Advise on 62 grain .223 reloading data

[Spartan299]

I'm getting set up to reload for .223 and need some input. I have several thousand rounds of once used Privi Partisan brass that I planned on mating up with some Armscor 62 grain FMJ BT bullets and CCI SR or Winchester WSR primers in my Hornady progressive press. Problem is, I'm having trouble finding data for the 62 grain bullets. The manuals I have skip from 60 grns. to 68 grns. I have IMR 4320 on hand and can get BL-C2 locally (most likely I can find Varget also).

Although I have been reloading pistol ammo for some time for my .38 Special, .45 ACP and .40 S&W I don't not have any experience with the .223 round. I know that I will need to take out the primer pocket crimp from the used cases and I have the tools to do this already. I also picked up some Imperial sizing die wax as I've heard that it works well and I have the Hornady .223 die set on hand. The finished rounds will be used in either an M4 with a 16" barrel (1-9" twist) or a Sig carbine (1-7" twist) for 200-300 yard shooting. So, here are the questions:

1) Of the three powders I listed (IMR 4320, BL-C2, and Varget), what powder do you recommend as the best metering?
2) What powder charge do you recommend for the 62 grn FMJ BT bullet?
3) What are your seating depth and crimp recommendation?
4) What are your primer recommendations for the powder you chose?
5) Do you have any additional advice or recommendations?

 

[longdayjake]

First of all. Advise is a verb. Advice is a noun. I think you are asking us to advise you with some advice. This is actually a pretty common mistake on this forum. I don't want to sound like a jerk, but there are plenty of words I used to screw up for years before someone finally told me I was doing it wrong. I wish someone had corrected me earlier so that I wouldn't have made a fool of myself so many times. Hopefully, now you can use the terms correctly and it won't keep you from losing a job or something.

Now, let me see if I can't answer your question.

First, the powder that will probably meter the best is BL-c2. I am unfamiliar with 4320 so I don't know if it is stick or ball. Bl-C2 is a pretty dirty powder but it works fine for most things.

I personally think that bl-c2 and varget are great .308 powders, but only mediocre .223 powders. I prefer AA2230/ramshot x-terminator, H322, h335, and for heavier bullets -TAC.

I seat my bullets to the cannelure but I don't crimp them. If they are for an AR then they need to be at 2.260 or shorter. You can fiddle with whatever depth you like until you find out which your AR prefers. If it is for a bolt gun then you can go even longer than that if you desire.

I use whatever small rifle primer I find inside my garage. During the rush I bought 20k wolf small rifle magnum primers, and they seem to be working 100% I also have used CCI 400 for thousands of rounds before I got the wolf ones. I think I would do the 400's if I had my choice again because I have had issues with the wolf one in my Hornady LNL primer feed system. The 400's never gave me a problem.

Lastly, enjoy shooting and don't blow yourself up! Oh and one of my favorite loads for the 62 grain SS109 is 23-24 grains of AA2230. Some say 24 grains is too hot, but I shoot it from my bolt action and have never had a problem. Also, if all I had was data for a 60 grain bullet I would just use that data but never go up to the max charge unless I had worked up to it.

 

[Spartan299]

Correction taken and no foul on the call. Thanks for the input.

 

[snuffy]

1) Of the three powders I listed (IMR 4320, BL-C2, and Varget), what powder do you recommend as the best metering? Forget the 4320, it's too slow to work well in .223. The varget is a fine stick type powder that will work well for the 62 grain bullets, but it doesn't meter as well as BLC-2 which is a ball powder.
2) What powder charge do you recommend for the 62 grn FMJ BT bullet? I would start at the recommended charge for a 60 grain bullet, but not go quite to the max. 2 grains isn't enough extra weight to matter.
3) What are your seating depth and crimp recommendation? Magazine length for seat depth, in other words seat until the shells clear the mag and feed well. If the armscor bullets have a crimp groove(cannelure), then seat to that depth which should also be mag length. I do NOT crimp anything I load for .223. Neck tension is enough to hold the bullet.
4) What are your primer recommendations for the powder you chose? I use winchester small rifle for all my .223 loads. Winchester is a bit hotter because they're made to ignite their ball powder loads in their factory ammo. Some will tell you that you MUST use a hard military primer in .223 ammo that will be shot in AR type weapons. The reason is the free floating firing pin slams into the primer as the shell is loaded, in rare occurrences it can "slam fire" which is very bad because the round fires with an unlocked bolt.
5) Do you have any additional advise or recommendations? Yes. I would look for a better made bullet. Armscor is mediocre at best. Also, I don't think the privi cases are primer crimped, I've never seen any, so I could be full-of-*it.

Your first run through the Hornady progressive should be to lube, size, but do nothing else. Leave the rest of the dies out of the press, simply size and let them circle out. Make sure you get a bit of imperial INSIDE the neck. That eases the expander though the neck as it withdrawn. Then either tumble or wipe the case off and check the case length to see if you need to trim. Then remove the primer crimp if needed, and return it to the machine to finish the loading. Just leave the sizer out.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Spartan299,
IMO H335 is a better choice of powders than BL-C(2) for the .223/5.56mm round. Yes, BL-C(2) will work but H335 will work better, it's the classic powder for the .223. I'm recommending H335 because it's a Ball powder and will meter like water in your progressive press...

The Hodgdon Load Data Site has load data for a 63gr SEI SP bullet that will work just fine for your 62gr bullet. The site has data for IMR4320, Varget, BL-C(2) and H335 as well as 10 or more other powders. You know the drill, state at the min and work up slowly to the max...

If you are going to load a lot of ammo for you .223 (and who doesn't!!) I would also recommend trying Surplus powders. WC844 (which is like H335) is available from several vendors online for ~$85/8 lbs instead of paying upwards of $130+/8 lbs for commercial powders.