Just got into .223

[JDGray]

Well, I found the sweet spot loading H335 23.5gr seems perfect for my AR, shooting Win 55gr FMJ. The table was only out to 40yrds, but had a few .5" groups. I didn't realize how grungy my trigger was till tonight, that and the Skeeters were eating me alive!! Hard to get good groups with all that going against me

 

[ilike223s]

I know what u mean on case prep;I spent 3 hours yesterday just triming cases,,I use the lyman, with the crank,I have blisters on my thumb and first finger,I do hate trimming,but i do all at the same time,then that job is done,
As far as taking out thAt crimp ring,I use a cordless drill with a drill bit.i use just enough pressure to take the ring away, fast N easy,its a thoughtless job.so i do that while watching TV,I wished i had the bucks for new electric one,like the one someone showed on the seb site.but at 350 bucks...I dont have that kind of money,,so i will just turn the handle,and put up with the blisters,

 

[cliffy]

Tumbling 45 .223 cases as I write this

All I shot today were 45 rounds, but it was a fun afternoon. I load them as I shoot them, but come winter I buy a couple hundred new cases. Then more ammo boxes follow. Loaded ammo is never a surplus to me, because so many rounds of so many different loads allows me to pick and choose what will be tomorrow's fare at the range. I choose by temperature and desired effect. I have my favorites regarding coyote fare. One might think shooting is my only hobby, but Salmon fishing does distract me drastically from my shooting. Still I manage to shoot 100+ rounds a week. I'm through making babies, but I still practice religiously. I think I'll load 45 55 grain target fare this week. The stock market is something I'm watching closely this week, since this could curtail my bullet buying to a large degree. I am NOT in credit card debt, so I consider myself solvent to date. cliffy

 

[jhansman]

A nice alternative to hand cranking trimmers or those that cost hundreds is the Possum Hollow Kwik trimmers.

http://www.possumhollowproducts.com/kwick-case-trimmers.html

With their power adapter and a hand drill, you can trim hundreds of cases almost effortlessly in an hour for under $30. The adapter also will take the Forster or Lyman deburring/chamfer tool.

 

[Chris Rhines]

Rifle, even the lowly .223, is most definitely a pain compared to pistol.

Progressive machines and bulk processing are the key to efficient rifle reloading. I use a system similar to ZXD9. I have 5-gallon paint buckets to store all my .223 brass in, one for each stage. Dirty, Tumbled/Sorted, Sized/Deprimed, Trimmed/Deburred.

- Brass goes from the Dirty bucket into the tumbler (I have a small cement mixer that can handle 2000+ cases,) then gets sorted after cleaning (I separate out all my LC06 brass for long-range accuracy loads.)

- Tumbled/Sorted brass gets lubed and thrown into the casefeeder of my Dillon XL650. For this stage, I use a spare toolhead with only a sizing die. Brass gets sized, deprimed, and dumped in the next bucket. I can run a thousand cases like this in well under an hour.

- Sized/Deprimed brass gets inspected again at this point, decrimped on a Dillon Super-Swage, trimmed on my Giraud, and tossed into the Ready-To-Load bucket. This is the really time consuming part.

- Trimmed/Deburred brass goes back into the XL650, where it is primed, charged with powder, has a bullet seated, crimped, etc. The completed projectiles go back into the tumbler for a quick cleaning, then are inspected one last time and either boxed up, or put in an ammo can for storage.

If you have a Dillon Super 1050 with a case trimmer, you can bypass most of the intermediate steps and go from clean, sorted brass to finished projectiles in one trip through the reloader. Expensive, but if you're shooting high volumes the time savings are worth it.

- Chris

 

[Will Learn]

I picked up a used(looks brand new) gracey power trimmer from gracey for $150. Mrs, Gracey is a real nice lady and gave me a hell of a deal on this thing($300 new). It trims,camfers,deburrs fast and good. Give them a call they might have something. Beats paying $400 for the Giraud.

As far as prep is concerned, its the most labor intensive part of reloading .223. I try to get everything done(decapping/swaging in single stage) and then load with the 550b, which runs like butter. The Gracey is handy because it knocks out three steps in one and its quick. My problem now is sorting the brass i have now.

 

[Lariatbob]

The trick is to have enough stand by loaded so you can still take care of all the zombies while having time to reload. Since the zombie count in my neck of the woods is pretty low I can take the time while watching TV or whatever to do whatever is necessary to reload my .223's and take the care and time to do it right. Then the payoff is when you can nail a zombie at the end of the block and knock him down the first time. Beats the factory loads which usually take a couple of shots...
Oh, and Halloween is coming up, be extra careful to verify your targets.....
Actually, for those of you with a high Zombie count, be aware that zombies are not allowed to trick or treat, so your rifle won't be needed at all....
good time to sit by the TV and reload.........

 

[Ky Larry]

I have a Ruger 77V bolt action in .223. I use the Lee trimmer system. It's slow, tedious, an a PITA but it beats watching the drivel that comes out of my TV. I've gotten to the point that I enjoy reloading almost as much as shooting. I try to keep at least 500 rounds loaded for everything I shoot.

 

[lgbloader]

I used to like processing 223 then I hated it then I starting liking it again. I have theses cycles regularly and they usually start and end with a new batch of brass that I have to process. I process 2000 pcs at a time. I guess I split that into two but I procrastinate, You know what I mean?!

Cheers,

LGB

LGB