I've been organizing my 223 stuff lately, sorting brass and counting bullets. Fortunately, I have a good stash and could load up several hundred rounds with no trouble.
I'd like to work up loads for my CZ-527 with 63 grain Sierra SP #1370 and a load for my Contender Super 14 with Hornady SP #2266 as those are the ones that I have the most of.
For powder I have Varget, H335, H322, H4198. I think my supply of CCI 400 primers is pretty good and I have quite a few MagTech SR primers. I don't think I have a lot of CCI 450s, though those would be good with some powders. I have good quantities of RP brass as well as Hornady and Privi Partizan.
Any pet loads out there? It would be nice to zero in without wasting a lot of components in developments.

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Privi Partizan

Can't help with pet loads, but have you reloaded much PPU brass? I have not had much luck with it. It always sticks for me with light or mild loads (low velocities confirmed by chrono).

I've shot a lot of the Monarch hunting loads in a few different barrels and it's always plenty accurate. I do know that the brass is consistently 3-4 grains heavier than RP or Hornady or Federal. I know from cutting PPU 30-30 cases open that it has a thicker web than other brass. I think that European brass is generally made to a little more robust spec.
Since it's a little thicker and heavier in the web, that may result in a slightly smaller combustion chamber and push pressures a little quicker. I don't recall reloading it specifically, but I'll keep an eye on it when I try some.
Thanks for the heads up!

No experience with a CZ but my XP shoots well under 1/4" (.140") @ 100 yds. with 19.5 gr. H4198/Fed. 205Ms/52 gr. Speer 'Target Match. Does the same with 26.3 gr. W748. Don't have a chrono, so can't say how fast I'm sending them.

Since 1980 the only loads I've used in my 14" Contender is 24.8 gr. H322 with 50 gr. bullets and 25.2 gr. of H322 with 40 gr. bullets, mostly BTs. ( CCI small rifle primers)
I've taken over 1300 groundhogs, several hundred rockchucks, foxes, and turkey out to 400 yds. with older scopes and now a 3-12X Burris BPlex.
I never saw a reason to change since it does so good.

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Originally posted by WV Hitman:
Since 1980 the only loads I've used in my 14" Contender is 24.8 gr. H322 with 50 gr. bullets and 25.2 gr. of H322 with 40 gr. bullets, mostly BTs. ( CCI small rifle primers)
I've taken over 1300 groundhogs, several hundred rockchucks, foxes, and turkey out to 400 yds. with older scopes and now a 3-12X Burris BPlex.
I never saw a reason to change since it does so good.

I think I hit on 24.6 grains of H322 behind some 50s in one of my 223s, maybe a 14 or a carbine. I definitely like the 322 for lighter bullets. I think it does fine under the 55s as well. I just haven't worked up any loads for my current Contender barrel because I've been focusing on my CZ - it's not particularly picky.

Any thing I ever accomplished that I would call a pet load for the CZ I had, ended up over mag length.

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Originally posted by jsh:
Any thing I ever accomplished that I would call a pet load for the CZ I had, ended up over mag length.

Magazine length is a cartridge killer in any AR-based load! The CZ being a short action suffers some of the same problem. Something like the 25-45 Sharps or 6.4 SPC has huge potential as a single shot round but keeping it within the length specs cuts the case capacity substantially.
I checked the COAL that I could get out of my 223 Contender barrel on the 2260s and it's something like .060" longer than what I can do in the CZ. Being able to alter the seating depth is the key to accuracy in the Contender. Fortunately, my CZ doesn't seem to have a particularly long throat so I can push pretty close to the lands even within the mag length limitations.

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MagTech SR primers.

How do you like the Mag Tech primers? I bought #1000 Mag Tech SR primers 5-6 years ago in anticipation of a "zombie apocalypse" at a time when primers were herd to come by. I've yet to shoot them, but curious about your experiences.

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have you reloaded much PPU brass? I have not had much luck with it. It always sticks for me with light or mild loads (low velocities confirmed by chrono).

I hate to hear that. I've just finished a 300 AAC AR 15 pistol build. Couldn't find any brass except for PPU so I bought #100. As far as case neck concentricity, it's VERY good w/ only 1/100 >0.003"; very few were even .0.002". I'm going to load some up my first rounds tonight w/ hopes of shooting this weekend.

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Originally posted by Gary T:

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MagTech SR primers.

How do you like the Mag Tech primers? I bought #1000 Mag Tech SR primers 5-6 years ago in anticipation of a "zombie apocalypse" at a time when primers were herd to come by. I've yet to shoot them, but curious about your experiences.

I loaded up a round of 3-shot ladder-test loads with H335 and the Hornady 2266 bullets and got through the first half of them a while back. I'd say that the Mag-Techs definitely harder than the CCI400 (one of the reasons I wanted to try them) and I got almost all sub-moa groups in the lower-velocity range of that batch, smallest being .64". All in all, good indications.
I was just heading out this afternoon to check out a few loads at the range and I'll bring along the last half of that ladder-batch and see how they shoot.

So, speaking of the unfinished ladder-load test... I took the CZ to the range and finished up shooting those rounds. The load is a Hornady bullet in Hornady brass with Mag-Tech primers and H335. Max loads are seriously all over the place with this powder but going by Sierra's data I started with 24.4 grains and worked up to a little over 27. As noted in my earlier post, the first half of the load ladder was pretty unremarkable but an obvious accuracy node appeared at 25.4 grains - a .64" triangle 100 yd. group.
At the range today, I shot a couple of rounds of factory ammo to warm up the barrel and went through three 3-shot groups, checking for pressure signs. Right at an inch was about the best of that bunch, though I think a flyer opened up what might have been a tight group. I let the barrel rest while I shot some rounds in the 223 Contender barrel.
When I got back to the CZ, it printed this:

This message has been edited. Last edited by: J A,

But wait...there's more!!
Then this happened:

I think that'll work...

Am glad you got to do some range work today. The forecast calls for the blustery winds to return this weekend.

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Originally posted by Bobby Tomek:
I think that'll work...

Am glad you got to do some range work today. The forecast calls for the blustery winds to return this weekend.

Yeah...last weekend of deer season (extended/doe only) and I'm light for the year. I'm planning to get out to my son's place tomorrow evening ahead of the worst of the wind and cold. It should be nice weather up through the evening and then get good and cold - good for hanging a deer overnight.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: J A,

Looks like you’re definitely getting there, John. Nice group!

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Originally posted by BT:
Looks like you’re definitely getting there, John. Nice group!

That load is near max according to the Sierra manual and it runs a lot higher than any other source. I'm not seeing any change in the primers but I know it has to be generating some pretty good pressure. I'll put together some test loads that are the same specs but use CCI400 primers. Those things flatten like pancakes at the first hint of pressure.

In other news, I threw in some old loads that I had laying around from Contender projects over the years and ran them through the 14" barrel. Two-shot groups of a few different bullets with scope adjustments in between are showing that I won't have much trouble getting MOA or better out of that one.

Took the Contender to the range to test a couple of specific loads. One that's been a standard in a few contenders using H322 and one that's been a mystery load until I took one apart to find 24.2 grains of H335 under a Sierra 1360 SP.
The H322 loads went just over a half inch at 100 but the H335 loads (with a longer COL more appropriate for the single-shot chamber) made that barrel even more happy: