.223 Rem - 75gr Hornady BTHP with 19 powders 

Altitude has no appreciable effect on muzzle velocity. It has a ton to do with down range performance as there is less air density/drag enroute.

When he said "I'm the frikin three shot champion of the world" I felt that

SuperJlarge below brought up the most important variable here that is not addressed. MOST powders require settling in with 8 to 10 shots after being shot through a barrel with a different powder previously. David Tubb talks a lot about it, and it would be pretty rare in competition to change powders without being able to "foul" the barrel with the powder you intend to perform with. I've gone from W748 to Reloader 15 and had shots so wildly out of the target zone they were laughable. After about 5 shots...the barrel settles right back into the Reloader 15. That goes the same for trying it the opposite way. All that said, there is no sane way to do all that in a test like this that is awesome to watch!

Thank you for all your hard work Johnny. Long time fan. Your methodology to the science of ballistics helps my work process as an electrical engineer (designing and working to near max capacity but keeping it safe and repeatable). In the UK all I have to defend myself and my property is a cable stripping knife and harsh words. Brother, never give up your God given natural right to bear arms that your constitution recognises.

What I do when I change powder is shoot a couple wipers. That way all the powder from the previous loads is burned out. It stops that first round flyer

I’ve always had really good luck with AR Comp in both .308 AR’s and 5.56 AR’s. Works in cold Ozark Mountain deer stands and hot Mississippi Summer 3-gun meets.

Wow. What's really great about all of this is how it shows how every rifle - every barrel - is different. Still, though, none of the groups could be considered terrible, although some are certainly better than others. This must have been a lot of work; thank you for doing this!

You have an embarrassment of riches with all those powder choices available to load. Thanks for taking the time to document this for your channel!

Good sir, as always appreciate the videos. With conponent shortages we get to shoot vicariously through you

Johnny, thanks for all of these videos. My packages are starting to arrive. Still waiting on my press and the kit. Picked up two powders this weekend that I could find. One was Tac and the other one was “grandpa’s favorite “. Only powders I could get. Still no primers but I’m working on it. Keep up the good work. You’re inspiring us all pal.

That was awesome!! The H322 looks the most promising.

Thanks for sharing! I tried 24.0gr CFE223 + 75gr Hornady BTHP and got a sub moa (0.75") 9 shot group out of a WOA 20in barrel

Not surprised about the H322 load. Been using 21.6 of H322 behind 77/75gr pills for years. Always a consistent performer.

Johnny, great series, It's a treat because I'm enjoying reminiscing. I hate to talk about or waste time in doing it, however, back in the day (The early 2000s) the AR was the rifle to use to keep people in the shooting game without breaking the bank, LC 5.56 once fired brass could be had for a song, .22 Projectiles were cheap, an 8 lb jug of pull-down IMR-4895 was all you needed to compete as everyone was at the same level, Shooting .30 got to be a financial unfeasible thing to keep up with and less and less M-1's and M-1As were on the firing line and as with all things, the page turns, many powders you shot today were all being used to get the competitive edge back then, I see that AR comp has been a product that has risen from those times (Accuracy and higher velocity). I believe that the Good people at Hornady remember those days also and offer a line of bullets that keep people on the Firing line, competing, practicing, and winning and that's what it is all about. Btw(I like the fact that you shoot with the chickens) Peace out dude. Dave

I've tried all manner of 75, 77, 80 and even 85 grain bullets in my 20" AR. 1:8 twist. I've tried at least a half dozen powders, different seating depths, different cases, case prep...none are really any good. Once in a while I'll get a ~1" group, but nothing to get excited about. Meanwhile, it shoots Hornady's 68 gr. BTHP over 25 grains of Varget into .75 to 1" every time. I've hit 4" swingers at 500 yards with it 8 out of 10 times. And at 2835 fps, it's ballistically the same at distance (or better) than what I've been able to get out of the heavier bullets. I love experimenting with it, but that gun is really happy with that load. Load development can be weird and frustrating, but it sure is fun.

I was excited to see what we would get this week and it is better than I could have imagined

I love that you did this. It was interesting to see differences in powders like I4895 and H4895.

Dang man, you REALLY know your stuff! Thanks so much for sharing!

With the first round fliers, I’d venture a guess that the powder fouling from the previous load may be the culprit.

