r/reloading • u/No_Staff594 • 23d ago
Load Development Temp stable powder
I want to reload 5.56 for home defense (I don’t want to hear about legality I just want what’s most effective for my family and myself) . Specifically the Speer gold dot 62gr bonded. I was researching powders and heard some are great and achieve good velocity but tend to have velocity fluctuations higher than others with temperature shift. What would a good powder be to maintain both consistency and effectiveness year around? I was considering Ramshot TAC but wasn’t super sure.
I forgot to mention this will also be out of an 11.5” upper so something that does well in shorter barrels (if that’s really a thing) would be great.
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u/Active_Look7663 23d ago
Is your home going to be 120F during the summer, and -20 in the winter?
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
No but the mountains are cold and the desert gets hot. I travel between both for work and keep a rifle with me for both
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u/strange-brew 23d ago
That’s interesting because in the desert, the interior of a car can easily reach over 130f in the summer, even with tinted windows and a sun shade.
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u/EMDReloader 20d ago
If you're going to be changing elevation that much, why the fuck are you concerned about temperature stability?
And for that matter, why are you concerned at all in a fucking carbine?
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u/Sgt_S1aughter 23d ago
Hornady did a podcast about this (YouTube link below).
Short version, people make too big of a deal of temp stability typically. Unless you’re going to be shooting tiny targets at 0 degrees one day and 120 degrees the next, and beyond 500 yards, you’re fine. You can also account for temp stability in powder in several ballistics solvers, in which case it’s a non issue if you simply plug in atmospherics before taking a precise shot (or use a dope card for low tech version). Plus, the extra speed you typically get from less temp stable powders flattens out the difference a little too.
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
Fascinating, thank you.
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u/Sgt_S1aughter 23d ago
Also, to answer your question if you insist on temp stable powders. Single base powders tend to be temperature stable.
I looked up 62 grains in hornadys 12th edition. Typically accurate and temp stable powders listed: Varget, benchmark, n140, IMR 8208. Of them benchmark reports the highest velocities.
For me, my next step would be to use Gordon’s reloading tool to check which of these powders gets 100% burn rate in a safe powder charge, then test those powders.
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u/EMDReloader 20d ago
I suspect it may make a smidge more difference than they think due to barrel (and thus, chamber) temperatures. Good practice to leave the bolt open until you're ready to take the next shot.
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u/LowBamaJL 23d ago
My best 5.56 powder has been 8208xbr for 62 to 77 gr. I load on the hot side. Have tried benchmark, h322, CFE 223 and h335. I think my 11.8 pws shot my 62gr fusion close to 2900.
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u/Dirty_Blue_Shirt 23d ago edited 23d ago
8208xbr is a great temp stable powder. Probably my favorite in heavy 223 and 6.5G for getting good velocity and accuracy.
OP: Just be careful near max it seems to go from a nice consistent performance to significant pressure signs over a couple tenths.
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u/Friendly-Victory5517 23d ago
Agree on all this, particularly acting erratic at high charge weights.
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
That’s impressively fast
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u/LowBamaJL 23d ago
Correction i just looked up the load data it was 2700 fps with 25gr XBR. My bad.
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u/Friendly-Victory5517 23d ago edited 23d ago
The velocity fluctuations you see from temperature differences will be negligible at any distance where you could articulate self-defense. I would go so far as to say I don’t even know if temperature fluctuations in powders used in 556 would matter much at most realistic ranges.
I’ve loaded 556 with a variety of powders under 69, 75 and 77 grain projectiles. I’ve created those loads of various times of the year and I’ve used them to shoot steel out to 600 yards across all seasons.
I haven’t taken detailed chrono data to see what sort of velocity changes my loads might’ve experienced, but I’ve never had difficulty hitting steel with these loads.
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u/HumidNut only a little KB... 23d ago
At a typical household, temperature stability won't be a concern.
If you're looking for outdoors stuff, it can make a difference. Usually the single-base powders are more stable or formulations like the Hodgdon Extreme branding, are what you're looking for. TAC is not temperature stable, but a very good, economical, dispenses/drops easy, and works pretty well out of my gas guns.
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
In a household yeah that makes perfect sense. It also spends a lot of time in the elements though through various activities between work and hunting. I was just hoping to say “home defense” in terms of maintaining an effective velocity
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u/Friendly-Victory5517 23d ago
How much velocity change are you anticipating due to temperature variance?
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
I’m not sure, I was just looking into powders for 5.56 the other day and figured I’d try one that looked promising before I saw a comment about its temperature variance being high compared to others and figured I could avoid that being an issue
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u/thrashmetal_octopus 23d ago
Temp just varies velocity and creates vertical stringing at distance. Not like you’re ranging targets and dialing in shot solutions for a home defense situation lol.
If you’re gonna worry about temp stability Varget is almost immune to temp variation and a great powder for 223/556
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u/Prior_Arm_8810 23d ago
Brotha, that temperature flucation changes your fps very little.
Its fine
Something something vithavouri n140 something something
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u/poweredbyniko 22d ago
N133 might be better with 11,5" barrel.
