Reloading 223 in Dillon 550

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grinder08

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So I have been reloading 223 using a Dillon 550 with the following specs.

Winchester Brass
CCI Small Rifle Primers
Campro 55gr Copper Plated Bullets
23.4gr Hodgdon H335
Light crimp as I am shooting through an AR 15 14.5" barrel.

I ran two strings with my Caldwell Chrono and was rather surprised by the spread in velocity. Chrono worked fine only had 1 error out of 30 odd rounds (forgot to save the first string mutter mutter) rookie mistake.
1st
Average 2662ft/sec (9 shots)
Standard Deviation 125
Min 2492 Max 2831 Spread 339
2nd
Average 2720 (9 shots)
SD 154
Min 2528 Max 2943 Spread 415

Now this seems a bit wide to me. I have been very careful to check powder setup and every time I check, not every round but randomly, I get 23.4gr +/- 0.1 gr. The individual velocity values seem to be reasonably evenly distributed within the range. Not being distorted by 1 really off cartridge. I have checked the bullet weights and while there is some difference it is nowhere near enough to explain the overall difference.

I am new to chronos so I am not sure what to expect.

So I guess my question is. It this as good as I can expect from my current setup and or is there something I am missing.
 
I also use a Dillon 550 to reload my 223 rounds. Your spread seems very wide. I also use campro 55 gr bullets mine are much lower the last batch I had was around 35. If all factors are the same then you shouldn't be getting that much spread unless you are getting incomplete/inconsistent combustion of the powder. Are all the bullets being loaded to the same length? you didn't mention that. It might be worth checking if you aren't already. The only thing I might try is to increase your powder charges to something higher. The load data that I have for Campro 223 ranges from 23 to 25.3 grains of H355. You may want to try something "hotter" to see if those charges are more consistent.

As a benchmark, you should shoot a bunch of factory loaded rounds to see if those perform any tighter to rule out rifle or perhaps chrono related issues.
 
Rickster66 said:
I also use a Dillon 550 to reload my 223 rounds. Your spread seems very wide. I also use campro 55 gr bullets mine are much lower the last batch I had was around 35. If all factors are the same then you shouldn't be getting that much spread unless you are getting incomplete/inconsistent combustion of the powder. Are all the bullets being loaded to the same length? you didn't mention that. It might be worth checking if you aren't already. The only thing I might try is to increase your powder charges to something higher. The load data that I have for Campro 223 ranges from 23 to 25.3 grains of H355. You may want to try something "hotter" to see if those charges are more consistent.

As a benchmark, you should shoot a bunch of factory loaded rounds to see if those perform any tighter to rule out rifle or perhaps chrono related issues.
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I have checked the length and they are very consistent. This is my struggle everything I check is consistent but the results are not and the results don't lie so something is going on.
 
My experience with H355 and the Dillon powder measure have been pretty good. +/-.1g, depending on the preciseness of your scale is reasonable. If your brass is of consistent volume/ brand, I would look into the preciseness of your chrono, and the repeatability of your shooting position. Shooting into a chrono at even a slight angle can give poor results. Also I generally disregard the first shot of any string with a semi auto. Most often I find it to be lower than the average.
 
ron hilchey said:
My experience with H355 and the Dillon powder measure have been pretty good. +/-.1g, depending on the preciseness of your scale is reasonable. If your brass is of consistent volume/ brand, I would look into the preciseness of your chrono, and the repeatability of your shooting position. Shooting into a chrono at even a slight angle can give poor results. Also I generally disregard the first shot of any string with a semi auto. Most often I find it to be lower than the average.
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Thanks I will try again being really careful about aligning the chrono. I was a bit off. I looked at the strings and there doesn't seem to be any relationship between velocity and order the round was shot. I thought there might be some creep due to a hot chamber but nothing noticeable.
 
I'm wondering if it might be your primers?
I use CCI 450 Small Rifle Magnum or Remington 7-1/2 Small Rifle BR primers with H335 as it's a ball powder and I find that it takes a more powerful primer to get consistent ignition.
From the CCI website: 450 Mag - Magnum primer for ball propellants
""Remington does not recommend use of the 6-1/2 Small Rifle primer for use in the 17 Remington, 222 Remington, 223 Remington, 204 Ruger, 17 Remington Fireball. Use the 7-1/2 Small Rifle Bench Rest primer in these cartridges. The 6-1/2 Small Rifle primer is primarily designed for use in the 22 Hornet."
 
