223 Rem, 55 gr and H355, lets beat this again!

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Rule3

Rule3

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Loading up some range fodder. 55 gr Hornady FMJ BT w/c

I have been doing this long enough to know there is variables in test data but come on!

Speer #14 has a range of 24.0 gr to 26.0 gr using a Mag primer??

Hornady #8 has a range of 20.8 to 23.2 with a regular SR primer

Both pretty much the same COL

Now these are not even close? Hodgdons data is of course different also.

So who ya gonna call?

What do you use if using this powder and 55 gr bullet??
 
I use 25 grs. And standard primers in multiple brands, just been a good consistent load overall.
 
I drop 1.57 cc's from my press, which weighs 24.2g of h355. I've loaded thousands of these, & they work for me.
 
24.5 grains of H335, a 55gr FMJ-BT seated to the cannelure, lit by either a CCI #41 or 450 primer. Chronographs at 2840-fps from a 16" AR carbine. I've been debating loading the next batch at 24.0-grains, which should almost perfectly mimic Federal bulk .223 55gr FMJ ammo (2790-fps from my barrel).

FWIW, XM193 and Q3131 are quite a bit hotter. I'll chronograph some next time I break out the chrony, but based on seat of the pants and what others have posted about it, I expect 3000-fps from a carbine.
 
I've shot several thousand rounds of my reloads and currently have about 4k stock piled. All are mixed brass, 55 grain FMJ, 25.0 grains of H335 and most were primed with CCI #400 primers. Never an issue.

The current batch of ammo I am shooting/reloading has the CCI #41 primers, but only because when I went looking for primers, all the regular SR were sold out.
 
Thanks, I have loaded many of them from the low to the high I just can not understand the major variation between Speer and Hornady. I tend to go with Hornady more often(over Speer) but do realize that their start loads are pretty anemic.

In this case however Hornady does not even reach Speers start load which is very confusing,
 
Try to always go with the bullet manufacturers recommendation. Has always worked well for me.
 
Loading up some range fodder. 55 gr Hornady FMJ BT w/c

I have been doing this long enough to know there is variables in test data but come on!

Speer #14 has a range of 24.0 gr to 26.0 gr using a Mag primer??

Hornady #8 has a range of 20.8 to 23.2 with a regular SR primer

Both pretty much the same COL

Now these are not even close? Hodgdons data is of course different also.

So who ya gonna call?

What do you use if using this powder and 55 gr bullet??
Click to expand...

Hodgdon.

http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

Code: 
 Hodgdon	H335	.224"	2.200"		23.0	3,018	40,800 CUP		25.3	3,203	49,300 CUP
 
Loading for accuracy, I settled on 25 gr of H335 with Hornaday's same 55gr with range pickup and CCI 400 SR primers as well. Haven't chrono'ed the rounds yet.

Dirty
 
223 Rem, 55 gr and H355, lets beat this again!
Loading up some range fodder. 55 gr Hornady FMJ BT w/c

I have been doing this long enough to know there is variables in test data but come on!

//////Speer #14 has a range of 24.0 gr to 26.0 gr using a Mag primer??

Hornady #8 has a range of 20.8 to 23.2 with a regular SR primer

Both pretty much the same COL

Now these are not even close? Hodgdons data is of course different also.

So who ya gonna call?////////

What do you use if using this powder and 55 gr bullet??
__________________
NRA- RSO


That is an awesome question? Who are you going to call?
Somebody has to be right.
Huge dilemma! Iv'e had a load in 3 manuals that didn't cover any part of each other's charges.:cuss: I mean really.:banghead: Can they be that different.
Or does it not really make that much difference?
Iv'e used Speer books a lot over the years but they have not put out a new one in years.
I put more trust in the more recent of data. Powder and primer make up have changed over the years to the point Iv'e been told if you have old components you need to use an period appropriate manual for your data.
My old AA#2230 55gr fmjbt load from the manual is so off the charts in comparison to today's data it splits necks at a ridiculous rate. Have no way to measure pressure, but it can't be good.
On that theory what happens when if you have old primers and new powder or vice versa as I'm sure most of us have had to do a little scrounging for components in recent times?
Safety first I guess, start low and work up.
 
I have been using A 223 for years and have never had any trouble with it. I also have used A 2200 and it is a hotter powder the info from them is hot so I load a gran less from start.
 
