Harriw
Member
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2018
- Messages
- 282
Hey folks,
I have a question, but first some background...
Just shot my first .223 reloads this morning. I bought a new optic for my AR since my cheapo red-dot bit the dust (saw that coming, but *had* to try it anyway...) and had to zero that first. Was having a hell of a time, as the LC 5.56 factory loads I was using produced fliers every few shots that I thought were legitimate misses. Thought I was doing something wrong, or scope mount was moving, etc.....
Anyway, finally got things zeroed to my liking, grabbed my loads, and produced this:
These were Hornady 55 Gr. SP's (Hornady # 2266) seated to 2.180" in LC19 cases, using H335 and Remington 7 1/2 small rifle bench rest primers. Starting top left and ending bottom right, powder charges were 20.8, 21.6, 22.4, and 23.2 Gr.
They were shot with a PSA AR15 w/ 16" freedom barrel (lower built up from a kit, upper purchased complete) and a 1-6x lpvo, at 50 yards from a bench rest.
Picture turned out a bit dark, but those are a penny and dime for size reference. 21.6 Gr did best, with a spread of ~0.6" so about 1.2 MOA. I'm quite happy with these results - particularly how the fliers I was getting with factory rounds just completely disappeared.
I was a bit surprised at how soft these loads felt though. I know these are .223 loads and I'm comparing them to full-throttle 5.56, but was still a bigger difference than I expected. So I did a little searching, and discovered that a lot of you are putting something in the neighborhood of 25 Gr. under similar 55 Gr bullets? That caught me a bit by surprised since Hornady's max load was 23.2, and Hodgdon's data seems to top out around there for most 55 Gr. bullets (though they do list a "55 GR. SPR SP" that goes up to 25.3 Gr.... My Lyman manual takes a Speer 55 Gr. all the way up to 27 Gr., but that seemed like an outlier compared to most of the data I was seeing, so I stopped my ladder at 23.2.
Anywho... I was curious what most of you load H335 to with 55 Gr. bullets? Honestly, is there anything to be gained by increasing beyond where I'm at? Can I expect better accuracy (out of a cheap AR) if I go higher? Otherwise I'd just be hitting my shoulder harder and burning up more powder for zero gain?
I don't have a chrono, but the Hornady data puts that 23.2 Gr. load at 3100 fps (2900 for the 21.6 Gr load). They call for 2.200" COAL so I'm seating a little shorter to hit mid-cannelure (freshly trimmed cases). These are really just for plinking and training, but I'd like my loads to be suitable for HD duty should the zombies (or any other 2-legged threats) show up. With these bullets available for $0.10 each they're a no-brainer (forget the price - just the fact that THEY'RE AVAILABLE right now makes them attractive). Is 2900 fps with these 55 Gr. Hornady's "good enough" to get decent expansion? 2800? Just want to make sure I'm not missing a reason to push these harder before I settle in on a load.
Thanks a lot!
I have a question, but first some background...
Just shot my first .223 reloads this morning. I bought a new optic for my AR since my cheapo red-dot bit the dust (saw that coming, but *had* to try it anyway...) and had to zero that first. Was having a hell of a time, as the LC 5.56 factory loads I was using produced fliers every few shots that I thought were legitimate misses. Thought I was doing something wrong, or scope mount was moving, etc.....
Anyway, finally got things zeroed to my liking, grabbed my loads, and produced this:
These were Hornady 55 Gr. SP's (Hornady # 2266) seated to 2.180" in LC19 cases, using H335 and Remington 7 1/2 small rifle bench rest primers. Starting top left and ending bottom right, powder charges were 20.8, 21.6, 22.4, and 23.2 Gr.
They were shot with a PSA AR15 w/ 16" freedom barrel (lower built up from a kit, upper purchased complete) and a 1-6x lpvo, at 50 yards from a bench rest.
Picture turned out a bit dark, but those are a penny and dime for size reference. 21.6 Gr did best, with a spread of ~0.6" so about 1.2 MOA. I'm quite happy with these results - particularly how the fliers I was getting with factory rounds just completely disappeared.
I was a bit surprised at how soft these loads felt though. I know these are .223 loads and I'm comparing them to full-throttle 5.56, but was still a bigger difference than I expected. So I did a little searching, and discovered that a lot of you are putting something in the neighborhood of 25 Gr. under similar 55 Gr bullets? That caught me a bit by surprised since Hornady's max load was 23.2, and Hodgdon's data seems to top out around there for most 55 Gr. bullets (though they do list a "55 GR. SPR SP" that goes up to 25.3 Gr.... My Lyman manual takes a Speer 55 Gr. all the way up to 27 Gr., but that seemed like an outlier compared to most of the data I was seeing, so I stopped my ladder at 23.2.
Anywho... I was curious what most of you load H335 to with 55 Gr. bullets? Honestly, is there anything to be gained by increasing beyond where I'm at? Can I expect better accuracy (out of a cheap AR) if I go higher? Otherwise I'd just be hitting my shoulder harder and burning up more powder for zero gain?
I don't have a chrono, but the Hornady data puts that 23.2 Gr. load at 3100 fps (2900 for the 21.6 Gr load). They call for 2.200" COAL so I'm seating a little shorter to hit mid-cannelure (freshly trimmed cases). These are really just for plinking and training, but I'd like my loads to be suitable for HD duty should the zombies (or any other 2-legged threats) show up. With these bullets available for $0.10 each they're a no-brainer (forget the price - just the fact that THEY'RE AVAILABLE right now makes them attractive). Is 2900 fps with these 55 Gr. Hornady's "good enough" to get decent expansion? 2800? Just want to make sure I'm not missing a reason to push these harder before I settle in on a load.
Thanks a lot!