Hodgdon CFE
Hodgdon CFE 223
A general-purpose spherical rifle powder aimed at modern sporting rifles and high-volume varmint and target shooting.
The default high-volume gas-gun powder: it meters perfectly, feeds a progressive all day, and gives good velocity in .223/5.56 and workable .308 loads. The copper-eraser chemistry does keep copper down, but it is also why the powder burns visibly dirty — black fouling on cases, in the gas system and around the port. It carries no temperature-stability claim, so it drifts with the seasons. Treat it as what the community treats it as: a bulk-ammo powder, not a substitute for a temperature-stable extruded match powder when you are chasing low dispersion.
- bulk 5.56 for an AR
- 223 Remington varmint loads
- 308 Winchester gas-gun ammo
- high-volume progressive loading
Who has Hodgdon CFE 223 today
Checked October 10In stock at 3 stores — lowest in hand $47.52/lb (8 lb at Lohman Arms)
| Store | Size | Shelf | In hand /lb | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 8 lb | $348.74 | $47.52 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 8 lb | $361.99 | $49.93 | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 8 lb | $380.99 | $51.55 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Lohman ArmsHazmat charged, amount not published | 1 lb | $43.95 | $75.39 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Hodgdon (direct)Terms not published | 1 lb | $52.99 | $84.43 est. | In stock ↗ |
| Graf & Sons$23.50 hazmat per package | 1 lb | $49.99 | $87.44 | In stock ↗ |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 8 lb | $327.99 | $46.86 | Out |
| Bruno Shooters Supply$26.95 hazmat + $19.95 ship | 1 lb | $44.99 | $91.89 | Out |
“In hand” is the shelf price plus that store’s hazmat fee and shipping, spread over one container. Stock is checked once a day — confirm on the store’s page before ordering. Compare all powders →
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Hodgdon |
|---|---|
| Product family | Hodgdon CFE |
| Status | Currently produced |
| Application | rifle |
| Grain form | spherical |
| Lee VMD (bulk density) | 0.0646 cc per grain · 1.00 g/cc |
| Composition | double-base |
| Temperature stable | Not marketed as temperature-stable |
| Burn-rate position | 134 of 198 (fastest = 1) — what this means |
| Typical cartridges | 204 Ruger, 223 Remington, 5.56 NATO, 22-250 Remington, 308 Winchester, 7.62 NATO |
Grain shape
Spherical and degressive — surface falls as the grain burns, so energy arrives early, which suits short gas-gun barrels and light bullets. The sphere is the reason people buy it by the keg: it flows through a progressive measure without cutting, bridging or drifting charge to charge.
Why geometry decides burn rate more than chemistry does: Shape Is the Product.
Contains Hodgdon's Copper Fouling Eraser additive, which the company says slows copper fouling and stretches the interval between barrel cleanings. Spherical, so metering is very consistent.
Burn rate
Medium rifle, between BL-C(2) and Alliant Reloder 15.5.
Chart agreement: MAJOR DISAGREEMENT - the single biggest conflict in this merged chart. Hodgdon and the Wolfe/LoadData compilation both rank Hodgdon BL-C(2) and Hodgdon CFE 223 as SLOWER than Hodgdon Varget, while Vihtavuori and Shooters World both band them FASTER than Varget (Vihtavuori bands BL-C(2) with N130 and CFE 223 with N133; Shooters World bands BL-C(2) with Accurate 2460/W748/N133 and CFE 223 with Accurate 2520/N140). The three powders are ordered here per Hodgdon. Treat this whole neighbourhood as unresolved. Ranked by: Hodgdon, Vihtavuori, Shooters World, Wolfe/LoadData.
Powders charted near it — neighbours on the chart are not substitutes, and adjacency tells you nothing about what charge either one takes:
- Winchester StaBALL Match (position 131)
- Hodgdon BL-C(2) (position 132)
- Vihtavuori N540 (position 133)
- Alliant Reloder TS 15.5 (position 135)
- Alliant Power Pro 2000-MR (position 136)
- Hodgdon LEVERevolution (position 137)
What reloaders say about it
Unverified community anecdote. The following is a summary of what handloaders report in public forums. It is not manufacturer information, it has not been tested, it may be wrong, and it contains no load data by design. Treat it as colour, not guidance.
CFE 223 is the community's standard answer for high-volume gas-gun .223/5.56 loading: a ball powder that meters well and is comparatively easy to find. The persistent complaint is that its copper-fouling-eraser chemistry makes it burn dirty, leaving noticeable black fouling.
- ball powder, meters very consistently through volumetric measures
- reported as dirty-burning; the copper-eraser additive is blamed
- favored for bulk/plinking and high-velocity loads rather than lowest-dispersion match ammo
- commonly available relative to extruded match powders
Availability: One of the powders users consistently report actually finding on shelves in 2025-2026, and one of the more affordable options.
Reported cautions:
- Several posters explicitly frame it as a bulk-ammo powder rather than a substitute for a temperature-stable extruded match powder when consistency is the goal.
Consensus level: widely held. Drawn from thread 1, thread 2, thread 3, thread 4, thread 5.
Sources
The specifications above come from Hodgdon's own published documentation, linked below. The two “RCM's read” sections are ours, not theirs — our assessment of what this powder is like to load, drawn from its published characteristics and from what handloaders consistently report. No manufacturer endorses them and no source below backs them. If you think we have one wrong, tell us — we would rather fix it.