Put your best groups into Gordons reloading tool and they seem to all be right at a optimal barrel time node. Based on this, if you want a couple other powders to try for high velocity, try 23.8 grains 8208 xbr and 23.6 grains of H4895. H4895 is predicting some crazy numbers, so be careful and don't blow your face off. it is possible you might have to fine tune the charge a bit as I do not have all of your exact numbers for bullet length and case capacity, but it should be close.

You do great work please come back miss listening to your fabulous work

Love it dude! Great work long time watcher. I shot a .25 inch group today 62gr tipped sierra With 24.1 imr 4895. Works great 2800 fps ish. Good luck man keep up the good work!

I did a lot of development with this bullet. In a MK12 barrel with an A2 birdcage, AR-Comp gave me the best accuracy and 22.3 grains was its sweet spot.

I run 24 grains of varget with cci 400 primers, 2.255 oal with an SD of 7 at 2615 fps. Now that is out of an 18" 223 wylde odin works barrel. extremely accurate. thanks for all the hard work

"Gonna try to keep track of everything,don't have any idea how I'm gonna accomplish that" lolol,love this channel 😆😆👍👍💯💯

Same bullet I use for coyote and deer but Im just shooing factory loads. I found that the black hills, Hornady black, frontier, and and match all in 75gr shoot the same in my rifle out to 500yds. These and the 77gr tmk's are my go-to for hunting with no complaints

New to reloading and ur videos are fantastic thank you for sharing the knowledge.

Great video very informative thank you for taking the time to make these videos. I look forward to seeing more with the 75gr bthp.

That benchmark load looked real good, just that one that dripped low. I'd definitely investigate further. Cheers Johnny good video.

I have been using AR Comp a lot with my 20in Ballistic Advantage 1:7 DMR barrel with these heavier bullets with great success. Nice to see you had similar results. I have seen right around 2800fps muzzle velocity with those same 75 gr bullets, which is nothing to sneeze at for such a heavy round.

Great video JRB, I learned to reload with IMR 3031, started out with 8lbs and it lasted a long time. I’ve been watching your videos for a long time and bought some powders you tried that worked pretty well, AA2520, SW Match, TAC and recently found some SW Precision which is supposedly like Varget. Learned a lot watching your videos and I’m really glad you have not shot your face off😎

Thank you for sharing your expertise. Always interesting and always informative.

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts about all these powders with this bullet. You gave me some great ideas about were to start 👍Thanks Brother 👊 😊

Always love watch you match loads and bullets

Always enjoy you on the shooting bench and reloading. Helps every body thank you.

Glad your back, I’ve waited till you had a few videos up. To binge again, while loading what I can.

Hi Johnny. I was very happy to see the SBR powder video you made. I shoot a 8.9" 5.56 barrel. 77gr SMK and Barnes 85gr Match Burner. I constantly get blinded by fireballs at night. Your help with finding the " go to " SBR load is much appreciated.

Cool video. Predictable and ordinary aren’t a bad thing

AR comp seems to consistently be a great performer for you. I’ve never tried it. It’s pretty rare around here. Seems varget is champ in every store locally

Thank you for the videos and content, I could watch these all day every day.

Keep’em coming brother 👍

I've had great experience with 25.0gr cfe 223 and the 75gr bthp little hot but no preasure signs in federal mil surplus brass.

H322 was on point with those 75gr pills. Excellent shooting and reloading. Professional.

Johnny, your work is greatly appreciated. I love this stuff. If I could make a request though, I would love to see a test of the Berger 70 gr VLD loaded as a long range AR round. I know the 77 gr SMK can do well at the longer ranges out of an AR platform, but there is some data - I'll let you research and determine what to use - that suggests the 70 gr VLD can be pushed to over 3000 fps MV, - around 200 fps faster than the 77's which give it a very nice head start, and the BC of the 70 VLD is pretty good at .374 (G1) so it should outperform the 69 gr bullets for sure. It may have to be loaded to 5.56/Wylde pressures to achieve this, but I'd like to know. This bullet would also stabilize better from slower twist barrels allowing it to be used in barrels that can't stabilize the 77's.

Can’t wait for the SBR powders!

The 85gr Barnes Match Burner is also a serious butt kicker.

Was hoping the range trip would have been on Twitch. Miss those!

