Opinions wanted for first .223 bullets

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Charlie98 said:
Speaking of case prep... I don't know how well versed you are in reloading for autoloaders. There are a few things you will need to look at...

Have you settled on a powder or powders to try?
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I started reloading about three years ago for my 1911 and have since branched out for a couple of revolvers, but haven't done any rifle loading yet. All straight walled cartridges.

As far as powders go I'm still looking. I have plenty of powder for my handguns but none are suitable for this rifle. I'm hoping to get to the LGS next week to see what (if any) powder they have in stock. May even get lucky and find primers as well. Powder choice may come down to what's available, either locally or online, but I'm open for suggestions on what people like to use.

chris
 
Probably the most common .223/5.56mm powder is H335, or powders in that general burn range... BL-C(2), TAC, W748, and others. Some use extruded powders... like IMR4895, but the longer grain shape of those type powders can sometimes bridge in the smaller .223 case opening and cause problems... although if you are hand weighing and dropping each charge, that's a moot point. Getting towards the upper end of load data, those extruded powders can also turn into compressed charges, which I'm not normally a big fan of. Personally, I stick with ball powders... like H335... it makes life easy.

If you are using once-fired brass... it may or may not have crimped in primers. After decapping, the primer crimp will have to be cut or swaged out before you can reprime the case. This is generally military brass, but I've seen commercial cases crimped, also. You only have to remove the crimp once.

Primers need to be seated at or below flush. Although this is good practice with any cartridge, it is necessary in the slam-bam action of a semiauto, and particularly with semis and a floating firing pin... like the AR.
 
I started reloading about three years ago for my 1911 and have since branched out for a couple of revolvers, but haven't done any rifle loading yet. All straight walled cartridges
Click to expand...
Be aware that you will need to trim the .223 brass at some point in time.

If you let us know what powders are available we will all be happy to let you know how they worked for us.
For .223 I like something that meters well, TAC, BLC(2), 8208, H335 have all worked well for me and meter well. (listed in order of preference)

I haven't had a chance to try them yet but people have reported good results with these
https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/bul...low-point-boat-tail-3-gun-hunter-bullets-new/

RMR is great to do business with and offers THR members a 5% discount with the code.
(let us know if you need the code)

Not the bullet you listed but as a general FYI, FMJs tend to not be as accurate as other bullet types. (think cheap plinking ammo when using FMJs)

The bullets you linked should be fine, but as noted boat tails are easier to get in the cases.
Hope you find something that works well for you.
 
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Those are good accurate bullets, I've used a lot of them plus a lot of others, the lightest weight I use is 50 gr.

I'm in the process of load development for 60 hornandy sp, with 2 different powders, blc2 and imr 4895. H 4895 has also worked well in my rifles. Imr 4895 and h 4895 are similar, Iirc the kernels are smaller with hogden 5895 than imr 4895,. H 4895 is less temperature sensitive as well.

Would like to test several other powders like tac, cfe 233, and exterminator. I've never been concerned about compressed charges, some powders work best with a little compression ime
 
Dudedog said:
If you let us know what powders are available we will all be happy to let you know how they worked for us.
For .223 I like something that meters well, TAC, , BLC(2), 8208, H335 have all worked well for me and meter well. (listed in order of preference)
Click to expand...

As of right now I honestly have no idea of what powders are available. I'm hoping to get to the LGS Monday or Tuesday. I'm still doing my research, and sometimes that takes me a long time due to my OCD.

Thanks to everyone for your help. Any more advice will be greatly appreciated. :thumbup:

chris
 
55 grainers will work great. Do yourself a favor and chamfer the case mouth and those pills will slide right in. You can use about a million different powders and should be able to get them screaming fast with several. Good luck.
 
I run light .224 (40/45) projectiles in a 1:14 twist and 50/55 in a 1:12. Yes, real heavy ones in a 1:7, like the 80 grainers. I use a lot of Berger Projectiles and their 70 and 73 grain .224s are what is recommended for 1:9 twist.
 
ballman6711 said:
As of right now I honestly have no idea of what powders are available. I'm hoping to get to the LGS Monday or Tuesday. I'm still doing my research, and sometimes that takes me a long time due to my OCD.

Thanks to everyone for your help. Any more advice will be greatly appreciated. :thumbup:

chris
Click to expand...
Look for 8208xbr, benchmark, arcomp or h4895. I easily found an accurate load with them using a volumetric measure. They are also less temperature sensitive than ball powders.
On the ball powder side, I have very little input because I don't care for it.
Midsouth shooters supply usually has cheaper bulk bullets than Midway.
I bounce back and forth between the two companies.
 
