Best powder for accuracy in .223 Remington in a Mini 14 Target

[colospgsAVID]

I am using RL10x with 50 grain V-Max bullets in moderate loads. I have also loaded some in the starting range. I am also using new Win. brass trimmed to 1.750. Anybody found a magical powder? Faster or slower? My Lyman manual gives no info on 50 grain bullets. My Hornady manual lists these powders in order... Imr 4198, VIHT N-130,VIHT-n-133, RL-10x, H 322, IMR 3031, TAC, H 335, BENCHMARK, AA 2460, BL-C2, IMR 4895, WIN 748, IMR 4320, and H 380. I assume these are listed in order of burn rate.(?) I attain 1 MOA with my Mini-14 Target routinely with factory ammo. I'd like to bring my groups down to a smaller size. My main concern is the speed of the powder as mentioned in an earlier thread. Another poster stated his starting loads were the most accurate.



My other thought is... Can you "speed up" a given powder by imparting a "Factory Crimp"?
I've considered this to see if I can make loads with lose or tight crimps, with the same powder and charge, act differently?

[Unclenick]

Welcome to the world of interactive components. RL 10X should be a good powder for what you are doing. A few years ago Charles Petty did some loading for his Cooper .223 with that powder and, IIRC, the same bullet. It was in Handloader magazine. 2006, I believe, if you want to look it up?

For statistical reasons related to how error sources mask one another's significance, I recommend you make up development loads that are as perfect as you can get them. You can always drop the picky steps one at a time later on to see how much difference they were making in your gun? They all matter in benchrest accurate guns, but have variable utility in others. That is because an imperfect gun can't be made to shoot perfectly by tuning ammunition alone. The imperfect gun will need work, too.

The purpose in making your test loads perfect is to find the maximum effect load tuning can have in your particular gun as it currently stands, which will be limited only by the gun and load component choices. Once you have the best ammo, you can then look at barrel tuning tweaks and other gunsmithing work that could achieve further improvement.

So, what to load? For the last three years I have been pointing people to Dan Newberry's OCW site for his round robin load test firing system. I now have feedback from several who have found it very good or better at identifying best accuracy loads, so it isn't just me or Mr. Newberry.

QuickLOAD thinks 22.3 grains and 24.1 grains of RE10X should match Chris Long's OBT timing in the Mini 14 barrel length in a Winchester case that ejects at 30.5 grains water capacity (mine do). The latter is just short of Alliant's recipe load of 24.2 grains for the Winchester case with another 50 grain bullet. For a starting Newberry round robin, try:

WSR or Federal GM210M primer
Winchester case
50 gr. Hornady V-max seated to 2.200" COL

RL 10X
24.1 gr.
23.8 gr.
23.5 gr.
23.2 gr.
22.9 gr.
22.6 gr.
22.3 gr.
22.0 gr.

That's going to give you a set of 24 test loads for 8 round robin targets, per Newberry's method. You should find a good load somewhere within that range. Don't forget to fire three fouler/sighters which you can throw onto a 9th target. Remember, you need to start with the low end and work up, watching for pressure signs.

In the end, try the best load from the round robin in your worst cases. Try ignoring runout. Use a powder measure. You'll probably find you can skip the flash hole deburring and primer pocket depth uniforming with those stick powders. I find it matters most for spherical propellants, but maybe some day you'll want to use those test cases with a spherical powder, and it can't hurt anything to do it up front?

[colospgsAVID]

Unclenick That's a lot of info that I have cut/pasted to a folder I have for reference. Thank's a bunch!
I always try to do my best to make each round of ammo perfect. I weigh each charge, measure each OAL, and weigh each finished product. I like to think I'm a good shot. I've put 6 in 1 MOA in my Mini with factory ammo(Sierra 68gr. MatchKing). Now point of impact is a different story. All over the chart in varying types of factory ammo, but always some good, tight groups. I have yet to move the barrel weight, I like the box stock accuracy it provides with the weight flush. I think the gun itself is plenty accurate as is, since I've had good luck with various weights and makes. I have built a few myself and have crimped a few to see. I have yet to see the results(not shot a single handload through it) as it's pretty cold here now. My main questions are... 1) Will crimping be an advantage? 2) Can I vary the crimp to change the characteristics of the powder I am using(i.e. "speed")? 3)For a lighter bullet such as 50 grain, is RL-10x close to ideal? 4) Have you experienced any Mini-14 Target testing with handloads?



Edit: How bout small rifle magnum primers, CCI? It's all I can get.

[FM12]

Try H-335, I love it, especially in the lighter weight bullets.