Nosler 60gr. Ballistic Tip not for .223?

[IdahoLT1]

I started to reload .223 for my AR and bought 200ct of Hornady 55gr. Vmax and 100ct of Nosler 60gr. ballistic tips. I reloaded the Vmax's and they are all fine but ran into problems with the Nosler. They have a cannelure on them and every factory cartridge ive seen with a cannelure had the top of the rim crimped to the top or center part of the cannelure. I did this but ended up with an OAL of 2.8" with 2.6" being the max OAL for the .223. I double checked on some Winchester 55gr FMJ with a cannelure and their OAL was 2.2".

The problem is that they have to be ~2.5" to feed well in my mags, so I loaded them to the same length as the Hornady's. The ogive is different than that of the Vmax and the cannelure is completely covered by the end of the case. Because the Nosler bullet has a different ogive than the Vmax, its possible for it to slip into the case. Or basically, case is crimped on part of the bullet where its starting to reduce in diameter. The Vmaxs are crimed on a straight part of the bullet.

Should I be worried about this? Is this a mess up from Nosler or were these bullets intended for the .22-250. The only thing it listed on the box was to use it in a rifle with a 1:7" to 1:10" barrel.

Pics:

Here's the .223 with the 60gr Nosler


Here's the .223 with 55gr Vmax


Here's the 55gr Winchester FMJ


Here's the bullet from the Winchest ammo next to the Nosler

 

[Damon555]

Not crimping in the cannuler wont hurt anything. There really isn't enough recoil in the .223 to shift the bullets around in the neck. Of course that implies proper neck tension.

I also see from the pictures that seating the bullet to deep might also be a problem. You don't want the last part of the ogive going into the neck. You might not be able to use those bullets in your AR unless you want to single feed them.

As far as crimping goes I never crimp .223 loads anyway. Never had a problem.

P.S. I just loaded up a bunch of 60 grain Vmaxes for my AR-15. They are seated quite close to the ogive.

 

[NCsmitty]

You need to get your dimensions correct.
Most 223 magazines need a COAL dimension of 2.25-2.26" to function properly. The Nosler needs to be seated .030" deeper to be in spec.
You do not need to crimp the bullet in place if your sizer expander ball gives proper bullet tension.
Ignore the cannelure position and set your COAL 2.25" dimension.



NCsmitty

 

[steve4102]

If your COAL with the Nosler seated to the cannelure fits into the mag and the chamber then go with it. Ignore the book COAL and load your ammo to fit your rifle.

SPECIAL NOTE ON CARTRIDGE OVERALL LENGTH “COL”
It is important to note that the SAAMI “COL” values are for the firearms and ammunition manufacturers industry and must
be seen as a guideline only.
The individual reloader is free to adjust this dimension to suit their particular firearm-component-weapon combination.
This parameter is determined by various dimensions such as 1) magazine length (space), 2) freebore-lead dimensions of
the barrel, 3) ogive or profile of the projectile and 4) position of cannelure or crimp groove.

 

[Rokman]

I have loaded at least a 1000 of those bullets and about 200 yesterday. These bullets perform awesomely in my 1:9 twist AR. I seat to 2.260 in my Pmags and I used to use a Lee Factory crimp on my AR loads, but I don't even do that now, with no noticeably loss of anything. I am not even going to attempt loading them for my .22-250 because it doesn't shoot the Nosler 60gr. Partions very well. I have made good loads with H322 and great loads with Benchmark, and H4895. I loaded H335 yesterday and will try RL15 and Varget in the near future.