What's Wrong With BL-C(2)

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UncleDoc

New member
Have been shooting BL-C(2)2 for a number of years in .223 and have had good luck with it. I have read that BL-C(2) has, as Barry Soetoro would say, "evolved" over the years and is not the same as the original. I see the accolades on PM for Benchmark, TAC, H335, H322, and Varget and I shoot some of those powders myself. However, I have had good accuracy with BL-C(2)and was wondering if anyone had issues with cleanliness, velocity or accuracy with this powder in a bolt gun.
 
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I ran it for eons in my .220 swift then .223s until I found that w748 is even more magic in the .223s.
I ran test loads in the 243/7-08 also, but its not as accurate in those cases in my guns..
 
I could never get good accuracy with BLC-2 in my 223 or 308.
I have also had some "scorched powder" issue with BLC-2 and mild primers such as Wolf, especially in cold weather.
 
Originally Posted By: highbrowI could never get good accuracy with BLC-2 in my 223 or 308.
I have also had some "scorched powder" issue with BLC-2 and mild primers such as Wolf, especially in cold weather.

Whatza "Scorched powder issue"??
 
Terrible stuff. Everybody should quit using it, especially anybody that lives near me. The shelves are a little low on it right now
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Been running it as my only load for my AR for about 11yrs now. 26gr. with a CCI SRM and a 50gr. V-max in Winchester cases have been good to me. Tried it in my combo gun on a whim and it was very accurate there too. I've run it on prairie dogs and coyotes in NM during summer and fox here in our VA winters. It has shot well for me across the board.

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This was shot prone out in the hay field off a bipod and rear bag. A little cooling time between groups, but not much. I believe it was summer temps and I was shooting decent in the first few groups, but not my best like the last few. Average was .631 MOA or .661" at 100yds for 6 consecutive 5 shot groups from a 11-12yr old factory AR that has never been more than field stripped and rarely cleaned. It has seen thousands of rounds. Last chronograph of the load was 3120fps out of my 24" 1-8" twist barrel.
 
I run through 8-12 pounds of BLC-2 a year in my 5.56s and 7.62mms, that is the only powder for these five rifles that I use and have 36 pounds stored on hand for the next Barry Soretto shortage.

Outstanding accuracy with heavy 75-77grain OTMs in the 5.56 and the Barnes 70 grain TSX (all MOA), also excellent in the 7.62mm with the Barnes 130 grain TSX as well (sub MOA).

I've only been using it for about ten years though...maybe a hundred pounds shot through the tubes so far.

25.0 grains of BLC-2 in '09 LC brass with Wolf SRM primers are giving me an average of 2582 fps with Barnes 70 grain TSX with no crimp out of a 16" barrel with 1:7" twist and a NATO chamber:

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Works just great in the real world too.



This target was shot around midnight, shoots even better during the day:

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That big pig died with one shot at 175 yards from a SIG 556 with a Barnes 70 grain TSX handload, the perfectly mushroomed bullet was recovered from his flank on the far side.
 
Seems that BL-C(2) is just "old" according to some and there are more recent or newer powders that do better in the .223 be it accuracy, metering, temperature or whatever. I can only judge it by my own personal experience. The 50g pills I have shot with near max loads of BL-C(2) yield a ragged hole with three shots. I have not tried the other standards such as W748, Benchrest, TAC or Varget in this particular rifle but a friend shot some 50g V-Max pills over 24.0g of 10X and you could have covered all five shots with a nickel. So what's a feller to do?
 
For a semi-auto gas piston hunting gun shooting heavy OTMs, it works great in hot humid and cold dry climates.

I am sure that there are much better powders for varmint loads and benchrest competition.

Since I already have over 3,000 rounds loaded up, I'll be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.
 
Most folks are talking about the temp stable powders now but nothing wrong with BL-C. I shoot year round and at long ranges so I use temp stable powder to have a more consistent velocity at all temps I shoot at.
 
Nothing wrong with BL-C2. I use it in my 204 Ruger a lot.

It is not the cleanest burning stuff, but not the dirtiest either.

And yes, it is not the same exact stuff as when it first came out.

Sight your gun in for the temps in which you hunt/shoot, and you are good to go.....
 
Thanks for all the input. All of it is good and there is no such thing as too much information unless you are talking to a liberal. I kinda thought that if it works well why change? I will try the Benchmark and TAC just so I can say I did. Range report to follow.
 
AS 2 Much said nothing wrong with it.. I shot it in several rifles, but moved on to other powders. It was accurate, and metered very well, but was quite dirty..
 
I started handloading in the amid the shortages and would love some to try out. It is the powder I want to try the most along with v560 for my 6.5x55 but I still have not been able to find either. Was able to buy eight pounds of ACC 2495 from Powder Valley and 3 pounds of CFE223 from a store out in the middle of nowhere so that is what I am using. But I really want to try the BL-C(2).
 
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