Thread: Hodgdon 69 gr 223 manual error?

I have been loading 69gn TMKs with h4895/2206h in my 223 and I have noted that the Hodgdon manual shows 26.0gr as max load for a 69 gn bullet (SMK). This is the same as for a 60gn bullet and is quite a bit higher than other manuals. Has anyone had any experience with this combo and could it be a misprint?

Thx

It's warm but safe. I have shot most weights up to 68gr with 26gr of 2206H. You can't fit much more than that behind a 68/69gr bullet.

go into the data....look at the 3 weights below it..there will be a near as damnit straight line/direct link between projectile weight and powder weight.... EG SOMETHING LIKE extra 5 grns projectile = 2grns less powder.... by looking over 3 or more loads the relationship between projectile and powder will stick out like doggies danglies
far better to err on safe side than blow up rifle..that is not fun at all.

I load 25.5g of 748 with 69gr Noslers. They’re not even over 3000fps

I load 25.5 of 2206H behind the 69 Targex

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Originally Posted by NathanSBR

I have been loading 69gn TMKs with h4895/2206h in my 223 and I have noted that the Hodgdon manual shows 26.0gr as max load for a 69 gn bullet (SMK). This is the same as for a 60gn bullet and is quite a bit higher than other manuals. Has anyone had any experience with this combo and could it be a misprint?

Thx

What happened to work up to maximum powder charges, We now start at maximum and see what happens,
A lot depends on the bullet design the bearing surface is quite different between bullets of the same weightbullets
also each chamber is not identical
Just be cautious and work up from a few grains lower.

Greetings @NathanSBR,
I have been working with the 69 grain SMK and the 60 grain Hornady V-MAX lately which are the two projectiles that Hodgdon lists in their data. @shooternz is right on the money regarding the difference that bullet design makes with pressure and velocity. Although the V-MAX is lighter it is almost the same length as the SMK and the position of the ogive means it needs to be seated deeper so there is a little less room for the powder. My COAL for the SMK is 57.5mm and only 56.0mm for the V-MAX. The SMK also has considerably less bearing surface than the V-max. I could only comfortably fit 25 grains of AR2206H under the 69 grain SMK so have moved to BM8208 for the V-MAX. I was using LC83 cases which are one of the lighter types, Continental cases are a lot heavier with reduced capacity. Years ago I had a Brno .223 that had a long throat in which I loaded 26 grains of the faster AR2206 with the 55 grain projectile for around 3,300 fps from a 24 inch barrel.
It can be dangerous to concentrate on projectile weight alone when looking for loads and we need to look for data that is for the same or similar projectile. Also as shooternz says start a few grains lower and work up, preferably using a chronograph which is the best measure of estimating pressure I know of.
Regards Grandpamac.

I load 26gns of 2206 H behind the targex and the tmk . Yeah its warm but fine. You cant get enough powder into the little cartridge to do any real damage anyway

I have a Model 7 that only tolerates loads .5 grain less than my Tikka at the same 2.3" length. It seems to have a tight chamber.

I think that its unlikely that you could get enough 2206H into a case to cause a catastrophic blow up Edit: Nathan just said the same thing (but thats not the point - just don't do it) but I've learnt through experience that the last thing you want is a popped or pierced primer. You only need the slightest bit of metal or grit to get into your bolt through the firing pin hole to cause misfires. It can certainly ruin a day culling wallaby.

My .223 hunting loads are "up there" but I always back them off a couple of tenths of a grain from the first warning sign. Note that with the .223 you will usually see flattened primers first before rim marks. If you get rim marks (ejector marks) you are way up there and back seriously off.

Originally Posted by shooternz

What happened to work up to maximum powder charges, We now start at maximum and see what happens,
A lot depends on the bullet design the bearing surface is quite different between bullets of the same weightbullets
also each chamber is not identical
Just be cautious and work up from a few grains lower.

Obviously I work up. Still good to know the limit, otherwise why have a book at all?

You can't fit more than 26 gr of 2206H in a .223 case


If you could, max for a 60gr would probably be 30 grains

What about varget as an option? How long is your barrel? I think @GWH uses it but cannot remember

Greetings again @NathanSBR.
I had a closer look at the data and the pressure for each of the loads is close to 50,000 CUP (copper units of pressure) which is below max for the .223. The CUP measures have been out of date for 30 odd years now so it is old data. Some of the .223 data is held a bit below max presumably to give consistent port pressure in semi auto rifles. The 60 grain V-MAX gives a little more pressure than the SMK likely due to the longer bearing surface and deeper seating. From my loading and chronographing it appears that the lower charges in some data is due to the heavy compression needed to get the powder in. In an earlier post I wrote about data variations with the 60 grain V-MAX and BM8208 and there are some test loads in the blocks ready for chronographing so will report in due course.
A couple of years back I did some comparative testing with BM8208, AR2206 and AR2206H with the 125 grain projectile in the .308. In that application BM8208 and AR2206 were close to the same speed with AR2206H a bit slower. This makes me think that BM8208 might be a better powder for the .223 than AR2206H.
Regards Grandpamac.

748 fits in better still..as does benchmark 2 from memory......

2208/varget at 26 gns behind at 69 will give you 3000 fps and great accuracy. Any more that 26 is getting a compressed load.