Shot my first handloads
- Thread starter MrSpiffy
- Start date
- Status
gonoles_1980
Member
Now you went and did it, you will become hooked very quickly. Impressive starting with rifle brass. I started with a 38spl.
Funny, I have yet to load a pistol, most folks around here triple the rifle use over a handgun, and honestly, having watched my pop do it when I was knee high, just wasn't scared of rifle nearly as much as the pistol, it wasn't till recently that the pistol loads started making sense, but I'm still more comfortable knowing that starting from the bottom, there's A LOT more room for powder/pressure increments and I have yet to double charge a case that didn't overflow upon so doing.
Got out to the range for testing another batch of reloads. I only had 10 of the 77gr SMK's left, so I bracketed my powder charge by 0.1gr on either side of my best load from the first set of reloads, which was 24.3gr of Vihtavuori 140. I ended up with only a few rounds in each group, plus a sample of 3 rounds at that same 24.3gr powder charge. I also tested 75gr Hornady HPBT Match bullets with Varget. For this batch, I loaded nearly an entire box of 100 bullets, testing numerous powder charges from the minimum through the maximum. Powder charge increment was 0.3gr at the lower end, going to 0.2gr toward max.
For the SMK's, I ended up with the best group (albeit a small one) at the same 24.3gr charge as before. Looks like I've found a good recipe! (Note the extra bullet hole in the lettering of the top group. I adjusted my scope after that first group.) Size of the bracketing groups was fairly large by comparison. Sometimes 0.1gr really does make a difference!
For the Hornady 75gr HPBT Match bullets, the best group came at 23.4gr of Varget powder. I'd heard that heavier bullets tend to perform best closer to maximum powder charge, but that was not the case here. And I'm okay with it! I can save a little powder. I'll probably still go back and try bracketing in 0.1gr increments around this recipe, also, just to really zero in on the ideal powder charge. But, for now, I'm really happy with how this session went.
For the SMK's, I ended up with the best group (albeit a small one) at the same 24.3gr charge as before. Looks like I've found a good recipe! (Note the extra bullet hole in the lettering of the top group. I adjusted my scope after that first group.) Size of the bracketing groups was fairly large by comparison. Sometimes 0.1gr really does make a difference!
For the Hornady 75gr HPBT Match bullets, the best group came at 23.4gr of Varget powder. I'd heard that heavier bullets tend to perform best closer to maximum powder charge, but that was not the case here. And I'm okay with it! I can save a little powder. I'll probably still go back and try bracketing in 0.1gr increments around this recipe, also, just to really zero in on the ideal powder charge. But, for now, I'm really happy with how this session went.
Hokie_PhD
Member
Congrats!!!!
Shooting your first loads is really exciting.
I'm fairly new to handloading so it wasn't that long ago that I had that experience too.
Judging by your pics it looks like you did a great job.
I spread my cost out by buying my gear over time a little at a time. But even shopping wisely and spreading it out this isn't a cheap pastime. So I'm with you.
That said others are right in that soon you'll want to try different powders, bullets etc.
In my case I was lucky in that a friend gave me some bullets and powder to try and I was hooked. From there I did a bunch of reading and picked up a few other powders. Of them I really like one that he gave me a sample of, and I'm not too fond of the other. Those were for pistol. For my AR I found two powders I like so I'm working on figuring out which I like better.
Anyway this isn't a race or contest and the only important rule is to be safe. After that you'll find what works best for you. You'll also find a bunch of folks that will help you and answer questions.
So again congrats and I can't wait to hear updates as you have time to share
Shooting your first loads is really exciting.
I'm fairly new to handloading so it wasn't that long ago that I had that experience too.
Judging by your pics it looks like you did a great job.
I spread my cost out by buying my gear over time a little at a time. But even shopping wisely and spreading it out this isn't a cheap pastime. So I'm with you.
That said others are right in that soon you'll want to try different powders, bullets etc.
In my case I was lucky in that a friend gave me some bullets and powder to try and I was hooked. From there I did a bunch of reading and picked up a few other powders. Of them I really like one that he gave me a sample of, and I'm not too fond of the other. Those were for pistol. For my AR I found two powders I like so I'm working on figuring out which I like better.
Anyway this isn't a race or contest and the only important rule is to be safe. After that you'll find what works best for you. You'll also find a bunch of folks that will help you and answer questions.
So again congrats and I can't wait to hear updates as you have time to share
I think you misunderstood me. Trying to stick to that .1gn measurement is hard enough. But now go shoot the exact same loads on another day & see what they do.Sometimes 0.1gr really does make a difference!
We've been having this same conversation in a few different threads over the past week or so.
Congrats on your successful new hobby! I've also enjoyed reading other peoples accounts of their first trigger pull under their own hand loaded ammo. You're working with great components so stick with what you're doing because you're on the right track! I use 24.9gr of varget (that's .1gr below max so work up if going that high) with the 75g Hornady HPBT, and I love H335 for their 55gr VMAX bullets. I've read TAC was specifically designed for heavy .223 bullets in AR's but I'm not sure if it's true, but TAC and CFE223 are the next powders I'll try in my AR if I ever get tired of dropping Varget ... but I just opened up a new keg of Varget so I think I'll just stick with what's working for a while.
@kingmt, that's very true. Varying environmental conditions can change things significantly enough on their own. Change the temperature from a cold winter day to a warm summer day, and it will behave completely differently.
