62 gr 223/5.56 Loads

[Maj Dad]

I just ordered 500 of the Winchester 62 gr OTM "FBI Contract Overrun" from Midway & am now looking for some loads to try. I have H335, 748, 2520, 2460, bunch of IMR stick powders & RL 19 on hand, and am thinking about picking up a pound of AR Comp to try. I get my best accuracy with 55 gr bullets & 335, & thought that would be a good one to start with, but I don't see any loads in my manuals (granted, they're not exactly up to date ). I would be deeply appreciative for any guidance you might give me - I doubt the new manuals would have loads yet, but - I guess it's time to update

 

[j. rap.]

hodgons online manual for a 69gr bullet has h335 starting load of 22 gr and max of 24 gr.

 

[rcmodel]

It won't matter much what powder you use with GI contract FMJ-BT overruns.

Any safe load, with any powder, will give less accuracy then a box of V-Max, Ballistic-Tip, HP, SP, etc.

rc

 

[Kosh75287]

Hodgdon's also lists 22.5 - 25.0 grains of H335 with the Sierra 63gr. softpoint. Overall length was 2.200". The 63 grain pill may be closer to the 62 grain FMJBT in bearing surface and the extent to which it decreases internal case capacity. Both of these will tend to influence pressure levels.

If you are using military cases, then reducing your starting load by 5 to 10% might be prudent.

 

[rcmodel]

It is never prudent to reduce a listed Starting load by another 10%.

And GI 5.56 brass is just as likely to have the same or more capacity then commercial .233 brass as less.

rc

 

[cfullgraf]

Several years ago i weighed a bunch, 500 each, of Winchester and LC 223 Remington brass.

The LC cases were significantly lighter than the Winchester which would suggest the LC cases had more internal volume than the Winchester.

 

[zxcvbob]

It won't matter much what powder you use with GI contract FMJ-BT overruns.
Any safe load, with any powder, will give less accuracy then a box of V-Max, Ballistic-Tip, HP, SP, etc.

I don't think those are FMJ-BT. I got the sale email too, and they looked like flat based hollow-points.

I've been using Varget with 62 grain FMJ's. The last ones I shot used 25.5 grains, and I've loaded some with 26.0 grains but haven't tried them yet. I would start with 24 grains of Varget and work up with these bullets too. But you've got lots of good powders there.

When I use up all the Varget I have I'll switch to WC844 and probably shoot more 55 grain bullets (both FMJBT and flat base SP's)

 

[Maj Dad]

I'll probably use the H335 63 gr load ranges for these 62 grain bullets. I think zxcvbob is probably right that they are flat based, and I feel pretty sure that the quality of the pills is likely better than the GI FMJs, if they are indeed FBI contract overruns. I have 500 new LC brass I will put them in & see how they do. I'll post follow-ups after I work them out. Thanks to all of you who responded - I appreciate dialogue, and I don't care which position you take.
Cheers and regards, friends
George J.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Of the powders you listed I would use H335. That powder always works well for me especially in semi-autos. For my bolt action rifle i use a lot of Varget. W748 will probably works well for you too.

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

I too, grabbed 1000 of these bullets. Winchester and Midway called them "Open Tip Match" bullets and they do have a flat base, no boat tail. Decided to try the same load that Alliant lists for the 62 grain FMJ. Loaded up 20 of them in new, primed Lake City brass with 25.0 grains of Alliant Reloader-15 and seated the bullets to the center of the cannelure like Winchester did on the FBI rounds that I also grabbed 1000 of from Midway when they had them. Took the hand loads to the range this morning.

Zeroed the scope at 50 yards with some of the Winchester factory FBI rounds that use this bullet. After getting the group to print center bull, I fired 5 for record and at 50 yards on an indoor range, they all went in one ragged hole smaller than a dime.

Switched to my handloads to see how close I came to duplicating the factory's results. Fired 5 at 50 yards and they all went in essentially the same hole. Moved the target to 100 and got almost exactly the same results. 4 in the same hole with one flyer and I called the flyer when it happened due to poor trigger control on my part.

I think I found the combo for those Winchester Open Tip Match bullets, at least out of my Savage model 10 Tactical with a 24" heavy varmint barrel mounted in a Choate "Ultimate Sniper" stock and a BSA 8-32 X 40 Mil-Dot scope on it. I'm really glad I grabbed them when I did as Midway is now showing "no longer available" on both the Winchester FBI ammo and the 62 grain OTM bullets.

Jim

 

[zxcvbob]

Sounds like you got a winner.

I just ordered 1500 Hornady 55 grain soft-points from Graf's today. #2266. They are backordered, but hopefully the price doesn't change before they get them in stock again. $7.71 per hundred in quantities of 1000 or more; I can't find FMJ's any cheaper than that. Last month I bought 2 jugs of WC844 powder, and I'll use it with the 55's and save the last of my Varget for shooting 62's.

 

[CLP]

...

