Best Powders for the .223 Rem.?

[Rocky Raab]

Dovehunter, Benchmark is indeed very good in the 223 with bullets up to 55 grains or so. My experience with Varget is that it is too slow for bullets less than 55 grains. Guys who love Varget are often also shooting those heavy bullets in fast-twist barrels - for which it is about right in burn rate.

I'm settled on 50 grains, more or less, as the perfect bullet weight for standard-twist .223 rifles. In that range, Benchmark, H322, AA2015 and RL-10X are perfect extruded powders. If you prefer sphericals, AA2230, W748 and Ramshot TAC are great. I'm a convert to TAC from the other two, because it is SO clean burning you never need to clean even on a long prairie dog day - and afterwards, it's a two-patch job. Honest.