I'm none too familiar with FMJ's but it seems to me that if data based on a 24" barrel and I'm only using a 16" barrel I might consider the highest figures I find because although peak pressure may occur within a few inches of the chamber, pressure duration surely plays a role in determining effective pressure in the longer test barrel. Personally I've never had much luck with FMJ's and I've always suspected that they would do better with a lot more pressure than I'm willing to give them.
 
It is confusing. To make matters worse, Hodgdon and Speer use 22-24" barrels for their load workups, while much shorter barrels like 16" are very common.

The way I look at their data is they are all published and "safe" loads. So I use their starting loads for my workups. But their velocities are pretty useless, being off by 300-400 fps due to barrel length differences. So I really need to run my loads over my chrono until I'm ballpark for my purposes. Then I tweak for best accuracy.

The differences between load books and between their guns and my guns is nothing new. They are good for what they are, getting us started and pointed in the right direction. We need to to do the spade work ourselves.
 
I am not concerned with the results or the velocites they achieved. I have about every manual and of couse all the online data from the powder companies.

Sure everyone's test is going to be a little different, Test parameters and all that, but for the 2 big names to be this far apart is what bugs me.

Se variance in handguns by a little bit here or there but this ain't even close!

Sierra lists:

55 gr bullet

Min of 23.6 to a max of 25.7gr H335

Based on this and the other data, Hornady is a bit light!

http://accurateshooter.net/Downloads/sierra223ar.pdf
 
Yea, when you look at all of it, Hornady seems a little light.

Back when I first started reloading I tried a "middle of the road", by Speer, load of 25.0 Grs H-335 with a 55 Gr FMJ and a Fed 205 primer. Worked great, so I stuck with it.

If you are shooting better bullets from a good barrel you might need to tweak it.
 
I have shot the bulk bullets from a AR with 23 grains and 25 grains, doesn't make much difference.
I have better bullets for my Savage Heavy barrel bolt rifle.

I shot some of the 55 gr with 25 gr H355 the other day (from a basic AR) and then shot a box of factory 62 gr M855 (IMI) with open sights at 50 yards and they grouped almost exactly the same.?? all within 2" Go figure??
 
The "standard" M193 Ball load was 26.o grains of H335, a Remington 7 1/2 primer and 55 grain FMJ-BT bullet.

I worked up the load from 24.5 grains, and stopped at 26.0 Been shooting that load for 40 years from AR-15s.

My old 20 inch Colt SP1 gives me 3275-3300 FPS and my new 16 inch Colt LE6940 clocks 3000-3025
 
I started at 22 worked up to 25 with no issues.
Since I am loading "plinking" ammo for my AR/Mini 14 I backed down to 24 and change. Call it 24.3. I don't really care if I loose 100 maybe even 200 FPS over what is safe and possible. The load seems to shoot well. ( I have and better results with other powders however)
 
I have loaded THOUSANDS of the Hornady 55gr FMJBT.. and with all my 55gr Pills I do 25gr of H335
Seems ta be the best sweet spot for em all
Now the FMTBT suck...LOL for accuracy anyways..... I pretty much use em inside 60yds for plinking fun

PS
I have gone upto 26gr also... accuracy was crap.... 24.3-25 seemed the best
 
cheygriz said:
The "standard" M193 Ball load was 26.o grains of H335, a Remington 7 1/2 primer and 55 grain FMJ-BT bullet.

I worked up the load from 24.5 grains, and stopped at 26.0 Been shooting that load for 40 years from AR-15s.

My old 20 inch Colt SP1 gives me 3275-3300 FPS and my new 16 inch Colt LE6940 clocks 3000-3025
Click to expand...

Where did you find this "standard" of 26.0 grains.?

I just looked at other manual Lymans 49 and they have a max of 27.0! So from all the manuals and online sites it seems anything goes!:eek:
 
I read that in the early seventies, I believe in one of the earlier editions of "handloader' magazine. Sorry I can't provide a link, but nobody had computers back then. I pulled a couple of military rounds down and weighed the powder charge and it was 26.0. Obviously I couldn't tell what the powder was, but the MilSpec said WCC844, which is H335.

www.americanreloading.com/img/AmericanReloadingWC844-5.56NATODATA.pdf

TM 43 0001 27
 
The above Army tech sheet lists rifle cartridge chamber pressure erroneously in psi. Mentally convert them to cup (copper units of pressure).
 
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