I put a load together using FC Brass, 50 grain Hornady V-Max Bullets, and 25.0 grains of Shooters World Tactical Rifle. That was one full grain under a maximum load, so I was pretty confident I would not have any issues with ammunition on my first range trip.
I decided to leave the old Burris 5X on the barrel to start with. After shooting the old 223 Contender I may just keep the Burrix 5X on it. I do have a question however. How can you reset the Burris Target Knobs back to ZERO after sight in? The turret looks to have (three allen screws ????), however I did not find an allen wrench that seemed to fit them.
The barrel is antique enough to still have the Non-Split Locking Lugs. I had to slam it pretty hard to get it to fire. I will probably need to address that issue also. It looks to shoot well enough that I would not mind throwing some $$$$ at it to get the Bugs Out.

More load work up to come. I have numerous powders that would work in the 223 Remington. I will probably work with SW Tactical Rifle, AA2015, AA2200, and WW748. I did not have as many 50 Grain V-Max bullets as I thought. Looks like around 400. I did have several box's of Sierra 55's however. I have enough bullets on hand to keep it running for a few years.

Any advice on the Locking Lugs and Burris 5X Target Turrets would be welcome.

Bob R