Yesterday I made the switch from H-335 to Hodgdon CFE 223 powder. My general purpose load of H-335 with the 55 Gr. Hornady FMJBT has been 25.7 Gr. of H-335. I'm seeing that CFE 223 is a tad slower burning. I'm just wondering what you guys are running for charge weight on this powder with the 55 Gr. bullets? According to my new Hornady 9th Edition Reloading Manual, it is showing a max charge of 27.5 Gr. of CFE 223 for the 55 Gr. in 5.56 NATO, and 25.4 Gr. (2-1/10th grain less), for the same combination in .223.


I have 2 bolt guns in .223, (A CZ-527 LUX, and a Marlin X-7), as well as 3 Ruger Mini 14's, and countless AR's. I want one load for all. I don't segregate my .223 / 5.56 MM brass either. I've never found any need to. I'm hearing really good things about this powder, and the guy I talked to at Bruno's Shooters Supply where I bought it told me it meters through a powder measure just as nice as H-335 does. He also said he has received really good feedback about CFE 223 in general. I'm hoping that it will burn a bit cleaner than the H-335. Although admittingly, I never found H-335 to be that dirty. I still like the idea of shooting a clean powder. Especially for a general purpose round. Anyway, I just thought that perhaps some of you guys wouldn't mind sharing what loads you've had good luck with using this newer powder. Thanks in advance.