.223 COL 55gr FMJ

[JonB]

I am using 55 gr Winchester bulk FMJ bullets and trying to get my die set for COL properly. Speer reload data shows COL of 2.25 and Hodgdon website show 2.12". If I seat about in the middle of the cannelure I am closer to the 2.12".

Should I back it out to the edge of the cannelure to be closer to the 2.25 or use the cannelure as my guide?

 

[rcmodel]

Use the cannelure.
Correct OAL depends on bullet or ogive shape, and everyones is a little different.

Seat almost to the front of the cannelure, and the crimp will then have room to fold down in the middle of it.

The Winchester cannelure location is correct for their bullet profile, with no regard to what Hodgdon & Speer says it should be with unnamed bullets, and Speer bullets.


rcmodel

 

[EBRDude]

I always load long if given a choice. I would go with 2.25 personally. Other more saavy people may tell you different.

 

[Walkalong]

I trim to 1.750 and seat my 55 Gr. FMJ's so the case will crimp into the cannelure. This gives me anywhere from 1.235 to 1.250 O.A.L. with several years old (different batch than yours ) Winchester bulk 55 Gr. FMJ bullets.

 

[Roadkill]

My max case length is 1.760, use the die to set them all to the same depth from there. I use an Israeli milsurp round as a guide. Works in three ARs and a Galil.

 

[rg1]

With Win 55fmj's I seat them so that the longest would be 2.250". Some will end up at 2.230-2.235 (the shortest) with the longest oal at 2.250". This is due to some of the Win 55fmj bullets that I've used being very sharp pointed and some a little blunter pointed. Seems they put the cannelure onto the bullet at a distance located off the tip. Just set your seating die so that the longest is 2.250" and don't worry about where the cannelure is exactly located. The ogive of all the bullets will have the same seating depth in the case.

 

[xsquidgator]

Do all of you reloading .223 apply a crimp? (Sounds like it) I've only reloaded rifle for a few months (and have only been reloading pistol for almost a year) but have been using the Lee FCD to put at least a light crimp on my rifle rounds.

I just bought a .223 AR and am waiting on my reloading stuff for it to arrive. One old-timer at the range told me he never crimps his rifle cartridges, not even his .223. Is there enough "umph" holding a seated but uncrimped bullet in place if you're shooting say an AR with 20 or 30 round mags?

I like the idea of not crimping and thus perhaps getting more uses out of each brass casing, but it seems uncomfortably weird not to crimp especially when the bullets have a cannulure. I've had trouble with too lightly-crimped .357 revolver rounds before when the recoil would cause the last bullet to back out of the casing in the last one or two in the cylinder, locking up the pistol. Is the bullet backing out of an uncrimped rifle case an issue in the same way?

 

[rcmodel]

I crimp .223 for use in auto-loaders, and surprisingly, noticed an improvement in accuracy as well.

But I don't crimp them because of recoil in the magazine.
The real danger is bullet set-back when the uncrimped round hits the feed ramp on the way into the chamber.

A properly set up AR or other semi-auto rifle will feed slick enough that set-back probably will never be a problem.
But that's not to say every magazine you ever put in it will have perfect feed-lips!

I also crimp 30-30, 25-20, 32-20, 218 Bee, and anything else intended for a lever-action tube magazine.

I don't crimp ammo for bolt-actions except for the .223 I use interchangably in both a CZ bolt-gun and several semi-autos.


rcmodel

 

[ATAShooter]

Mine are used in an AR .... I seat at the cannelure, and crimp.