After trying 7 different powders and more than 50 loads of 3 to 5 rounds each, I have come upon one powder that seems to work perfectly. Not only does it deliver accuracy and speed, it functions well in my Postal Meter 5.7.
I will share the best loads for you to try: Accurate 1680 powder; 40 grain hornet style, both soft point and hollow point; 45 grain hornet sp and hp; 45 HP "BEE". This a limited production Hornady bullet, number 2229. Midway carries them, but you have to get on the list, as they are not currently in stock. I also got some good results with 50 spire points and 52 match hollow points. There is also an excellent little 35 grain half jacket HP, much like the BEE, that is a good shooter and a 46 grain FLAT NOSE Half Jacket that I have not yet tried, but it ought to be a killer. .224 of course. These shots were from a rest at 50 yards....I'm moving to 100 next and will let you know how I do at that distance.
14 grains, 36 hp grenade ~ .90 group @ 2,615 fps///14 grains 45 Bee HP .65 group @ 2,565fps///13 grains 50 spire pt 1.20 @ 2,310fps///15 grains , 40 Hornet Sft Pt ~ .73 @ 2,771///
15 grains 45 Bee ~2,775 fps @ .88///15grains ~ 45 Hornet HP 1.58 group @ 2,726 fps///14.5 Hornet SP no speed, (It was here that I shot my Chrony) 1.09// 14 grains ~ 45 HP Bee ~
.65 and 15 grains at .88///14 grains 45 Hornet HP @ .42///15 grains ~ 40 Hornet HP @ .73. ( I also got 1.09 with 52 grain match hollow points on top of 15 grains>)
Lessons learned: don't shake powder out of the case when moving from measurer to bullet seater. I lost up to 3 grains and it drove me nuts until I figured out what was wrong.
The optimum load for 40 grain anythings is 15 grains; the optimum load for 45 grain anything is 14 grains. You can go up 1/2 in either case, but don't gain much. These are maximum loads for the 218 Bee Cartgridge and work very well in the 5.7 TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT. NO SIGNS OF PRESSURE AND NO SPLITS. GRAF BRASS LOADED 6 TIMES WITH ONLY 2 CASES SHOWING BEGINNING OF A SIGN THAT A SPLIT WAS IN THE NEXT FIRING.
