.223 case capacity issue

[ggardiner8]

Greetings !

I am working up a .223 load on a Dillon RL550b. 60 gr v-max bullet, military brass, and 25 gr of Varget powder. Load works well but i'm looking to up the powder load and i'm also looking at the same configuration with a 55 gr v-max bullet, so i up the powder to 26 gr. Still well below a max load. I notice that i'm starting to get a ring around the bullets. The dies are the correct ones for .223 etc... but what i found was happening was that the 26 gr's was such a compressed load that the seating die was actually leaving a mark/ring on the bullet. Has anyone else had anything similiar? Do i have to switch to a different powder?

Thanks!

 

[taliv]

i'd wager it's not the compressed powder that's leaving the ring. try seating a bullet with no powder and see if you still get a ring.

i don't think the ring is an issue. just my opinion, but it's basically cosmetic.

 

[Telperion]

I also sometimes get a ring when loading 25-26 gr Varget behind a 69 gr SMK. The problem is that the seating stem cannot match the ogive for every possible bullet. You might want to try a drop tube to pack the powder in more efficiently, but I've also found the ring to be cosmetic.

 

[no_problem]

Is it possible that since military brass (5.56mm X 45) is thicker than commercial brass(.223 Remington), and your dies are for .223 (commercial), that the thicker military brass is causing this ring?

Do you get the same ring using civilian brass (ie: FC, RP, etc)?

 

[ggardiner8]

More info

Greetings !
As soon as i back the powder down to 25gr i get no ring. Here is a pic of the two rounds. Left is 25 gr varget and 60 gr v-max bullet. Right is identical load, same set up with 26 gr varget. Hopefully the ring will show in the pics.

http://peopleandpaws.org/shooting/bullet%20ring.htm
So most of you figure the ring won't have any effect?
Thanks