Hello everybody.

The vast amount of knowledge available in one place (here) is simply amazing and I'm not going to be at all shy about using it.


I would like your pet loads for each. Doesn't even have to be yours specifically just what you've seen or heard is fine. Even bullets close in construction is great too. I'm data mining here.


Here's the list of bullets that I received from that beautiful brown truck yesterday and a few of what I've been using for awhile now:


1.) Winchester 50gr soft point.

2.) Hornady BTHP Match 68gr with cannelure.

3.) Sierra 69gr Match King #1380.

4.) Hornady 50gr V-Max poly-tip.

5.) Hornady 62gr FMJ BTHP with cannelure

6.) Hornady 75gr BTHP #2279

7.) Nosler 60gr BT Poly-tip with cannelure #39473

8.) Speer 52gr TNT HP *1035


Thanks everybody.

For 60 grains and less, try some H335. I love 25.0gr of H335 behind Hornady's 55gr FMJ.

For your heavier bullets, try IMR8208XBR. 23.2gr of that makes itty bitty groups with Nosler 77s.

I recently started experimenting with TAC and Nosler 69s. It's showing excellent  results.

Thank you.

Great info. AARRGGGG that you're making me think about buying even more components.

Have the powders but the 69 and 77gr Noslers are now on my list.

Check out this thread




 

Thank you for the link.

Purchased lots more 8208XBR last week because I go through it so fast with .308 and .223. Love the temp stability and metering.

Been leery of CFE223 because I've been reloading as a hobby for 30 years and reluctant to try something so wiz-bang techno amazing. Irrational (I know) fear of it rotting my barrels.

Hornady 75 gr with 24 gr of varget has worked well for me.

77 gr. Nosler with 23.5gr of RL 15 works well

Sierra 77gr wc, over 23 gr varget another great load for me.

55 gr fmj Hornady. I'll tell you in my personal experience RL10X kicks ass. 22.5 gr shoots some damn tight groups.

I typically run my reloads through an 18" FN 1/7 Stainless Steel upper.

Thank you dryflash, great info.

I will order two one pounders of CFE223 just to see if I like it. Just to timid to get an 8lb jug.

Purchased the Hornady 68gr just to try as I've heard from several people that Sierra 69gr are better.

Ran out of Sierra 52gr and had a box of Speer 52gr TNT along with a pile of Speer once-fired range pick-up brass. Still haven't tried the Speers yet.

Thank you Firefox.

Ran out of 10X and a 5lb jug is on my list. Concur with 10X load. Great powder.

Another 77gr Nosler fan.

Dryflash:  For the 27.0 grain compressed Re-15 load, is that for the 52 grain bullet?  I am easily confused sometimes.

My advice -

Simplify!

Get rid of most of those bullets.  Why so many?  What do you want to do that you have so many different bullets?  

Imagine the different recipes and all the testing to work up a load for each!!!


How I think about it and you should, too.-  

This just generic advise but it is a way to frame your thinking.  Here is a prioritized list and the thinking behind it.  

You don't need all three below.  For example, the 77 SMK works well at long rage.  The 80 SMK might be a bit better but the 77 really works, too.


1.  Hornady 75 gr HPBT-M bullet or Sierra 77 gr MatchKing - a heavy bullet good for long range, accurate shooting that can be loaded to fit in the magazine.  Made for paper punching but both make good self defense loads, too (see Ammo Oracle).  24 gr Varget or 23.5 gr TAC with a Winchester SR primer, Winchester case

2.  50-55 gr FMJ - buy them cheap and use when plinking.

3.  80 gr Sierra MatchKing - a very good (the best?) bullet for long distance shooting.  Has to be single loaded but when on your belly shooting at extended distances (>300 yards), single loading is the way to go.

If you hunt, you will need a Partition or other expanding tip, weight retaining bullet.  Get one whose ballistics (BC, velocity, load) best match your practice loads.


24 gr Varget or 23.5 gr TAC with a Winchester SR primer, Winchester case will work for all 3 bullets above.  If you get a similarly heavy bullet for hunting, it will work with that, too.



