Load Specifications
Load data in caliber 5.56 x 45 NATO with .224 | 55gr | Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos bullet and 33 powders. The key underlying parameters are shown in the table above. The recommended powders for this cartridge and bullet combination are ADI AR 2219, Norma 200 and ADI AR 2207.
Important Notice: DO NOT go below Minimum Charge or above Maximum Charge. Since we have no control over the equipment and components used, any responsibility and liability for the results achieved is rejected.
Only powders/loads that match the current filter criteria are displayed: max pressure of a load ≤ 90% of max. standardized pressure, fill rate ≥ 80% and propellant combustion ≥ 95%. Use the sliders above the tables to adjust these thresholds.
Charge: Powder weight in grains. Start with the minimum load and work up carefully.
FR (Fill Rate): Case fill as a percentage. Values above 100% mean compressed loads.
MaxP / %: Maximum chamber pressure in bar and as a percentage of the standardized maximum for this caliber.
V(0): Muzzle velocity in feet per second (fps) at the standardized barrel length.
z (Powder Burn): Estimated propellant combustion percentage at bullet exit.
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Max Load - Barrel Length: 20"
| Powder | Charge | FR | MaxP | % | V(0) | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate 1680 | <<locked>> | 90% | 54,694 psi | 88% | 3002 fps | 99.6% |
| Accurate 2015ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 46,615 psi | 75% | 2949 fps | 97.9% |
| Accurate 2460ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 52,779 psi | 85% | 3058 fps | 96.2% |
| Accurate LT-30 | <<locked>> | 96% | 55,100 psi | 88% | 3005 fps | 98% |
| Accurate LT-32 | <<locked>> | 96% | 55,637 psi | 89% | 3012 fps | 96.2% |
| ADI APS 450 | <<locked>> | 82% | 55,999 psi | 90% | 2359 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2205 | <<locked>> | 84% | 56,159 psi | 90% | 2930 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2207 | <<locked>> | 94% | 53,214 psi | 85% | 3061 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2219 | <<locked>> | 98% | 56,434 psi | 90% | 3156 fps | 98.1% |
| Alliant AR-Compᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 43,308 psi | 69% | 2979 fps | 99.3% |
| Alliant Reloder-10xᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 53,838 psi | 86% | 3104 fps | 99.6% |
| Alliant Reloder-7 | <<locked>> | 94% | 55,970 psi | 90% | 3071 fps | 99.9% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 106 | <<locked>> | 96% | 53,490 psi | 86% | 2986 fps | 98.1% |
| Hodgdon H322ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 54,128 psi | 87% | 3120 fps | 97.7% |
| Hodgdon H335ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 55,376 psi | 89% | 3130 fps | 97% |
| Hodgdon H4198 | <<locked>> | 92% | 53,388 psi | 86% | 3002 fps | 97.2% |
| Hodgdon TrailBossᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 30,937 psi | 50% | 1883 fps | 100% |
| IMR 4198ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 55,680 psi | 89% | 3091 fps | 100% |
| IMR 4227 | <<locked>> | 88% | 53,722 psi | 86% | 2999 fps | 100% |
| Lovex D060 | <<locked>> | 82% | 52,968 psi | 85% | 3031 fps | 99.8% |
| Lovex S053 | <<locked>> | 90% | 54,694 psi | 88% | 2989 fps | 100% |
| Norma 200 | <<locked>> | 96% | 54,230 psi | 87% | 3091 fps | 99.9% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 14ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 30,908 psi | 50% | 1929 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 36 | <<locked>> | 88% | 53,229 psi | 85% | 3025 fps | 100% |
| Shooters World Buffalo Rifle | <<locked>> | 82% | 52,968 psi | 85% | 3031 fps | 99.8% |
| Shooters World SOCOM | <<locked>> | 82% | 54,679 psi | 88% | 3002 fps | 100% |
| SNPE Vectan BA6 1/2 | <<locked>> | 94% | 55,651 psi | 89% | 2844 fps | 100% |
| SNPE Vectan SP 10 | <<locked>> | 96% | 52,939 psi | 85% | 3087 fps | 96.4% |
| SNPE Vectan SP 3ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 55,390 psi | 89% | 3114 fps | 98.7% |
| Vihtavuori N110 | <<locked>> | 84% | 53,882 psi | 86% | 2904 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N120 | <<locked>> | 94% | 53,258 psi | 85% | 3015 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N130ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 51,953 psi | 83% | 3002 fps | 99.3% |
| Vihtavuori N133ᴾ | <<locked>> | 100% | 45,092 psi | 72% | 2887 fps | 97.4% |
Recommended = one of the top powders for this cartridge and bullet combination.
