Reloaded .223 weight variations

[Albatross]

I've been loading up a bunch of .223 and have been using my digital scale to weight each charge before I put it in the case (my lee powder measure seems to be accurate to +/- 0.5 gn. When set to 25.8 gn the measure will throw charges between 25.6 to 26.1 gn, but most often it measures out 25.8.

These are all within the acceptable charge range with varget powder (25-27gn), so I've been just putting them in to the cases.

Anyway, when I weigh the completed rounds they have quiet a bit of disparity in weight. The entire cartridge can be as light as 169.8gn to as heavy as 190gn, but when I pulled a few of the 190gn bullets the powder charges were all approximately 25.8gns. This is also true with the lighter bullets (approx. 25.8 gns).

So here are the questions:

Does the weight disparity matter? Is it due to different brass case weights? Any other possible reasons?

How much does it matter that the powder measure doesn't throw consistent loads? Will those small differences have a noticeable impact on accuracy? I'm only looking to hit man-sized targets to 200, maybe 300 yards.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Which powder are you loading and which Lee powder measure? I don't get that big a variation with H335 and a Lee Perfect Powder Measure.

The weight difference on the loaded rounds is most probably from the cases. No cases are exactly the same weight and the differences between different company's brass can be big. Add the fact military brass is usually thicker and the weight differences between it and commercial brass can be surprisingly wide.

 

[Walkalong]

(my lee powder measure seems to be accurate to +/- 0.5 gn. When set to 25.8 gn the measure will throw charges between 25.6 to 26.1 gn

+/- .5 is much too big a variation for a ball powder, and bigger than you should be getting with one of the smaller stick powders suited to .223..

25.6 to 26.1 is +/- .25 (.5 spread)....much better, but too much for ball powder and the better measures will do better than that with many small stick powders.

Does the weight disparity matter? Is it due to different brass case weights?

You gain nothing from weighing cartridges. The bullet consistency and powder weight consistency is what matters most. After that consistent brass weights helps, but that has to be weighed and sorted before loading, if you want to bother with it.

 

[MetalHead]

Check your brass first please.

 

[steve4102]

Are all of your loads the same headstamp? Different head stamps can differ in both weight and internal capacity, best to stick with one brand at a time.

 

[Albatross]

Yeah, the brass is all mixed headstamps and I'm using varget powder (which is long and cylindrical). Also, it isn't really practical for me to load only one headstamp at a time. I don't have enough brass to do that (I have approximately 300 pieces). I'm not super concerned about extreme accuracy (I don't do any bench shooting, just standing, squatting and prone). These rounds are just for plinking 12 inch steel plates at 100 yards or man sized plates at 200 sometimes 300 yards.

Do you think that, given the powder weight variation, these cartridges will be capable of that? Is it likely my lee powder measure is faulty or do the majority of people get that kind of spread out of them?

I guess in short: Is it worth my time to load with this powder measure, given my goals, or should I get a more consistent one?

 

[jfdavis58]

You have a bunch a variations that will ultimately contribute to inaccuracy and frustration. Personally, I like to hit my targets consistently right near where I am aiming.

It's tempting to ask a slew of questions about how you got the brass, what powder measure (exact model) are you using and what is your work flow technique, but I doubt we can get very far unless you can make some significant changes.

First you need a large supply of one lot of brass-one headstamp, ideally one big bag with all you ever need but certainly 500 to 1000 rounds. It should be clean, resized and verified as to suitable dimensionality. Ideally, you should know how many times it's been cycled (fired, reloaded, fired again...).

Second, you need a powder measure accurate to +/- 0.1 grain--more precisely, you need to be confident that it's throwing (for example) 28.4 regularly and not 28.2 or 28.6 (or lessor or greater) except on very rare occasions. For some powder types you may need a trickler and a steady hand but most quality powder measures/throws will meter to this accuracy with smooth steady cycling.

Finished cartridge weights are seldom significant when the ammo is used in a production firearm. Good quality components, accurate powder weight and proper linear dimensions are paramount.

 

[tango2echo]

the brass is all mixed headstamps

Brass can weigh drastically different from manufacture to manufacture, as well as from lot to lot. Personally, I consider weighing finished rounds a waste of time.

If you have a 3gr spread in case weight, .8gr spread in bullet weight, and a .2gr spread in charge weight, a one or two grain overload in powder charge will never be visible, especially if your scale is inaccurate to begin with.
(+or- variation could easily be 7.8gr between highest and lowest weights)

Buy a good powder measure and scale and practice using them.

Buy some brass. 100 pieces is about $20-25 at most for .223 and 500 is around $105

t2e

 

[rcmodel]

If you are going to worry about it, you have to use the same lot number brass and stop loading mixed cases.

If you are not going to worry about it, your ammo will most certainly shoot well enough to hit 12 inch plates at 100 and man sized plates at 200.

But heres the thing.
.223 mixed brass could vary from 92+ to 104+ grains.

If you want constent ammo, don't mix the brass.

rc

 

[Albatross]

Appreciate the replies.

I'm just getting into the rifle reloading bit (I mainly shoot pistols and rimfire rifle). For now it sounds like the bullets I'm loading will do what I need them to do.

As I accumulate more brass though I'll make sure to sort it by headstamp so I can follow everyone's advice and load some real sharpshooting accurate ammo.

 

[7.62 Nato]

You will get a big difference with the weights of your brass especially if you are mixing commercial and milsurp. You will even get some variation in the bullet weights if you are just using standard bulk bullets. It most likely won't cause any safety or accuracy problems. Next time you get ready to load up some ammo weigh some of your components and you'll see the difference. Unless you're shooting competition I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Albatross,
You asked about different powder measures but you still haven't told us WHICH Lee powder measure you are using? Like I said in Post #2, I'm not getting such a big charge weight spread from my Lee Perfect Powder Measure. Is that the one you are using or are you using the Lee Auto Disk you use for your pistol ammo?