You really need to simplify your reloading.

Assuming you have 5.56-length freebore, 24gr Varget or H4895 and CCI 400 primers should do respectably with all those.

AeroE's 52gr SMK and RL-15 accuracy load is what ate most of my 52gr SMK bullets.

I build a lot of different ARs in my small shop and range-testing them for the customer is as much, or more, fun than building them.

Each rifle has its own minor differences that at times can get frustrating to dial in. I've taken the fun route to reload whatever recipe each rifle likes best.

New loads, with new components has been a whole lot of fun for the past few years and has helped a great deal during a painful and stress filled divorce.

Instead of simplifying and down-sizing as one suggested I'm investing in a myriad of new reloading components. Sure beats paying some nitwit liberal

therapist to blow sunshine up my skirt.

Researching, developing and days at the range testing loads with friends and alone have been absolutely wonderful and I'm just getting started.

 

Oh, well, that makes sense.  Sounds like a value-added service.  Do you give the recipes and targets to the customers or is this more of a "check for function"?

Go for it!

Good morning Trollslayer.

It's been very surprising just how few of my customers reload.

More people are more interested in the optics that I use(d) than the ammunition.

My pride-filled test targets are presented with each new rifle with load data and they almost always find their way staying in the shop.

What my customers go home with is a great rifle and a list of my preferred optics. Have been scratching my head over the obsession over optics for years.

[Mr. Plinkett voice] "Ya gotta have good glass to make a rifle shoot good. Bullets (ammo) are just bullets."



 

2.) Hornady BTHP Match 68gr  (2.250")

3.) Sierra 69gr Match King  (2.250")

6.) Hornady 75gr BTHP  (2.245"-2.250")

7.) Nosler 60gr BT Poly-tip (2.245")

Add to the list...........

68gr Hornady BTHP  (2.250")

69gr Sierra TMK   (2.252")

77gr Sierra TMK  (2.255")

I have used all of those. IMR 8208 in all.
All of mine had NO cannelure and NO CRIMP.
Of course, check for proper neck tension and setback using dummy rounds.
Have had good luck with PMC and LC Brass on these loads, primarily using PMC.
CCI400 SRP is what I worked up with, but no change in POI when switching to WIN SRP.
I listed OAL next to each bullet.

23.1gr 8208 under ALL of the 68-69gr bullets was lights out.

For the 75-77gr bullets my load is over max. Please do NOT just use it. Start low and work up.
On a hot day, 100*  the primers are flat after firing, with slight swipe marks.
Most people use harder primers for this load, but I have not had any issues blowing primers.
I have shot thousands of this load with 75gr Horn and 77gr MK.
75-77gr - 23.4gr 8208 - CCI400 - OAL listed above.

60gr was a plug and play load of 23.1gr 8208. I didn't work it up, and first testing was sub moa.
I need to work this one more, but was happy with 5 shot groups under 1". Most were hovering around .75" and no vertical stringing.

My favorites out of all of them are 68gr Horn, 69gr TMK, 77gr TMK.
I do have great success with the 75gr Horn as well out of my 18" rifles w/ 1/8 twist.

Thank you Savage.

Just the info I was looking for.

I tried or use the following loads. Listed for reference purposes only.

50gr V-Max (This is my groundhog hunting load.) 23gr IMR-4198, Rem. 7 1/2 primer.

60gr V-Max (Varmint load for 20" 1 in 7) 24.5gr RL-15, CCI-400 primer.

65gr Sierra Game King. (My whitetail deer load.) 25.5gr RL-15, CCI-400 primer.

69gr Sierra BTHP. 23gr RL-15, Rem. 7 1/2 primer.

I have many 55gr bullet loads. With: H-335, RL-7, Varget, WC-844&WC-846, IMR-4320, BL-C2  

Motor

Thank you Motor.

Scrolled through my notes and IMR-4198 for .223Rem and is not in there anywhere.

Again, perfect type(s) of info that I was looking for.

I've had great success with H4198 in some 7.62X39 loads.

Hope I don't open a toxic can of worms and ask if H4198 is notably different than IMR?