Try shooting the groups with a single flier over again 0.1gr less powder- something from the BR world and the double groups (2&3) maybe .2 gr less

75 Grain Hornady ELD Match (.224') with 25.6 grains of Varget. Dimes all day long at 100 meters ( 109.361 Yards) Tikka T3X Varmint (Stainless bull barrel) 1 in 8 twist. Most AR's (.223/5.56) are 1 in 7 twist I do believe. Oh I forgot to mention I run CCI Small Rifle Magnum NO. 450 primers with this load.

I was going to comment "I don't trust that electronic shot tracker thingy" but apparently someone beat me to it in the last video. There's just something about good ol' fashion holes in paper that circles on a computer screen cant replace.

AR comp along with the 75gr bthps shoot amazing out of my 18 inch PSA upper up near 2750fps

...just tried the H322 with the same bullet (75grn BTHP) with 21.5gn and 21.7grn in a 30" 1:7 and the 21.5grn shot 2 x 5 shot groups @100yards and both were under 1/2 MoA...very impressed and better than the N540 I've been testing!

Awesome video(as are all of your others).... pretty enlightening seeing all of those powders shot at one time. Keep the videos coming, I've learned a ton from watching them!

Great video, man. Thanks for the effort that went into this. Do we know what powder or powders Hornady uses in their factory loads of their 75gr bullets?

Anyone else prefer seeing the actual paper target vs this new system?

Can’t believe I missed this video! Hands down my favourite bullet for 223/556 without the cannelure. 25 grains of Varget is one of my pet loads.

My shooting partner and I shoot 935 yards daily to great effect. the load we use is 24 g 4895 .007 off lands. We prefer 75g eld m for the long range and we take it effectively to 1100 yards. after that things fall spart. the bthp is better inside 800 yards.

The almighty three shot champion of the world 😂 love the videos man. I know you’re busy enough but it’d be sweet if you played around with the heavy round nose bullets in 6.5 creedmoor. Like the Hornady 160 and I think nosler has like a 150 or something. They’d probably make a killer “brush gun” type cartridge in an ar10. But I may be the only one who wants to see it lol

Just when I thought I was sitting good for a variety of powders. Here comes Johnny! :) Love these type of vids.. Miss the editing on twitch....

Johnny to the rescue! Now I have something to watch with dinner. Just got back from shooting 75gr Hornady match with 23.5gr 8208xbr and 24.9 to 25.3gr leverovlution. .75 typewriter groups with occasional outlier

Great test lots of work thanks

Tried to subscribe, turns out I have already subscribed in another 6 ARC video. Your videos save me lots of time and are good reference data.

I'm curious how these powders would work in the 69 gr projectile.

not at all surprised AR comp shot so well, it performed pretty good in the mk262 test so I thought you should give it another go.

I always enjoy your videos man. Another excellent production. Thanks for doing what you do. I have excellent results with the Forster seating rig.

RSO , folks we have a renegade chicken that refuses to commit to range safety. Giving Johnny the bird, Walking past the firing line, no ear pro, no eye pro and even worse walking around Kentucky with the Col. sanders in the same state. That’s one crazy chicken, go chicken! Johnny next time have the chicken say hey

Thanks for doing this for us. Great video. One thing to consider if truly trying to compare one load to another is cleaning when switching powders. Obviously, that would have been a ridiculous burden with 19 different powders but you really can’t say if the first shot from a new load is meaningful since it was shot on a barrel fouled with a different powder. You’re patterns seem to show first shot “flyers” then a more settled pattern. That MIGHT be due to the powder change…

No LVR, oh man you're missing out there JRB. 25 gr's.

Thanks you. This was very informative.

this channel rocks

IMR 4895 is one of my favorites because its versatile and meters well , long stick powders like 3031 like to bridge in the measure and that is just really annoying. Win 748 was capable of making one hole groups at 200yds with my cheap Savage 110FV using 50 grain Hornady SX bullets . the 110FV was capable of very high velocity because of its slower twist rifling and very long barrel , it would even stabilize Win 64grain PP bullets despite all logic to the contrary

Since there were no fouling shots for powder changes, i believe that affects the groups and this test is simply a avg velocity test. Group sizes are irrelevant.

Well I am using Accurate 2495 at 22.7grs, and they are shooting lights out. Picked it up during powder shortage, and started to develop a load, first 10 shot very well, so I loaded 500. No pressure signs, and haven’t checked velocity, just going off of load data.

