Shot my first 223 bluedot loads today and I did not blow myself up.

[tammons]

I liked it myself.

Lot less noise. Sort of a pop.
Makes a great varmint round.
DRTd a beaver with a head shot at about 100 yds
with a 52 gr amax..

My loads were very accurate without any workup at all.

That said I dont really load bluedot anymore.
It just made me too nervous and you can download other powders specifically H4895 safely.





Maybe I'm a little slow here, but I don't get the point. Why screw around with a powder like Bluedot that is dangerous in rifle cartridges when the same results can be obtained with reduced loads of conventional rifle powders that won't blow your head off if you make a mistake?

What am I missing?

uj

[Uncle Jack]

"...That said I dont really load bluedot anymore.
It just made me too nervous and you can download other powders specifically H4895 safely."

That was my point exactly.....even the powder I had in mind.

uj

[Joe O]

TrailBoss is the powder to go to for reduced lowpressure loads in rifle cases.Info available in the 2010 Hodgdon loading magazine.About 70% density.In most cases you could fill to the neck and not be in trouble.

[BrentWin]

I have always made it a policy, no matter what the round/powder combo, to charge all of the cases and then shine a flashlight into the cases and look for inconsistancies.

This catches double charges with Blue Dot. It also catches foul ups in std rifle rounds, such as powder bridging in the measure. This will cause one case to be under charged while the next is over charged.

This takes 10 seconds and is an easy safety measure.

BTW the new LED flashlights work best for me. The blue light reflects well off of the powder.

[fatdaddy]

+1 , Checking charged cases with a flash light just makes me feel
better... Bill

[Uncle Jack]

I always use a candle.....probably why I have no eyebrows.

uj

[725franky]

Anyone try these loads with 55gr FMJ's?

[btm_54]

I used 11gr of BD with some Barnes 36gr varmint grenades. In my Savage 223 Tactical it turned rabbits into paddock pizzas.
I got quite a few shots to the 1lb.

[rchouser]

I know this is an old post, but, I heard a trick on another site by a user named Seafire that makes so much sense and adds so much saftey to low fill loads that I am going to post here. It is very straight forward, cheap, and SMART. After you load your cases take a .22 inch wooden dowel and drop it through the case mouth. The mark on the dowel should be at the case mouth if you have charged correctly. Anything over or under. DUMP IT.

Again, I appologize for retagging the old post. I am not advocating or condemning Blue Dot, Red Dot, or Bullseye in rifle cartridges, but if you DO load them, a Caliber specific wooden dowel marked to your charge weight is just a little step between charge and bullet that could save some fingers.

Thanks RC

[tammons]

After a squib I started weighing all of my loaded ammo but the dowel idea is a good one.