hey guy just getting into reloading .223 for my ar and wanted to here some opinions on loads u have found to work well for predator hunting.
new to .223 reloading
- Thread starter tonyjohnson619
- Start date
Last year I loaded up some rounds for my AR in 223 for coyotes, I have the load data out by my bench. When I get around I'll go grab it.
But mainly you will have to play around with powders and bullets to find the right load for your rifle.
But mainly you will have to play around with powders and bullets to find the right load for your rifle.
Yup to above. I just started with factory data and load a few different loads and different powders and bullets and see what works. I load more to save money in lead free rather then accuaracy but I still had to see for my self what works best. I use aliant powders because they seam to burn cleaner with less smell then say some imr powders that smell like windex Plus they are usually cheaper. I use barnes varmit grenades for small stuff a 55gr in bob cat and yotes has Never left an exit wound. My rifle likes the ttsx instead of the tsx for some reason. Plus the balistic tips look cool. Sorry I'm not more help.
The best advice is to pick a brand of bullet to use and get their reloading manual. My hunting load right now is 24.0 grains of H335 with a Hornady 53-grain bullet. It shoots 0.55" groups from my AR. My down-the-road load when the lead ban goes into effect is 25.0 grains of Varget with a Barnes 62-grain TSX bullet. This one shoots 0.56" groups.
We load 55grain hornady V-Max the stuff is awesome. I know we allways use Lake City Brass for our .223. My fatherinlaw does all the reloading I will get you the exact formula. We did a lot of testing with powder weights etc and have a pretty great round. I am trying to get him on here. He is super precise and makes great rounds. He tried a few different bullets but the V-Max is allways the most consitent not to mention it is a devastating round.
From my father inlaw. He is very thorough and loads great stuff.
The load we have is for 5.56 NATO chambered service rifles . It would be way too hot, and dangerous, say for a mini-14 IMO. We use military brass, Lake City, which has a smaller internal volume than a commercial cartridge. The bottom line is that our reload data works very well in the AR15 we used to develop the load. The Hornady 8th edition load manual does not give data for 55 gr bullets for a service rifle. Quickload, for VV N135, 55 gr V-MAX, LC brass, suggests 24.4-25.6 load range for N135. We loaded steps of 0.2 gr from 24.6 to 25.4 gr. The best groups were ~24.8 ±0.2 gr. Have no Chrono data yet. This load is safe for our firearm, but may not be for your firearm. We start with loads at least 10% below the maximum in the reloading manuals or given by Quickload and work up in 0.2 gr steps. Better to be safe than……
The load we have is for 5.56 NATO chambered service rifles . It would be way too hot, and dangerous, say for a mini-14 IMO. We use military brass, Lake City, which has a smaller internal volume than a commercial cartridge. The bottom line is that our reload data works very well in the AR15 we used to develop the load. The Hornady 8th edition load manual does not give data for 55 gr bullets for a service rifle. Quickload, for VV N135, 55 gr V-MAX, LC brass, suggests 24.4-25.6 load range for N135. We loaded steps of 0.2 gr from 24.6 to 25.4 gr. The best groups were ~24.8 ±0.2 gr. Have no Chrono data yet. This load is safe for our firearm, but may not be for your firearm. We start with loads at least 10% below the maximum in the reloading manuals or given by Quickload and work up in 0.2 gr steps. Better to be safe than……
All the powder mfg have load data on their websites.
Eg http://www.hodgdonreloading.com
Every gun even from the same maker will shoot best with its own load. Developing loads is a time consuming but fun adventure.
Your first part of the equation is what twist barrel you have. Fast twist and you can shoot up to 77gr slow and you need to shoot 55gr or lighter.
Eg http://www.hodgdonreloading.com
Every gun even from the same maker will shoot best with its own load. Developing loads is a time consuming but fun adventure.
Your first part of the equation is what twist barrel you have. Fast twist and you can shoot up to 77gr slow and you need to shoot 55gr or lighter.
Thanks WS.
I ended up at 2.27" with 50 gr varmint grenades and 26.5 gr of Benchmark for .5" groups. I've loaded some 55 TTSX with the Benchmark but haven't had a chance to check them out yet.
I ended up at 2.27" with 50 gr varmint grenades and 26.5 gr of Benchmark for .5" groups. I've loaded some 55 TTSX with the Benchmark but haven't had a chance to check them out yet.
.5" groups with varmint grenades is very impressive. My research showed very few people getting them accurate. Did it take a lot of tweaking and testing to get that grouping. Or do you consider it an accurate bullet. I looked into those but went with v max because of some of the reviews I read. What twist is the barrel and is it an AR platform. They definitely have the coolest name on the market and in a few years we will all have to use them.Lungpopper said:
I don't know my load off hand at the moment but I love barnes VGs. I use 36g for the small stuff and the 55's for yote and bob cat. I get 1/2" and less and 100yards with them they seam to work great in my guns.