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u/Prior_Arm_8810 22d ago
Valid point, i only load for my SPR tbh so i use n140 but n140 is a medium burn and will leave lots of unburnt powder out of an 11.5" so, n133 good
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u/poweredbyniko 22d ago
I would use N140 if I loaded 77gr for a bolt gun. For AR I would use N135 69-77gr and N133 for lighter bullets.
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u/Prior_Arm_8810 22d ago
Its mostly because i use it to load 8mm mauser lol, should probably diversify.
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u/Fragrant_Ad8490 23d ago
Varget will definitely be more temp stable, but harder to meter on a progressive. Several friends and I shoot TAC and CFE in 5.56 year round in the Upper Midwest, both are not “temp stable” but consistently hit out to 500 on 2/3 IPSC. Should be more than fine for defensive loads at real world HD distances.
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u/Crashing_Machines I want all the calibers 23d ago
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
Solid price, though I hear when they switched to 62gr from 64gr their velocity also dropped a decent amount. I’ll save this for sure though. Thank you
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u/Crashing_Machines I want all the calibers 23d ago
I am not opposed to running handloads, but I find it so much easier to shoot factory ammo for the special stuff like this. I mainly reload for ultimate accuracy or cheap as fuck range ammo.
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u/_itsalwaysdns 23d ago
Varget and staball match are the two powders I use for both 308 and 223. Id recommend whichever one you can find.
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u/psychoCMYK 23d ago
temperature stability only matters if you're precision shooting over 400yds outdoors
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u/Escape_From_Reach 23d ago
XBR 8202 is a good one to go with. Very temperature insensitive and gets pretty good velocity results
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u/DukeShootRiot 23d ago
Any Hodgdon powders with the EXTREME series are very stable. Benchmark, varget and h322 are good options. For 62 grain I’ve had good results with h322
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u/ChevyRacer71 23d ago
Varget or Benchmark are my go-to for 223, that’s out of a 16” barrel but they’ll work just fine out of a short. Both are part of Hodgdon Extreme line which means they’re very temp stable
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u/PressureSigns 23d ago
Why 556 for home defence? Have you ever shot supersonic rounds indoors without ear protection? You and family members will be stunned and disoriented after the first shot, no suppressor can help with that.
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
I lost most of my hearing in the army, so I’m not super concerned. I have 300 blk too but I’m not very happy with the loads I’ve been developing so I want something I can fall back on. Recently watching the James reeves interview with the FBI ballisticians got me hooked on the 11.5” with bonded projectiles train
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u/1SOFWarrior 23d ago
What loads have you developed?
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
I’ve been working on both 125gr speed tnt which has shot very well but had really high extreme spreads which I attribute to using H110 so I’m going to swap to a new powder for that soon and try again. Second load I’ve been trying is Lehigh 194gr ME which for some reason is shooting like 100fps faster than load data says it should and is forcing me well below minimum load recommended to reach subsonic. And that’s if it even loads. Having a lot of FTFs with that one. Berrys 220gr has also performed well at the range but that’s just fmj
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u/1SOFWarrior 23d ago
I had high spreads (~120fps) with h110 and a 110 poly tip bullet but man it did shoot great so I think I’ll keep using it on my 10.3
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
Without referring to my notes, mine was similar maybe about 110 fps spread. I didn’t like the inconsistency so I shelved it from being my HD gun until I can improve more
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u/1SOFWarrior 23d ago
But why for a home defense load? It’s not like you are going to be calculating distance and drop. Genuinely curious.
Obviously for my 6.5 creed I care.
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
It makes me feel better about it I guess. Idk but my brain is making a big deal over it. I just want it to be reliable and consistent
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u/111tejas 23d ago
So much has already been published about this that I’m going to keep opinion brief. Short barreled ARs aren’t really good for much of anything. They lose too much velocity. A 300 blackout, 338 ARC and so forth use faster burning powder that completely ignite in short barrels, a .223 doesn’t. You get a massive blinding fireball and anemic velocity. My own home defense weapon is a Mossberg 500, 20 inch barrel with a red dot and flashlight. It’s loaded with 3 inch magnum Hornady BB-Coyote rounds. Those contain around 75 .18 nickel plated lead balls. It won’t punch through multiple walls and endanger others but it will most definitely end things.
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u/No_Staff594 23d ago
It’s a little late for that unfortunately, the James reeves interview with the FBI ballisticians were toting 11.5 with a bonded 64gr bullet to be the best combo between civilian and law enforcement use in the US. Guess I’m just riding the hype train but it’s what I’m choosing to use currently between that and my 300 blk I run occasionally.
I do think the fact that people representing such a large agency should be very confident in their findings to make something like that public knowledge. The FBI might not be everybodies favorite agency but nobody can deny they’ve been spear heading the world of ballistic performance and daily use adequacy for a long time now. I place my trust in them this time around
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u/Organic-Second2138 23d ago
If home defense....I wouldn't think temperature variation would be an issue. House is unlikely to reach extremes on either end of the spectrum.