I was under the impression, from what other people have said that .4 gr isn't that big of a deal for rifle loads. For my 9mm I load 4 gr. of Power Pistol for 147 gr bullets and 5.1 gr. for 124 gr bullets. At most I get a .05 gr. spread, which works out to the same percentage as his .4 gr for a 26 gr charge. I also have a Hornady powder measure and with PP I found it very accurate and consistent. If the rifle rotor is supposed to be just as accurate, then .4 is a bit much.
WooHoo! Got my first batch of reloading done! Some questions.....
- Thread starter derrinx
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I was under the impression, from what other people have said that .4 gr isn't that big of a deal for rifle loads. For my 9mm I load 4 gr. of Power Pistol for 147 gr bullets and 5.1 gr. for 124 gr bullets. At most I get a .05 gr. spread, which works out to the same percentage as his .4 gr for a 26 gr charge. I also have a Hornady powder measure and with PP I found it very accurate and consistent. If the rifle rotor is supposed to be just as accurate, then .4 is a bit much.
Feelings hurt? The reason I come here is to learn. If I'm making a dangerous mistake I would be hopeful someone would tell me. So thanks. Haha.I was stating the Min/Max per Hodgdon. Yes in reality he's good to go as long as he's in that range. The unsafe side is the broad range that his powder measure drops. It sounds like the OP may have found his issue. Lucky for him CFE223 is in the slower side of common .223 powders. If he were to use AA2200, or Benchmark which is faster he "could" run into pressure issues. I should have done a better job of explaining myself (Sorry). The OP may have everything under control, but when he first stated he loaded a bunch of rounds up front without working his load up, and says he's getting erratic powder drops, I have to worry a little. I hate to see anyone loose a gun, and most important get hurt.
OP I hope you don't take it as I was beating up on you. Just trying to help, and get the old brain churning!
But yes, I certainly did not work up a load. I do not think any will be dangerous though as I was well under the 27.8 grain max loading on all measured powder drops (close to 150 measured drops). I will "work up loads" the next batch of cases I have planned. I picked up some different powders this weekend (IMR 8208 XBR and Win 748) and I plan on making 15 rounds per .2 Grains of variation in the manufacturer load ranges. I'm looking forward to plinking away with these 200 hand made babies though!
Congratulations on your first reload. I have not gotten that far yet. Right now I'm decapping a 5 gallon container of 223 and 5.56 brass. When I'm done I'll than swage it with the Dillon super swager, than I'll began the process of cleaning it on the hornady sonic cleaner.
In the meantime I am bugging everyone in this forum.
In the meantime I am bugging everyone in this forum.
Cool!!!! Jealous of all that brass! I went with the harbor freight 6LB dual drum rock tumbler, and I wet tumble. It can handle about 120 cases of 223 at once, every 3 hours, with some hot water, dawn, and a little lemi shine. More than enough for my meager shooting needs.
http://www.harborfreight.com/dual-drum-rotary-rock-tumbler-67632.html
Here's a pic of the AMMO!!! The brass came out from the harbor freight wet tumbler SPOTLESS
And here's my little corner setup in the utility room. I used the press to hold the powder drop steady when charging. Case trimmer is behind the press. I need to move into a big house.....
I shot about 50 of the rounds this weekend! They functioned flawlessly. No accuracy testing yet, was using my 16" AR and was just shooting reactive targets. I checked for "pressure signs" (not sure what that might be, cases weren't ruptured or discolored, mouths seemed within spec. I'll never forget the anxious feeling of pulling the trigger on my first reloaded round of ammo! I'm going to a 100 yard range in a few weeks and will work up some loads in my 22" AR and test for accuracy formulations using various bullets and powders and powder weights.
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