Johnny, try experimenting with mandrel expanders when sizing cases to control your neck tension. Pull the expander ball out of the fl resizer and body size your rounds, then use a 21 century mandrel expander about .002 smaller diameter that your bullet diameter. The mandrels expand the inside of the neck and make a more concentric inner diameter of the neck, thus making neck tension more uniform. It's been proven to lower SD numbers

I love that 2000-Mr. It's my .5" group with Nosler cc. 77 gr. No. 41.

Shootin Season is back brother! I have to say I do miss the longer videos but I'm sure you're doing that for your own sanity. Hey I was watching Eric's interview with Jack Neary (part 4)and Jack was talking about the science of reading targets. Didn't even know this existed but one of the things that he said was, when you have a Target that is doing a 3+2 group your load is about to come apart and probably need to back off the powder a little bit. The same kind of goes for a 4 + 1, being that your load is just borderline too hot so it's causing it to spit around. Thought this was interesting and I think I'm going to experiment with it a little myself. Not really sure if it translates over to a standard Barrel in an AR-15 versus their 2in thick cannons barrels in a bolt gun that they use. ( he also said seating gift could be off by a thousand or two) Anyways glad to see you back out on the Range consistently again. Love all the different powders this time. Never really thought about using h4895 or IMR 4895. I know I have one of them but I never can remember which one.

On the 8208xbr I got almost identical results at ~440 ft above sea level. 2,642 mv, 15.9 SD, 37 ES. 8208 is my favorite powder for the 75-77gr pills regardless of manufacturer. Great video. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting! I go to 23.4gr of 8208xbr on the 77gr tmk. I've found she likes it hard and fast, Johnny 😆 No pressure signs, above max publlished data, load at yer own risk or mail to me for testing lol

Awesome test. Thank you.

I really need to get back on my bench and work some loads up!

I have Rainier Arms Super Match 18" SPR that likes the 75 Hornady OTM with 22.5 of AR Comp. Regularly shoots under MOA. Also shoots as well with 23.7 of H-4895. I have the un-cannelured bullets sold in bulk by Midsouth. Those are the two most successful powders with that bullet.

Nice been wanting you to do a video exactly like this for a long time. Im currently working on tuning seating depth with RL15, same bullet, upper/handguard, barrel and trigger.

@Johnny's Reloading Bench I am not sure if you've looked at Hodgon's reloading data recently but according to them Accurate 2520 for 107-110 grain bullets in 6 ARC performs pretty good. Compared to Leverevolution and CFE223, the 2520 gives BETTER velocities than both in some cases. Interesting to explore!!! PLEASE consider trying it out for us.

Tinkering Quickloads the powder seemed more practical than COAL. Up or down .5 grains with AR-Comp at your current length is suppose to put you in a node. Going up, as you found with AR-Comp is something you've had issue with in the past. Be careful man!

AR Comp for the win!

Yep, happens to me when I'm higher than in used too.

Man, velocities of loads are such weird creatures. I loaded that same 23.5 grains of TAC with the 75 BTHP w/cannelure and I only 2530 out of my 18" BA SPR barrel. 100 fps slower than Johnny got.

How do you monitor barrel temp? Might be an interesting video to get a temp probe on the barrel and see how groups are affected as temp increases. Could even look at cool down rates to calibrate your breaks

I use 24.5 re15 with the 75's in a 1/9 savage, smallest groups ever for me. It seams in all my other guns sierras always shoot better than hornady's other than this combo. As a compromise of cost/performance most people can get a serviceable load out of hornady's though.

I'm really learning alit from your videos I've been thinking about getting in to the reloading scene and I'm starting to get idea if how challenging it's going to be

N135 looks promising, just tune the seating depth to tighten the group up

I'm really surprised there's no H335 loads .

It would be cool to see a ballistic gel test with the AR Comp or SW load, the Sierra projectiles are still pricey in 2024😅

Hope is a good starting point 👍

I tried the same bullet and A2520 around 25gr and I’m going to back it off to see if I can get better groups that 1.2”.

Damned if this isn't my favorite youtube channel, and I subscribe to a LOT of channels.

Can you do a video on boat tail verse flat bases bullets. Velocity differences between them of same weight? I seen slow motion videos of how flat base hold more gas behind them.

I did enjoy it. Thanks.

AR Comp and 8208 was your best.

I work with Snipers for all the different services. when we qual them they all have to adjust their POA to sit the 1" circle at 100 yards. We call it cold boar DOPE Data on Previous Engagement.

I've had some flyer issues that were caused by the gas block touching during the barrel flex...I bought a larger diameter handguard and all issues went away...