Superformance in .223

Elvis · Posted: Sat May 14, 2011 10:50 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

be plurry carefull my good men. wait till you get the propper load data. we like your weird sence of humour to much to loose you.

slimjim · Posted: Mon May 16, 2011 6:57 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

Email from Hodgdon today. I think this is pretty responsive.

_______________________________________________

Hornady loads a very extensive line of SUPERFORMANCE ammo from 222 Remington clear to the 45 caliber belted magnum rounds. There is no a single powder that will load all of these cartridges. Hornady uses 40 different blends of powder to load that entire line of ammo. Even with 40 different blends, they cannot do all cartridges nor all bullet weights within a cartridge. If they cannot achieve a performance level in excess of everything else out there, they do not show data for that cartridge or bullet weight.

We brought out 1 of the 40 blends of powder. Unfortunately, the 223 and the 270 are not covered by this blend. Here is some additional information on the SUPERFORMANCE.

slimjim · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 4:21 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

I went out to get some recoil therapy today and decided to try some of the Superformance powder in the .223 with 75gr A-max. Taking all your inputs into consideration, I loaded up three rounds with 25.0gr of Superformance and compared velocity with my standard load of 24.1gr of Varget. Since Superformance is denser and takes more powder to achieve the same velocity when compared to other powders, I didn't expect this first load to be near in velocity to the Varget. I didn't expect it to be this low, however.

24.1 grains ___ 2826 fps ___ Varget
25.0 grains ___ 2391 fps ___ Superformance

This is basically 400 fps less. The primer showed no signs of pressure. I might be able to work up to to 30.0 grains but I think that would only yield me another 200 to 250 fps (assuming 80 fps per grain of powder). I sure did like the group size. I shoot the 3 rounds of Varget first at 200 yards and noticed that the first two bullets in the cold barrel were 50 fps slower than all the others which may have contributed to the vertical string. The 5-shot group at 250 yards had one high but I think that was my fault as the wind was picking up and buffeting me even on the bench.

Elvis · Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 6:20 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

stay safe and keep us informed. good luck.

Ominivision1 · Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 1:54 am Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

Hmm, I wonder how much of a charge Hornady used on their 2900fps load? Or was it a marketing bump?

slimjim · Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:30 am Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

Ominivision1 wrote:

I wonder how much of a charge Hornady used on their 2900fps load?

The Superformance powder I have is blended for the .22-250 and different from what Hornady uses in thier .223 match ammo. There are 40 different blends of "Superformance" specific to calibers. Hodgdon one sells one blend and its not the one for .223 (Hornady's biggest market). I would wager the case capacity on their 2900 fps .223 load is full if not compressed.

slimjim · Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:40 am Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

I looked through some of the Hodgdon loading data for other calibers they have for Superformance. On average, Superformance is 5 to 10 grains more powder than other recipes except for Supreme 780 which is the same weight or slightly higher than Superformance. Superformance is still listed with a higher max velocity.

slimjim · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 12:59 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

loaded up some more 75gr A-Max ahead of 26.0 and 27.0 grains of Superformance powder. Average velocities increased to 2590 and 2640, respectively. Still no signs of pressure but well short of the 2890 fps I'm getting with 24.1gr of Varget. I may try a few more steps with the Superformance.

MacD · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 2:02 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

Slim: You have my interest piqued. I notice that Superformance is a sperical powder and is probably denser than Varget? How much compression (if any) are you looking at in a 27+ grain charge and/or are you adjusting seating depth for the A-Max?

slimjim · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:29 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

Superformance is denser than Varget. 28.1gr Varget = 31.5gr Superformance by volume. With 27.0gr I don't think it was compressed. Thought I could hear some shaking going on. This blend of Superformance is for 22-250. I bought it before I released that. I doubt Hodgdon will sell its blend for .223 to the public. I'm just tinkering very slowly. Its velocity performance is not up to Varget's.

slimjim · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:30 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

Note that Bud2 has worked with it some.

www.huntingnut.com/ind...erformance

fnuser · Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 6:25 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

I like to experiment as much as the next guy (maybe more) but if the results don't have any gain over an existing pet load in any category I think you just figured out why they don't use it in 223.

slimjim · Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 5:52 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

fnuser wrote:

I think you just figured out why they don't use it in 223.

I agree

ringet421 · Rookie Member Joined: Oct 26, 2013 Posts: 2

how come no one has purchased any of these load and pulled a bullet or two to measure the components. just to see what there powder charge is even tho there are different formulas of the same powder for different cartridges? thats what i am thinking of doing next. powder is really hard to come by and i have had to do alot of testing and load development with different powders. every time i go to the shop to get powder i cant get the same stuff i used the last time and have to start over. but everytime i go they have superformance so im working up loads for the 223 243 308 and 300 wm. let me know if this is a good way to go about working up a load. see what the factory load is and drop 10 to 15% and go up from there. Oh ya i load for accuracy not performance so im not always after the hottest load but the most consistant.

gelandangan · Posted: Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:30 pm Post subject: Re: Superformance in .223

ringet421 wrote:

how come no one has purchased any of these load and pulled a bullet or two to measure the components. just to see what there powder charge is even tho there are different formulas of the same powder for different cartridges? thats what i am thinking of doing next. powder is really hard to come by and i have had to do alot of testing and load development with different powders. every time i go to the shop to get powder i cant get the same stuff i used the last time and have to start over. but everytime i go they have superformance so im working up loads for the 223 243 308 and 300 wm. let me know if this is a good way to go about working up a load. see what the factory load is and drop 10 to 15% and go up from there. Oh ya i load for accuracy not performance so im not always after the hottest load but the most consistant.

Gday ringet421

First of all Welcome mate!

You have made a valid point, to purchase a complete round and pull out to get the component loads.
But there are issue with that.

Mainly is that some powder looks very similar to another so it is very difficult to visually observe the variant.

Second problem that I can see is that usually powder blend are done with similar size, weight and shape grains to ensure that they do not segregate due to vibrations caused by movement. And thus it will be near impossible to separate them.

I am always interested to hear new techniques tho..

I also load for accuracy, and my pet loads are usually very controlled subsonic rounds.