Thread: ADI BM 8208 for .223

Hi anyone been using the benchmark 8208 in a .223. have run out of powder and this is all i can get hold of
will be using it in a old .223 Zastava with a 1 in 12 twist and 55gn hornady sp projectiles
Thanks

You should be fine but I'd be looking for a "swap" before changing - we are all in this boat and the best way (it seems to me) is to trade between us to ensure everyone keeps shooting.

However back to your question, GRT indicates starting load of 24.5 and a max of 26.5. You MUST check this info against another source.

It's perfect for it. Yeilds good velocity. It's almost like 2206H but goes better through a powder measure.

If you wish to just try the ADI BM 8208 you will find IIRC that it only comes in 1kg containers.
My BM 2 is getting low and I was keen to try the BM 8208 as a replacement but didn't want a whole kg of it.
Bought instead a pound of IMR 8208 XBR which is the ADI product repackaged by Hodgdon.

Have yet to try it though......

Greetings Tim37,
I am just transitioning to Benchmark 8208 from AR2206H for my .223 rifles. Later 55 grain Hornady projectiles have a sharper ogive and needed to be seated deeper which turned a case filling load into a compressed one, something I can't be bothered with. I have loaded test strings with both the 55 grain and the Speer 70 grain with BM8208 but have not fired them yet. I did test some loads in my .308 a while back and found BM8208 was slightly faster than the discontinued AR2206 ( my old go to powder for the .223) but faster than AR2206H. It was denser as well. It shot well with the 125 Speer TNT projectiles. I would expect it to shoot well in the .223, just about everything does. The 70 grain Speer needs to be seated quite deeply due to its blunt point (so it will stabilise in a 1 in 12 inch twist) so this could be an option for your Zastava if you want a heavy projectile. It shot very well but slow from my T3 with AR2206H due to case capacity.
Regards Grandpamac.

BM8208 is what the Aussies use in their F1A1 5.56 Military Ball.

I've played with 8208 in .223 and .308 - works well, but there is a very fine line between no pressure signs and blowing out primers.....

thanks for all the reply's, have managed to get hold of half a bottle. was thinking of starting at 24.3 and going up in 0.3 increments to 25.8
hopefully find a accurate load somewhere in there as not overly worried about the speed

Originally Posted by fernleaf

BM8208 is what the Aussies use in their F1A1 5.56 Military Ball.

I've played with 8208 in .223 and .308 - works well, but there is a very fine line between no pressure signs and blowing out primers.....

Negative , they use 2210 powder, which they don't sell.
I rang adi and asked the question.

This is from the M14 forum. Believable or not, who knows?
(ADI BM 8208 = IMR-8208 XBR)

Current production IMR-8208 XBR is made in Australia by ADI. It is technically listed as, "ADI AR2210 - V02." This is the, "second" version of ADI AR2210. ADI AR2210 is the current powder used to used to load Australian military 5.56 ammunition. The, "second" version, that is sold as, "IMR-8208 XBR, is simply the Australian military 5.56 powder dyed grey-black to look like the IMR powders made in Canada that are coated with graphite. It is a powder that is designed for loading 5.56. It has nothing to do with the original IMR-8208M powder, but it is a 5.56 powder was developed for the cartridge.

And on another forum I found an opinion about its twitchy pressure characteristics. Guy was getting pressure but not the hoped for velocity.

Just been back thru my loading notes and I had a wee play with it in 2011. In my notes I have pulled all the lower weights of loads as I found the velocities to be lower than expected. One day I'll have another play with it. 52 gr HPBT.

Greetings Zimmer,
I think your info is accurate based on my limited knowledge. The only BM8208 loads I have chronographed to date were with 125 grain TNT projectiles in the .308 Win. These were right on for velocity after adjusting for my shorter barrel. I have some .223 test loads ready and will report once I have fired them. BM8208 is a reasonably fast powder so will build pressure quickly. I am not looking for that last erosive foot per second (to quote Matt Grant) so I shouldn't get into too much trouble.
Regards Grandpamac.

@grandpamac await your results with interest.

managed to get out and put a few groups through today, every load i tried was close to an inch or under
24.6gn shot at 2750fps at 0.5inch then worked my way up with the groups opening up slightly till i got
to 25.6gn at 2990fps where it came down to 0.25inch then opened up a touch again at 25.8gn 3170fps