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Posted: 6/30/2016 7:35:33 PM EDT
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Hey guys, my new lee pro 1 k (223) is on its way and I was wondering, what grain of
bullet I should start off with? the loads will be for paper targets for now. I have once fired brass, with mixed head stamps, I picked up a lyman E-ZEE hand trimmer kit, I will eventually pick up a case prep station and I am going to use ram shot Tac and cci primers, my ar in 223 is an Anderson standard. Thanks. |
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55gr fmj are about as inexpensive as you'll find. I personally would load soft points as they are slightly more accurate and cost is in line with fmj. I almost exclusively use hornady bullets as I've had good luck finding them on sale.
Don't limit yourself to using just TAC, lots of great powders for .223. I wanted to like TAC but I couldn't get it perform in my rifles. XBR8208 is my go-to powder. |
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TAC should be fine for the 55 grain FMJ Hornady bullets. You can get these bullets pretty darn cheep and they are plenty good enough for plinking, and other stuff.
I've used Federal small rifle, CCI small rifle and TULA small rifle primers. I did finally have a dud with a TULA primer awhile back. Okay for paper punching. |
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its off topic but I had a question of OAL
I am aware of the minimal length and max length of the completed round, but what is a safe case length if the case after resized and de-primed comes up short? as in under 1.760 I ask because I have a lot of once fired american eagle brass and I heard that it may come up short or is not consistent. so I want to be ready for and if I encounter that Thanks |
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Quoted:
I was thinking of trying extreme brand of 223 projectiles there $50.10 for 500 rounds free ship for first time buyer and $55 at a local shop in town when they have them at least. but something FMJ at a good price I would look into it for sure. I don't see any reason those wouldn't work. I don't have any experience with them, but there are a lot of 55gr FMJ's out there that make great cheap paper punchers. |
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Quoted:
its off topic but I had a question of OAL I am aware of the minimal length and max length of the completed round, but what is a safe case length if the case after resized and de-primed comes up short? as in under 1.760 I ask because I have a lot of once fired american eagle brass and I heard that it may come up short or is not consistent. so I want to be ready for and if I encounter that Thanks It depends on how short really. If you go WAY short you might not have as much bearing surface between the bullet and case as you'd like. I think a lot of folks consider the rule of thumb to be at least 1x diameter, if not a bit more. I've had a few cases that come up a few thou short (case trimmer just doesn't quite touch them) and haven't had any problems at all. Where it can cause you problems is if you start chasing COAL to get the cannelure to line up for a good crimp. If you set the OAL on the short cases you'll end up too short for the regular cases. I like a light crimp on my plinking rounds so set them up to load to an OAL that puts the bullet at a depth right in the middle of the cannlure. With a little bullet to bullet and case to case variation I'm still ok, and can get a good crimp as well. |
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http://www.nereloading.com/index.php/product/bullets/rifle/223-5-56-224/hornady-55-grain-fmj-223-projectiles.html
These guys will sell you Hornady 55 grain FMJ or soft points for the same price. I haven't bought these from them but I did buy some Hornady .308 150 grain FMJ bullets from them awhile back. Once you find out what works for you buying more makes it cheaper per thousand bullets. |
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To start out, I vote for 55gr Hornady FMJ.
Your powder and primer selection is fine. Set trimmer to 1.750" The ones that don't get touched by the trimmer I set aside for blasting ammo. The ones that DO get trimmed are the ones I would use for working up your loads. Load less than 2.260" OAL I prefer 2.240" for Hornady 55gr FMJ TAC, H335, IMR8208XBR are all good powders to use and will meter well....But I personally would save 8208 for when you want to start working on heavier bullets, such as 68-69-75-77gr |
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1) Sort your brass! Not all brass is equal, sizing die set to one head stamp may not size right for different head stamp.
