Reloading 223

[arlington22201]

I am looking to start reloading 223. I've done some 9mm and 30-06, but no 223 to date. Before I did, I thought I'd put out a message to see if any people have tips specific to 223 reloading. Any favorite powders? Load recipes? (Insert proper caveat here about only using loads from trusted sources / reloading manuals.) Do you load for accuracy, working up loads specific to your rifle? Or do you just load for volume / savings?

[jdonovan]

So a few things that are different about 223 loading...

5.56 and 223 are different. You need to know which is which, and what your rifle is chambered for and what your loading.

surplus 5.56 will have crimped primers that need to be taken care of before you can load the brass.

As far as powders go, it depends on projectile weight 55's like Tac. 62's and heavier, I like a slightly slower powder.

For most of my 556 loading is volume, not high accuracy.

[TScottW99]

My go to powder for .223 is Tac. My most accurate load for my .223 is.....

50 grain Nosler ballistic tip; 25.5 grains of Ramshot Tac; CCI BR-4 primer; Winchester case. With my .223 I load for O.A.L. Of 1.912 to the ogive. This is too long for an AR mag.

All rifles are different so work up to this load IMO.

[HighExpert]

All of the above, but I find .223 just a little harder than pistol. When you get into larger rifle rounds, you will need more force for sizing and pay more attention to length. .223 is a small rifle round and easier than the larger calibers. You will need to lube your cases.

[sgedicks]

I reload .223 for accuracy/precision. I only reload it for 1 rifle. It is more economical than factory ammo, and far more accurate and precise once a load is developed. I tend toward the Hornady 60 gr VMAX, and 69 and 77 gr HPBT from Sierra or Nosler. My rifle is a 16" 5r 1:8 twist .223 Wylde chamber. I like using somewhat moderate loads (better brass life and some loads are every bit as accurate). I have been using Reloder 15 and H322 for powder, and I stick with the CCI #41 primers. I have done well with Lake City, Remington and Federal brass - a great deal of it is range pick up.

It depends on why you want to reload - is it to save $$ or to find the right load(s) for a particular rifle for a specific purpose (match/competition, enjoying shooting/developing skills or hunting)? Either way, you can save some $ buy buying components in bulk over time or splitting orders with other reloaders to reduce shipping & hazmat fees.

[arlington22201]

This is my first AR so initially I guess I'll be reloading more for volume/savings while I work on my shooting skills. Over time I'll look to find a load my barrel likes.

Not likely to be doing any hunting with the AR any time soon, so I'll probably look more towards saving money on bullet selection. No need to spend more on quality hunting bullets if I'm just putting holes in paper.

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[sgedicks]

Watch the site sponsors here for deals. I scan through probably 8 sites/vendors daily watching for deals on bulk bullets, 2nds, blemished bullets for the range loads. You can find pull down bullets at sites like Rocky Mountain Reloaders http://www.shop.rmrbullets.com/223-556_ ... qscsfapp02 or Shooters Pro Shop http://www.shootersproshop.com/nosler-p ... llets.html. MidSouth and Midway get them occasionally too, but they don't last long!

[RWBlue01]

I reloaded 223 and 5.56. I never really got into volume reloading. I was more of an experimenter.

#1. Do follow the rules and work up your own loads.
#2. There are several good powders for this cartridge. Sorry, I don't remember my loads, but I do remember that I found 2-3 powders that worked for these cartridges. I couldn't tell with my skills which one was better.
#3. Do sort your brass!! Remington, Winchester, Federal, different NATO stamps have significant differences. Some brass is very thick and reduces case volume. Some brass is very soft.
#4. If you are crimping, you have to trim.
#5. If you are shooting semi-auto, crimp.
#6. In a n AR-15 you can push this round VERY hard and not hurt yourself with powders in the correct burn rate. The Primers will fall out and the brass will not be reloadable, but the gun will be fine. So the safety margin is there for doing things like reloading in the winter and shooting in the hot of summer, but there are limits. When you cross those limits it will be very expensive to take apart your rifle and fix it. I guess what I am trying to say is that this isn't a cartridge where pushing the new frontier gains you much, so stop before you start having primers fall out.

Although you may be loading for volume, I suggest slowing working on your precision skills also. Shoot some plinking rounds, then try a few that you have tried to be precise.
For plinking, any 55gr FMJ will do. The pulled bullets worked just fine for my plinking
For precision paper punching, Sierra Match King. Go heavy or go home for longer ranges. (What was the barrel twist?)
For hunting up to deer 70gr Speer round nose. Hunting small stuff, something with a Poly tip.
For Self defence, buy this ammo until you are comfortable with your skills. I tended to fall back on my military ammo, but I loaded a good bit of 75gr and 77gr. I just didn't see the value in the 75-77gr ammo with the gel tests I did.

[arlington22201]

Thanks for all the great responses so far. Am looking to pick up powder and bullets for 223 at the gun show in Dulles this weekend.

T&T reloading is where I have bought all my supplies for reloading for 9mm and 30-06 so far. I've been using Frontier CMJ 115g and 124g bullets for 9mm - they come in boxes of 1000. I've haven't noticed any 223 bulk boxes at T&T', but I hadn't been looking...

[jdonovan]

http://www.wideners.com/ has had bulk 55 hornday FMJ's that comes and goes in stock

http://wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item ... |1081|1141

if you need a few projectiles to get started I might be able to set you up from my private stock depending on what quantity you need.

[arlington22201]

http://www.wideners.com/ has had bulk 55 hornday FMJ's that comes and goes in stock

http://wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item ... |1081|1141

if you need a few projectiles to get started I might be able to set you up from my private stock depending on what quantity you need.

Wow. If my math is correct, that is $.09 a bullet for 223. That strikes me as a really good price!

[jdonovan]

maybe under the new math... but last summer I was loading at .07/projo... so that is almost a 30% increase, in 14 months.

[HighExpert]

Yes, but the good thing is we can now actually get them.

[arlington22201]

No luck at the show yesterday. I couldn't find anyone with bulk projectiles for 223 - the biggest I saw was boxes of 100.

What powders are people using? There have been a couple mentions of TAC above. I know one guy One guy who swears by H4895.

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[TScottW99]

I've only used Tac and Varget. Varget did well but Tac did awesome. .475 MOA with the load listed above in my T/C Encore Predator.

[shovel1966]

I reload .223 for the savings mostly. I only separate 5.56 NATO from .223 rem. It has worked out well so far. My main powders are Benchmark and Varget.