 

[Swampman]

I recently purchased a caddy of Ramshot TAC and have been extremely pleased with it in 62 gr. 5.56 mm loads. It meters just like H335 but in my experience, has less muzzle flash, better accuracy and much higher velocities, at least when using manufacturer approved load data. There's a link at the bottom of my post to a PDF copy of Ramshots current rifle/pistol data. They have listings for both .223 and 5.56 mm pressure level loads. In my opinion, the listed bullet that most closely resembles your 62 gr. OTM bullet is the Barnes 62 gr. TSX. Before you actually use the data for the Barnes bullet to load your OTMs, I'd contact Ramshot at:
http://www.ramshot.com/load-data/contact-us
And see if their ballisticians approve of the substitution.
I recently acquired some 130 gr. Mk 319, SOST, 308 "Barrier" bullets which I believe are constructed pretty much like your FBI bullets and I was told by one of Ramshots techs that it would be safe to use data for the Barnes 130 gr..308 bullet listed in their soon to be released .308 data. This load is rated at over 3200 fps from a 24 inch barrel in .308 Winchester, but since the data hasn't been published yet, I don't feel comfortable posting it here.

The Ramshot "5.56" mm data (oddly, all loads are listed under .223), approved ONLY for use in rifles that are "rated for use with the latest NATO/MIL ammunition", shows a starting load of 24.1 grains of TAC for 2965 fps and a max load of 26.7 gr. for 3244 fps with a chamber pressure of 61,196 psi, all taken with 24 inch barrels (please don't trust these figures, use the PDF file I linked below). Despite rcmodels advice against reducing starting loads, I'd be comfortable reducing the starting load to 22.5 grains since that is their listed "Starting Load" for the same bullet in .223 pressure loads.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...Ha-3meey3Gto58YIQ&sig2=grwq5K6HFXHFZabdNiREyA

 

[leadbury]

I just tried the 62 otmrp from Midway with 23gr rl-15.They don't have a full boattail base,but a fairly good bevel.Did a comparison to the factory (FC) 855 round,groups were about half dia. with the otm from a 20" armalite m15 no frills flattop @100 yds.-about 1.5". NOTE! seating bullet to middle of cannelure gave a slightly loose fit in case neck using both my Lee and RCBS taper crimp seater dies,a problem I have never had before. I put a light factory crimp with a Lee die into the groove and all is well.This brass was newLC, full prepped,but a vld inside chamfer tool was used for first time,lightly.I wonder if this effected the neck thickness preventing full tension? I remember reading somewhere someone noted these otmrp seemed to stick out of case to far in factory loads,reason given was type of bullett construction? I sure others will post their results,glad I got these while available.

 

[Clark]

In 223 I use 13 gr Blue Dot with 60 gr Tactical and Police surplus bullets.
It is ~ 2600 fps 35000 psi.

 

[shooter_from_show-me]

Anyone try Alliant Power Pro 2000MR powder in their heavier .223 loads. It shows a 100 fps increase over Reloader 15 with a 69 gr pill. Just see if someone has had good results with accuracy with this powder.

I am waiting on a barrel from Harrison @ AR15PERFORMANCE.COM for a 20" SPR bbl with a 1:8 twist Wylde chamber. To finish out a build on a upper for target/varmit gun.

 

[ranydl]

You have gotten a lot of good advise already, but I will just add that the 49th edition of Lyman's manual lists loads for "223" but they were developed in NATO chambers.
Their max load for H335 with the 63gr Sierra flat base simi-point (same shape as 64gr Hornady bonded base) is just .3gr over the weight NATO lists for the 62 gr rounds (using wc844). So their loads seem to be very close to real world (5.56 CHAMBERS)and higher than the other manuals, which develop loads in 223 chambers. Also their loads for 69, 77, and 80 gr bullets were shot from 20" barrels.

 

[rg1]

I'd start at 23.5 grains of H335 and work up to not above 24.5-24.6 grains. I believe you'll find your best load between 24 and 24.5 grains. Work up from recommended start charges with 62-64 grain bullets.
Winchester recommends 25 grains of Win 748 with their 64 grain Power Point SP bullet and they recommend to start 10% lower and work up.

 

[dc.fireman]

As another .223 fan, I'd make some recommendations:

Varget works well for me, at right around 24.2-24.5 gr.;
IMR 4895 is another great powder - I began loading it, and have found 23.4 gr. to be my "magic bullet" for my AR-15;

I use AA 2460 w/ a CCI 250 (SRM) primer, for my bolt gun w/ good results;

I've used TAC - it was OK, I never played with it beyond my initial loading;

I used Reloder 15, with a Hornady 68gr. BTHP, and also have yet to go beyond the initial load evaluation - it was a fairly dirty loading, and I believe I need to adjust the powder charge for better results.

Good luck!

And I'm going to now try some of the CFE-223 Powder from Hodgdon - it wasn't that I needed to find yet another small bore rifle powder - I was simply curious about the 'copper fouling eraser' claims.