For right now, I'm just shooting indoors on a climate-controlled range. But, I'm curious how it'll behave outdoors in different temperatures. I have a friend that knows a good outdoor range. I'll have to hit them up to do some testing.
@Hokie_PhD and @ajandrs, thanks! It's been fascinating learning to reload. There's so much going on, and so many tiny variables that can add up to the result we see on paper! I'll try to stick with the (mostly) basics for now and see how far it takes me. So far, my regimen includes hand-cleaning and lubing cases. I hope to switch to a wet tumbler soon. I've also taken once-fired brass and uniformed the primer pockets with the uniformer from Sinclair, and I've deburred flash holes. I want to take as many variables out of this equation as I can.
As for powders, I'll probably only test one or two at a time until those run out. I have a couple of good loads for the two that I have (Vihtavuori 140 and Varget), so I'll use those up before moving on to something different. Next up, I want to try some lighter bullets. Maybe something in the 64gr range, and something in the 50-55gr range, just to see if I can get them to shoot tight groups. I'll probably try the Hornady V-max bullets and go from there. It would be nice to have something I can use for hunting/varmint purposes, and not just all target rounds. Plus, I hear the V-max bullets are quite accurate.
Other bullets on my list to try are: 55-65gr Sierra Game Kings (that's as high as they go in .224 diameter), 75gr Hornady ELD Match (if it even makes a difference over the normal Hornady Match bullets), maybe even Barnes TSX to work up a hunting round (though, at $30/box it could get pricey doing testing...). And I have a few powders I'm interested in, also: BL-C2, H335, TAC, CFE 223, etc. But, I'll grab one at a time and work up a load. I still want to look at reloading for pistols, too.
I both love and hate trying out all of these combinations. It ends up being fun, but also expensive working up a single load that works well for one powder and one bullet. So, I need to spread out my testing and costs over time to keep from spending too much at once.
For right now, I'm just shooting indoors on a climate-controlled range. But, I'm curious how it'll behave outdoors in different temperatures. I have a friend that knows a good outdoor range. I'll have to hit them up to do some testing.
@Hokie_PhD and @ajandrs, thanks! It's been fascinating learning to reload. There's so much going on, and so many tiny variables that can add up to the result we see on paper! I'll try to stick with the (mostly) basics for now and see how far it takes me. So far, my regimen includes hand-cleaning and lubing cases. I hope to switch to a wet tumbler soon. I've also taken once-fired brass and uniformed the primer pockets with the uniformer from Sinclair, and I've deburred flash holes. I want to take as many variables out of this equation as I can.
As for powders, I'll probably only test one or two at a time until those run out. I have a couple of good loads for the two that I have (Vihtavuori 140 and Varget), so I'll use those up before moving on to something different. Next up, I want to try some lighter bullets. Maybe something in the 64gr range, and something in the 50-55gr range, just to see if I can get them to shoot tight groups. I'll probably try the Hornady V-max bullets and go from there. It would be nice to have something I can use for hunting/varmint purposes, and not just all target rounds. Plus, I hear the V-max bullets are quite accurate.
Other bullets on my list to try are: 55-65gr Sierra Game Kings (that's as high as they go in .224 diameter), 75gr Hornady ELD Match (if it even makes a difference over the normal Hornady Match bullets), maybe even Barnes TSX to work up a hunting round (though, at $30/box it could get pricey doing testing...). And I have a few powders I'm interested in, also: BL-C2, H335, TAC, CFE 223, etc. But, I'll grab one at a time and work up a load. I still want to look at reloading for pistols, too.
I both love and hate trying out all of these combinations. It ends up being fun, but also expensive working up a single load that works well for one powder and one bullet. So, I need to spread out my testing and costs over time to keep from spending too much at once.
Good luck with that goal. It's probably harder then the perfect load.
Picked up some Hornady 55gr V-Max bullets to test. Looks like I've found a couple of possible combinations that may work. I'll try testing a few others in 0.1gr increments around these loads to see if I can get them any better.
A couple of thoughts here...
I was surprised the 23.0gr load did so well. I imagined that loading for accuracy typically meant having a full case to create a consistent powder burn. I guess that's not entirely true in this case.
Also, you'll notice on the images with my 26.3gr load that I avoided the one round when calculating group size. (I added a duplicate without the text in the way...) I'm pretty confident that was my fault, not the round's. However, if you take that extra round into account, the group still ended up at 1.26MOA. Not great, but like I said, that's my fault. If I take that out, my group shrinks to 0.54MOA! Definitely going to tinker around that load to see if I can improve upon it. But seeing that number makes me grin!
A couple of thoughts here...
I was surprised the 23.0gr load did so well. I imagined that loading for accuracy typically meant having a full case to create a consistent powder burn. I guess that's not entirely true in this case.
Also, you'll notice on the images with my 26.3gr load that I avoided the one round when calculating group size. (I added a duplicate without the text in the way...) I'm pretty confident that was my fault, not the round's. However, if you take that extra round into account, the group still ended up at 1.26MOA. Not great, but like I said, that's my fault. If I take that out, my group shrinks to 0.54MOA! Definitely going to tinker around that load to see if I can improve upon it. But seeing that number makes me grin!
It's hardly ever true that you'll find your best groups with a max load, normally a grain or two less than max will provide the tightest groups. Filling the case to maximum possible can produce the most efficient burn and it can produce the best results at long ranges (because it keeps the bullet super sonic longer) but it won't necessarily produce the most precise groups.
- Status