I thought reloading was easy until I started loading for my AR. Everything I'd done previously was bolt actions and single shots. I'm still learning, but here are some things I've learned so far:
1. Unless you are loading on the low end of the recommended powder charge (low pressure), use the heavier "military" primers. They cost more, but I had to go and find out for myself why everyone says to do that. Sure enough, pierced primers were an issue. Go with the heavier ones for your hotter loads.
2. Full-length resize your brass EVERY time (with bolt guns, you can neck size- this is not the case with autos).
3. What size bullets will you be shooting? Bullet weight and LENGTH (not just number of grains!) is limited by your rifling twist rate. 1:8 or 1:7 will allow you to shoot up to a 77gr Sierra or Nosler (these are about the longest bullets that can fit into an AR mag).
4. Once you've figured out what bullets you want to shoot, you can look at powder. For 77gr Sierra Match King loads, I would work up a load one day that seemed to be fine, but shoot that same load on a different day, and I was blowing primers! The only difference that I could determine was the time of day I was shooting them (early morning vs. afternoon). My rifles seem to prefer Ramshot TAC for the 75-77gr bullets, and it seemed less picky. Many recommend Hodgdon 322 for 55gr and less bullets. I found it to be temperamental on heavier loads. IMR 4895 doesn't meter as well, but works well when weighed out. 748 meters well, but gave a wide velocity spread, was temperamental, and has a reputation for temperature sensitivity (I must say, though, that one my first and best groups ever shot with an AR was over 748- 10 shots, 1.5").
I'm sorry that I don't have much info to offer on lighter loads. I shoot 55gr bullets for plinking and practicing, but I load them to the minimum powder charge to save money (I'm CHEAP!). I shoot 75-77gr projectiles for hunting/defense. My reasoning is that I want something that hits hard, even at longer distances. My calculations show that at 800 yards, my load should still have the same energy as a .22 WMR at the muzzle.
Hope that helps.
1. Unless you are loading on the low end of the recommended powder charge (low pressure), use the heavier "military" primers. They cost more, but I had to go and find out for myself why everyone says to do that. Sure enough, pierced primers were an issue. Go with the heavier ones for your hotter loads.
2. Full-length resize your brass EVERY time (with bolt guns, you can neck size- this is not the case with autos).
3. What size bullets will you be shooting? Bullet weight and LENGTH (not just number of grains!) is limited by your rifling twist rate. 1:8 or 1:7 will allow you to shoot up to a 77gr Sierra or Nosler (these are about the longest bullets that can fit into an AR mag).
4. Once you've figured out what bullets you want to shoot, you can look at powder. For 77gr Sierra Match King loads, I would work up a load one day that seemed to be fine, but shoot that same load on a different day, and I was blowing primers! The only difference that I could determine was the time of day I was shooting them (early morning vs. afternoon). My rifles seem to prefer Ramshot TAC for the 75-77gr bullets, and it seemed less picky. Many recommend Hodgdon 322 for 55gr and less bullets. I found it to be temperamental on heavier loads. IMR 4895 doesn't meter as well, but works well when weighed out. 748 meters well, but gave a wide velocity spread, was temperamental, and has a reputation for temperature sensitivity (I must say, though, that one my first and best groups ever shot with an AR was over 748- 10 shots, 1.5").
I'm sorry that I don't have much info to offer on lighter loads. I shoot 55gr bullets for plinking and practicing, but I load them to the minimum powder charge to save money (I'm CHEAP!). I shoot 75-77gr projectiles for hunting/defense. My reasoning is that I want something that hits hard, even at longer distances. My calculations show that at 800 yards, my load should still have the same energy as a .22 WMR at the muzzle.
Hope that helps.
Truduct said:
I've been playing with this gun for a couple of years now mostly with TSX and TTSX and many different powders. Seemed like every load I put through it would be 1"-11/4". Just wasn't able to get the groups that I wanted. Randomshot had some VG's loaded up and gave me some to try out and they grouped closer to what I wanted. So I copied his Data and played with some different powders.
I really like the Nosler BT and they shot great out of my gun but they're not lead free and I wont be able to use them in the near future. The VG are not what I wanted to shoot but they shoot great and are lead free so I'm going with them.
AR with 1 in 9 twist.
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Good to hear, bought some VG's awhile back for the identical rifle you have. Gonna give them a try. What powder, primer, case set up did you run?
LP...my magazine max is 2.26", so I'm loading 2.25" to allow a bit of "wiggle room". Can you get a 2.27 in a magazine or are you shooting a bolt gun?
White Smoke said:
Magazine. Your question sparked my curiosity so I measured my mags. 1- 2.285" the other two 2.277"
Also I didn't type the original OAL correctly. It's 2.227"