I have been shooting the Hornady 62gr FMJBT along with the RMR 69gr HPBT and have finally decided to step it up a notch and now have or are coming 69 Barnes Match Burner, 69gr Sierra Matchking, 62 gr Hornady HPBT, 68gr Hornady Match and some 60gr VMAX.

Time to see what happens with a better bullet.
 
I just got a box of 1000 of these from Midway. Top Brass Pull Down Bullets 22 Cal (224 Diameter) 55 Grain Full Metal (midwayusa.com)

I haven't loaded any yet, nor looked at them with any magnification, but - when I poked around the box a bit to inxpect, there were no indications to me they were different than a new bullet, and they were a bit cheaper. Just making plinking ammo to shoot soda jugs and maybe a steel gong and the like.
 
So I made it to the LGS yesterday, and sadly they only had a few shotgun powders. But they did have primers, CCI 450 magnum, limit 200 for $7 per sleeve, and Hornady's Unique case lube. Picked up both.

Also ordered my bullets, Hornady's 55gr SPBT (.12 per bullet) and Hornady's 62gr HPBT (.13 per bullet). Hopefully they will arrive next week. Dies and shell holder are on their way too, as well as a stuck case remover. Big thumbs up for Midsouth Shooters! :)

Still have to find powder and brass, then I can get started. Thanks again everybody!

chris
 
I just did a load test with those same bullets in a 20” FN barreled PSA upper. I have a surplus of CFE 223 so used that. I debur/bevel the inside of my cases with a hand deburring tool after trimming. If you’re only familiar with handgun reloading, you’ll need a way to remove the primer crimp on the 223/5.56 cases. I’ve lost half a dozen primers by doing it wrong so I won’t recommend how to do it.

The bullets and a middling charge of CFE 223 shot best from my rifle and cycled without failure. Groups weren’t MOA, but the best were about 1 3/4” and the worst was 2 3/8”. CFE 223 has been like that for me. The best group in my 308 was 7/8” and the worst from the same batch was 1 1/2”. I’ve used H335 and TAC, but with FMJ 55 grain bullets instead of these. They both work too.
 
derek45 said:
https://www.ar15.com/forums/armory/Case-Lube-for-cheap-bastards/42-305174/

View attachment 1012706
Click to expand...

That 91% ISO does not mix well with the lanolin. You need to use the 99% ISO. I've been down this road. If you can't find the 99% ISO, like I can't in my area, you can go to the auto parts store and but the RED bottled HEET used to get water out of the gas lines, NOT the yellow bottled HEET.

The red HEET is 99% IOS and works perfectly. The yellow HEET has METHANOL alcohol, which is not good for skin contact.
 
DMW1116 said:
If you’re only familiar with handgun reloading, you’ll need a way to remove the primer crimp on the 223/5.56 cases. I’ve lost half a dozen primers by doing it wrong so I won’t recommend how to do it.
Click to expand...

I use my camper and debur tool to remove the primer crimp, but you could put a half in countersink bit to remove crimps ss well. The latter method is probably faster.
 
Ive been using a countersink bit in a hand screwdriver but I have a fair supply of brass now where that didn’t work. It’s just that one head stamp but I have to be more careful and cut more to prevent issues.
 
That's the same bullet I started reloading .223s with many years ago. For a choice of powders I started with Reloader 7 under that bullet but soon found BL-C(2) was much less dollars & got the same results. If you shoot in varying temps it would be a good idea if you used Varget. For primers try looking at Brownells or Midway in the mornings is when they post what is for sale that day, I guess it's their way of limiting the amounts we buy.
If you get a chance to shoot farther than 100 yds you may got to a boat tail HP for a better shooting round.
Always check your rounds by dropping them in the chamber of your gun without the bolt to be sure they chamber before you get to the range. It's hard when you get to the range only to find your new reloads won't chamber in your gun.
Good luck with your reloading.
 
ballman6711 said:
As of right now I honestly have no idea of what powders are available. I'm hoping to get to the LGS Monday or Tuesday. I'm still doing my research, and sometimes that takes me a long time due to my OCD.
Click to expand...
Winchester 748 is a solid powder choice for this round also. It is a ball powder that meters like water. It is hard to find right now and I have read about low temperature velocity problems for some people. I have never had any problems with that though. It is one of my favorite powders. Stay safe.
 
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