What powder is in Hornady SST factory load?

[v4lu3s]

6.5 Grendel, .223 Rem, and .308 Win all share most of the same powders, so a commercial canister powder formulated for their other main cartridges might make the most sense from an industrial standpoint.

For the hand-loader, CFE223 and LVR will deliver the fastest velocities with 123gr bullets, with relatively low chamber pressure compared to other powders.

You’re already well-compressed before you hit the SAAMI MAP, but getting faster speeds than anything else.

For example, under a 123gr SMK (which is a lot longer than a 123gr SST, A-MAX, or ELD-M) you max out at 31.2gr due to case capacity, not chamber pressure, because that load is 48,700psi per Hodgdon’s pressure test data.

CFE223 is one of the most forgiving powders you can load in 6.5 Grendel in my experience. I ran some pressure ladders with it 2012, and was very surprised at how high it let me go before I saw an excursion from the trend in .3gr of charge weight increments.

That was under 123gr A-AMAX. You have to increase the COL to get more powder in the case, which also reduces pressure until you can build up to it. With 2.275” COL, it allows you to reach much higher velocities akin to adding 4-6” of barrel length.

I was loading through a 16” AA barrel at the time, and easily got into the mid-2550fps region. I only mass-produce the 31.2gr loads though, which run in the 47,000-48,000psi range, maybe even less with a Hornady bullet.

Sierra Match Kings tend to have jackets that resist being driven into the lands more, so they build pressure faster.

The Hornady and Hodgdon’s load data should be referenced when working with CFE223, but you’ll be in the 28.4gr to 31.2gr load range under a 123gr SMK per Hodgdon’s.

Hornady lists the 120gr GMX copper monolith along with the other 120-123gr cup and core bullets, so 31.2gr is the limit with the GMX, not the 120gr ELD-M, 123gr ELD-M, or 123gr SST.

Chamber dimensions and rifling profiles will determine what you are able to do.

Wow that is a lot of really good information. I knew cfe 223 was a pretty forgiving powder as I have best results at near max load on 223 loads. It didn't occur to me about the monolithic bullet being the limiting factor on that load data. I have gone as high as 31.5 grans right now, but had disappointing results on 31.5, 31.3, 30.9, 30.7 and 30.5 when tested with my suppressor, the day before I had test 30.6, 30.8, 31 and 31.2 with good groupings but had not used the suppressor. Seems that I may have some sort of mismatch there that I need to figure out before wasting more materials.