilemma is deciding what powder to buy. The majority will be 55gr fmj with some ss109, mk318, and various sp and otm thrown in for good measure. I have 16lbs of 8208 xbr on hand that I havnt tried yet. Was thinking of using TAC or surplus wc844 for the 55-62gr. I can get 844 from wideners for $85/8lbs. So I guess my question is would you use tac or 844 for this application? And save the 8208 for heavier match bullets? Or if you could recommend a different powder what would it be? Cost is somewhat of a factor. Thanks for your help. |
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Just some food for thought.
Bulking up on stuff without having the load well developed first sounds like a risk you could end up with material you can't use. Maybe you should try and work up those loads in smaller batches and only risk a pound of new powder at a time before you buy a boat load. How do you know you will be happy without developing the loads first? 10k rnds is close to 35 pounds by my estimate. That is lots of powder if you are not happy with it. |
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Quoted:
Just some food for thought. Bulking up on stuff without having the load well developed first sounds like a risk you could end up with material you can't use. Maybe you should try and work up those loads in smaller batches and only risk a pound of new powder at a time before you buy a boat load. How do you know you will be happy without developing the loads first? 10k rnds is close to 35 pounds by my estimate. That is lots of powder if you are not happy with it. Sorry if I didn't make it clear but I will definitely work up a load for whatever powder I decide. |
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If I had only one powder to load everything from 55 grn to 77 grn it would be TAC. Although the W844 is cheaper you will use more of it to get the same velocity's as TAC. I only use the W844 + 55 grn for bulk training, blasting, short range stage ammo. thanks for your input. I'm leaning toward tac for its versatility but the price of 844 is appealing as well. Is the.charge weight significantly different? |
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If I had only one powder to load everything from 55 grn to 77 grn it would be TAC. Although the W844 is cheaper you will use more of it to get the same velocity's as TAC. I only use the W844 + 55 grn for bulk training, blasting, short range stage ammo. thanks for your input. I'm leaning toward tac for its versatility but the price of 844 is appealing as well. Is the.charge weight significantly different? My lots were. By about 2.5 grns. Might not seem like much but it adds up over 10K. It would still be cheaper for the liter projectiles. I have never used it for anything over 55 grn. Reason being I wouldn't expect it to do well with the heavier stuff. |
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If I had only one powder to load everything from 55 grn to 77 grn it would be TAC. Although the W844 is cheaper you will use more of it to get the same velocity's as TAC. I only use the W844 + 55 grn for bulk training, blasting, short range stage ammo. thanks for your input. I'm leaning toward tac for its versatility but the price of 844 is appealing as well. Is the.charge weight significantly different? My lots were. By about 2.5 grns. Might not seem like much but it adds up over 10K. It would still be cheaper for the liter projectiles. I have never used it for anything over 55 grn. Reason being I wouldn't expect it to do well with the heavier stuff. thanks. Byy math that's almost 4lbs saved over 10k Rounds. |
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I think TAC is a little better than H335 for the span you are trying to cover.
The H335 doesn't do as well as the weight and speed go up, but does real well in that 55gr range. TAC just seems to be a less sensitive powder than H335 when you are trying to get into those heavier bullets with one powder. |
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I think TAC is a little better than H335 for the span you are trying to cover. The H335 doesn't do as well as the weight and speed go up, but does real well in that 55gr range. TAC just seems to be a less sensitive powder than H335 when you are trying to get into those heavier bullets with one powder. It would be nice to cover all of my bullet choices but it is not a requirement. I will have to work up a load for each bullet type anyways. Maybe tac for the 7500 or so 55's ill be loading and 8208 xbr for ~2500 62-77 gr bullets? |
| I've used alot of 844 Surplus powder and it works well also.... I like TAC but if you're looking for a cheap alternative 844 is a good powder...meters great and is very consistent shot to shot. I don't find charge weights to be much different with my TAC and 844 loads there is a 1.2 gr difference which is made up for easily by the cost difference. The only thing that sucks about 844 is if you want to grab a jug locally up here you can't. |
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I've used alot of 844 Surplus powder and it works well also.... I like TAC but if you're looking for a cheap alternative 844 is a good powder...meters great and is very consistent shot to shot. I don't find charge weights to be much different with my TAC and 844 loads there is a 1.2 gr difference which is made up for easily by the cost difference. The only thing that sucks about 844 is if you want to grab a jug locally up here you can't. Thanks. That is great information. |
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It's beautiful!!!!! I'm leaning toward 844 because of the price and the fact that these will be training and short range 3-gun rounds. Can't beat the price. |
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It's beautiful!!!!! I'm leaning toward 844 because of the price and the fact that these will be training and short range 3-gun rounds. Can't beat the price. If thats the use then you can't go wrong with the WC844. I use that powder, Wolf primer's and the air pulled LC m193 projectile's for the same thing. cheap fun ammo. Nothing like a good blaster stage 
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Quoted: Quoted: TAC and 8208 are my most used powders for .223 My winter project will be loading 2000 55gr hornady fmj with 24.5gr of 8208 for a carbine class I'm saving up to do next year  What was your reasoning for using 8208 over TAC? Better temperature insensivity and 8208 seems more consistent and more accurate, compared to TAC. Plus it meters about as good. Last few range trips I've been comparing TAC and 8208 and these were my findings each time. Velocity might not have been as high as tac but was still getting almost 2900fps with 24.5gr of 8208 out of a 16" barrel |
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