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Posted: 4/10/2014 7:39:27 AM EDT
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Hello everyone,
I recently just finished setting up my reloading bench and everything and want to start actually making some ammo. I have a 16" LWRC with a ballistic compensated optic that's is set up to match a 62 grain bullet going at 2900 fps, so I want to tune my hand loads to this. The powder I have is Accurate LT-32, and the bullets are 62gr barnes tripple x shock. So my question is what powder charges do you guys think I should try out to get this load as close to 2900 fps out of my 16 inch barrel as possible? P.S. Noob question - I have a whole mix of fired .223 and 5.56 laying around, I can reload all of it to 5.56mm NATO pressure and fire it safely through my rifle since it has a 5.56 chamber, (even though the brass came from .223) right? Better safe than sorry so I thought I'd ask Thanks |
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Quoted:
Hello everyone, I recently just finished setting up my reloading bench and everything and want to start actually making some ammo. I have a 16" LWRC with a ballistic compensated optic that's is set up to match a 62 grain bullet going at 2900 fps, so I want to tune my hand loads to this. The powder I have is Accurate LT-32, and the bullets are 62gr barnes tripple x shock. So my question is what powder charges do you guys think I should try out to get this load as close to 2900 fps out of my 16 inch barrel as possible? P.S. Noob question - I have a whole mix of fired .223 and 5.56 laying around, I can reload all of it to 5.56mm NATO pressure and fire it safely through my rifle since it has a 5.56 chamber, (even though the brass came from .223) right? Better safe than sorry so I thought I'd ask Thanks Yes to noob question. Google up the ammo oracle for all the info on this. I would suggest not trying to achieve NATO pressure and find the load that your barrel likes best. Some 5.56 labeled barrels may actually have a .223 chamber. This is also discussed on the oracle. |
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Quoted:
Hello everyone, I recently just finished setting up my reloading bench and everything and want to start actually making some ammo. I have a 16" LWRC with a ballistic compensated optic that's is set up to match a 62 grain bullet going at 2900 fps, so I want to tune my hand loads to this. The powder I have is Accurate LT-32, and the bullets are 62gr barnes tripple x shock. So my question is what powder charges do you guys think I should try out to get this load as close to 2900 fps out of my 16 inch barrel as possible? P.S. Noob question - I have a whole mix of fired .223 and 5.56 laying around, I can reload all of it to 5.56mm NATO pressure and fire it safely through my rifle since it has a 5.56 chamber, (even though the brass came from .223) right? Better safe than sorry so I thought I'd ask Thanks The answer to you first question is, You Can't. Accurate has 5.56 Data for LT-32 with the Barnes 62gr TTSX. Max load is 21.8gr at 62K psi (Max Pressure for the 5.56) with a Muzzle Velocity of 2997fps. This is out of a 24 Inch barrel. Subtract 8 inches of barrel length and you are looking at about 2700fps +/-. If you want that kind of velocity you are going to have to switch to a slower powder. Ramshot/Accurate 5.56 data is from a 24 inch barrel, to generate 2900 out of your 16 inch barrel you will have to find data in the 3200+ fps range. http://www.ramshot.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/WP_LoadSpec_1-23-14.pdf |
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BDC's are not perfect even when using identical velocities and bullet weights. Depending on altitude, ballistic coefficients and barometric pressures longer ranges will be close, not perfect. I suggest you load for the most accurate ammo you can using safe practices and zero the rifle at 300 yards using the 300 yard BDC. This will get your rifle zeroed with your handload and BDC as at comes from the scope manufacturer.
After establishing your 300 yard elevation retest at 100 to discover your true trajectory. Most scope manufacturers set BDC based on sea level ballistics. Very few people reside at that altitude in the midwest, let alone the rocky mountains. |
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Quoted: Hello everyone, I recently just finished setting up my reloading bench and everything and want to start actually making some ammo. I have a 16" LWRC with a ballistic compensated optic that's is set up to match a 62 grain bullet going at 2900 fps, so I want to tune my hand loads to this. The powder I have is Accurate LT-32, and the bullets are 62gr barnes tripple x shock. So my question is what powder charges do you guys think I should try out to get this load as close to 2900 fps out of my 16 inch barrel as possible? P.S. Noob question - I have a whole mix of fired .223 and 5.56 laying around, I can reload all of it to 5.56mm NATO pressure and fire it safely through my rifle since it has a 5.56 chamber, (even though the brass came from .223) right? Better safe than sorry so I thought I'd ask Thanks Read the FAQ's for more. Also read the 4 part "how to load 223" in Tutorials. |
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