Start Load - Barrel Length: 20"
| Powder | Charge | FR | MaxP | % | V(0) | z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate 1680 | <<locked>> | 80% | 39,204 psi | 63% | 2730 fps | 97.2% |
| Accurate 2015 | <<locked>> | 92% | 36,332 psi | 58% | 2743 fps | 95.1% |
| Accurate 2460 | <<locked>> | 98% | 49,197 psi | 79% | 2999 fps | 95.3% |
| Accurate LT-30 | <<locked>> | 88% | 42,902 psi | 69% | 2792 fps | 95.5% |
| Accurate LT-32 | <<locked>> | 94% | 52,083 psi | 84% | 2956 fps | 95.5% |
| ADI APS 450 | <<locked>> | 80% | 54,462 psi | 87% | 2336 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2205 | <<locked>> | 80% | 49,835 psi | 80% | 2838 fps | 100% |
| ADI AR 2207 | 18.1 gr | 80% | 34,563 psi | 55% | 2710 fps | 99.1% |
| ADI AR 2219 | 22.5 gr | 90% | 42,946 psi | 69% | 2913 fps | 95.1% |
| Alliant AR-Comp | <<locked>> | 90% | 31,676 psi | 51% | 2697 fps | 96% |
| Alliant Reloder-10x | <<locked>> | 84% | 32,808 psi | 53% | 2677 fps | 95.1% |
| Alliant Reloder-7 | <<locked>> | 80% | 35,984 psi | 58% | 2700 fps | 96.8% |
| Baschieri & Pellagri 106 | <<locked>> | 88% | 41,147 psi | 66% | 2766 fps | 95.3% |
| Hodgdon H322 | <<locked>> | 94% | 44,092 psi | 71% | 2940 fps | 95.4% |
| Hodgdon H335 | <<locked>> | 96% | 48,428 psi | 78% | 3012 fps | 95.4% |
| Hodgdon H4198 | <<locked>> | 86% | 44,382 psi | 71% | 2838 fps | 95.1% |
| Hodgdon TrailBoss | <<locked>> | 80% | 22,800 psi | 37% | 1690 fps | 100% |
| IMR 4198 | <<locked>> | 80% | 30,792 psi | 49% | 2579 fps | 95.2% |
| IMR 4227 | <<locked>> | 80% | 41,901 psi | 67% | 2795 fps | 99.5% |
| Lovex D060 | <<locked>> | 80% | 50,256 psi | 81% | 2986 fps | 99.6% |
| Lovex S053 | <<locked>> | 80% | 40,741 psi | 65% | 2759 fps | 100% |
| Norma 200 | 18.9 gr | 80% | 32,401 psi | 52% | 2654 fps | 95.9% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 14 | <<locked>> | 80% | 22,452 psi | 36% | 1722 fps | 100% |
| ReloadSwiss RS 36 | <<locked>> | 80% | 41,307 psi | 66% | 2815 fps | 99.3% |
| Shooters World Buffalo Rifle | <<locked>> | 80% | 50,256 psi | 81% | 2986 fps | 99.6% |
| Shooters World SOCOM | <<locked>> | 80% | 51,198 psi | 82% | 2949 fps | 99.9% |
| SNPE Vectan BA6 1/2 | <<locked>> | 80% | 38,232 psi | 61% | 2579 fps | 100% |
| SNPE Vectan SP 10 | <<locked>> | 94% | 49,617 psi | 80% | 3031 fps | 95.7% |
| SNPE Vectan SP 3 | <<locked>> | 90% | 40,451 psi | 65% | 2841 fps | 95.5% |
| Vihtavuori N110 | <<locked>> | 80% | 48,095 psi | 77% | 2822 fps | 100% |
| Vihtavuori N120 | <<locked>> | 80% | 34,766 psi | 56% | 2684 fps | 99.7% |
| Vihtavuori N130 | <<locked>> | 86% | 33,794 psi | 54% | 2644 fps | 95.2% |
| Vihtavuori N133 | <<locked>> | 94% | 37,318 psi | 60% | 2730 fps | 95.2% |
Recommended = one of the top powders for this cartridge and bullet combination.
ᴾ possible press load - work up slowly to this load while watching for signs of excessive pressure.
This overview compares 61 powders for 5.56 x 45 NATO loaded with the .224 | 55gr | Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos. Alliant Power Pro 1200-R delivers the highest muzzle velocity at 3,159 fps; across all powders the maximum-charge window runs from 1,883 fps to 3,159 fps. Accurate 2015 gives the best case fill at 100 %, and 61 of the 61 powders fall inside the usable 80–100 % fill window.
Relative to the caliber's maximum pressure (430 MPa), the top charges use 50–90 %, leaving at least 10 % headroom. The 55.0 gr projectile in 0.224" calls for a 1:9.0 twist; slower twists will usually not stabilise this weight. Accurate 2015, Accurate 2460, Accurate 2495 reach 100 % fill or more at maximum charge, so these are compressed loads: they need a long drop tube to seat cleanly and react sensitively to the case capacity of your own brass lot. ADI AR 2219, Norma 200, ADI AR 2207 rank at the top here: for 5.56 x 45 NATO with the .224 | 55gr | Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos they combine a high case fill with complete burn and sit in the upper velocity band. As outliers, Accurate 2520, ADI Benchmark 8208, Alliant Power Pro 1200-R burn incompletely and react more sensitively to barrel length and temperature. Always begin at the start load and work up in small increments while checking case and primer for pressure signs.