2) Case spec is 1.73"-1.76". Federal head stamp "FC 223 REM" often comes in around 1.74", LC around 1.76". 3) Save yourself some headaches and ditch any FC 223 REM head stamp brass you get. Primer pockets are notorious for getting real loose real fast. Some folks have no problems, but I have had bad experiences and trash all this brass. 4) Hornady 55gr fmj-bt or SP are just about the best plinking bullets, Xtreme 55gr fmj-bt are very close. 5) Hodgdon H335 is awesome with 55gr plinkers. Use Magnum Small Rifle primers with ball powders. |
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Quoted:
55gr fmj are about as inexpensive as you'll find. I personally would load soft points as they are slightly more accurate and cost is in line with fmj. I almost exclusively use hornady bullets as I've had good luck finding them on sale. Don't limit yourself to using just TAC, lots of great powders for .223. I wanted to like TAC but I couldn't get it perform in my rifles. XBR8208 is my go-to powder. This. |
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Quoted: I was thinking of trying extreme brand of 223 projectiles there $50.10 for 500 rounds free ship for first time buyer and $55 at a local shop in town when they have them at least. but something FMJ at a good price I would look into it for sure. this stuff is 82 bucks per thousand free shipping all the time and they are a site sponsor. <snip>please don't post "where to find" links. Ok to name company, just keep links in the tacked thread. dryflash3 You can find all sorts of deal in this thread. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/274673_Where_to_Find___Where_to_Find_Tools__Components_and_Promotion_Codes_Go_Here__.html |
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Quoted: this stuff is 82 bucks per thousand free shipping all the time and they are a site sponsor. <snip>please don't post "where to find" links. Ok to name company, just keep links in the tacked thread. dryflash3 You can find all sorts of deal in this thread. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/274673_Where_to_Find___Where_to_Find_Tools__Components_and_Promotion_Codes_Go_Here__.html Quoted: Quoted: I was thinking of trying extreme brand of 223 projectiles there $50.10 for 500 rounds free ship for first time buyer and $55 at a local shop in town when they have them at least. but something FMJ at a good price I would look into it for sure. You can find all sorts of deal in this thread. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/274673_Where_to_Find___Where_to_Find_Tools__Components_and_Promotion_Codes_Go_Here__.html OK no problem Dryflash. The name of the company Is Rocky Mountain Reloading |
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Quoted: OK no problem Dryflash. The name of the company Is Rocky Mountain Reloading Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I was thinking of trying extreme brand of 223 projectiles there $50.10 for 500 rounds free ship for first time buyer and $55 at a local shop in town when they have them at least. but something FMJ at a good price I would look into it for sure. You can find all sorts of deal in this thread. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_42/274673_Where_to_Find___Where_to_Find_Tools__Components_and_Promotion_Codes_Go_Here__.html The name of the company Is Rocky Mountain Reloading |
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I'm going to suggest match bullets. 52/53 grain specifically. You can reload 55 grain fmj's but you won't appreciate any performance improvement on target.
By loading quality bullets you'll be amazed at the results. They may cost more, but they are worth it IMO. |
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I just make my own blammo ammo/bullets for the 223rem. Do allot of 55gr hp's and 62gr hp's. Just did another 200 62gr hp's this morning.
Free range lead/free range 22lr cases ='s free bullets. 
They aren't the most accurate bullets in the world but I have no problem getting 1 1/4" groups with them using several different powders and free range brass in a $200 beater bolt action (savage axis) that hasn't had anything done to it (no trigger work/no work on the flimsy stock/as it came from the factory). Typical 5-shot groups @100yds with bl-c2/h4895/cfe223 any primer and mixed range brass (comercial & nato). 
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Quoted:
I am soaking up all the info guys much appriciated !! Be certain you understand the terminology and the process (which you can find in the Resources). Cartridge Overall Length, COAL: the length of the loaded cartridge from end to end; from the case head to the bullet meplat. For .223 Rem ammunition this dimension will range from 2.20 to 2.26 inches when loaded for an AR magazine. Case Length: the length of the empty case from the case head to the case mouth. This dimension ranges to 1.76 inches maximum for the .223 Rem case. This is a safety issue that should not be ignored by a new reloader, and probably no one else. The minimum length can range to as short as 1.73 inches, but I think that cases that short should be segregated, loaded, and allowed to lengthen. The necks of this case are short and I do not recommend trimming shorter than 1.75 inches. The RCBS X die requires a one time trim to 1.74 inches. Case Headspace: This is not the headspace of the firearm, but it is related. This is the length of the case from the case head to a datum on the shoulder. Most cartridges use a datum of a defined diameter, but since we use this as a measure of cases fired in a particular chamber, any diameter will do as long as it is near the center of the shoulder or well apart from the radii at the transition from the shoulder to the neck or the shoulder to the case body. This dimension is measured with case gages, either the fixed drop in type, or the bushing type that attaches to calipers. The case headspace is adjusted during sizing to insure the cartridges have the shoulder pushed back sufficiently far for good function. In an AR, that dimension is about 0.0015 inches, but I recommend using at least 0.002 inches, and 0.003 is probably better for a new reloader as he figures out the lube. 0.008 inches is generally taken as the maximum, but I have measured factory ammuntion with 0.014 inches. You will be well served by the Hornady 55 grain FMJ BT bullet, and this might be a good place for a beginner to start, with a bullet of known, reliable accuracy. Load a box or two, then try cheap bulk bullets. Don't waste your money on bagged Winchester bullets, however, they are junk, just barely better than nothing. |
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my plan is to treat it as I do my other reloads except I separated my 223 brass by head stamps after I tumbled it, I will measure and trim as needed, then I was going to make batches with the different head stamps and as mentioned I probably will separate cases that are short for now then go from there. thanks for input happy 4th 
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