I get some big spreads with reloads on my 550 as well. Using 8208 powder. I do get some powder spilling out if I am not smooth when rotating plate. Small case doesn't take much to change charge weight. I was planning on loading some more up on my charge chargemaster for weight then recheck with chronograph to see if it makes a difference. Just need to find time to do.
 
So I tried again using 450 primers(magnum). They are a little more consistent but I am still getting a few high readings. I also use some AE as a benchmark. They were quite consistent with ave vel of 2900. My reload ave is around 2600 but I am getting the odd load jumping to 2800+. If I take the high values out then the ave drops to about 2520 and the spread while still being a bit wide is a lot more reasonable. What I am most concerned about is why I am getting the high values. If I increase the powder charge to a normal value am I going to get peak values 300 higher than ave, ie dangerous. Need to figure our what is causing the high values. Can't believe that the powder charge is jumping by a couple of grains.

One thought is if the bullet is getting pushed back into the case during feeding can the jump in pressure cause this sort of velocity increase?
 
Very much so. You may want to test for that by firing a round then ejecting and measuring the newly chambered round a few times to see if any of them are moving.
 
I got 104/30 with my ammo loaded on my 650 on a test batch. I know I got some spilling, maybe I went a little quick on the handle.
Works for semi auto plinking..
 
BCRider said:
Very much so. You may want to test for that by firing a round then ejecting and measuring the newly chambered round a few times to see if any of them are moving.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I might make up some dummy rounds and run them through the cycle to see how they go. Logically the pressure increase effect is probably more significant with a short barrel like mine. Higher initial acceleration.
 
As I posted earlier, you are loading too low. Been there, done that.

For reasons of a particular rifle, I had to stay at that load, so I found that I had to use a magnum primer and a firm crimp to get a good ES.

I load 223 with H335 on a Dillon 550. Powder charge variation is almost nil.

Go up at least 1 more grain, use the magnum primer and use a heavier crimp and see if you are getting better results.
 
Ganderite said:
As I posted earlier, you are loading too low. Been there, done that.

For reasons of a particular rifle, I had to stay at that load, so I found that I had to use a magnum primer and a firm crimp to get a good ES.

I load 223 with H335 on a Dillon 550. Powder charge variation is almost nil.

Go up at least 1 more grain, use the magnum primer and use a heavier crimp and see if you are getting better results.
Click to expand...

I tried a few test cases last night and found that the bullet was moving forward about 3-5 thou as the cartridge went into battery. So tightened up the crimp and I am going to increase the powder charge to just over 24gr. I had already switched to Magnum primers. I like to keep the powder charge as low as I can while making sure it works properly. Still working up.
 
Curious as to the final result? What's is your current recipe and what kind of consistency are you getting now?

Did the Magnum primers help? Did the extra crimp help? (whats the crimp measurement?)

I recently picked some up CCI 450 SMR Magnums because I'm testing H335 loads in an AR and have heard all kinds of stuff about slamfires and the desire for a harder primer cup in CCI 450's or less sensitive priming compound (as in Mil-Spec CCI #41 primers) while using an AR which of course has a floating firing pin... this topic runs the spectrum of opinions and experiences.
 
Do you guys all use small rifle magnum primers for ar with ball powders? I have never had an issue with sr primers, but will buy magnum next time.
 
my load using H335 and CCI 450 Primers
Powder Charge- 24.5gr
Bullet- Hornady 55gr FMJ ( Bulk Bullets)
OAL- 2.230" Tip to base, ( but I measure my OAL from the Ogive)
Average Velocity- 2990fps ,
Gun - 14.5" Noveske CHF, 1:7 twist
a very light crimp is applied since the Hornady comes with a cannelure, If I"m using a bullet w/o a cann. then no crimp is necessary.

the magnum primers are recommended to minimize the chances of slam fire especially for gas gun and passive firing pins. the odds of having a slam fire , seriously I dont know. its just a precaution I beleive.
 
grinder08 said:
I tried a few test cases last night and found that the bullet was moving forward about 3-5 thou as the cartridge went into battery. So tightened up the crimp and I am going to increase the powder charge to just over 24gr. I had already switched to Magnum primers. I like to keep the powder charge as low as I can while making sure it works properly. Still working up.
Click to expand...

with regards to your bullet setback, try adjusting your seating die body, back out (1/2 - 3/4 turn), although Dillon claims their seating die doesnt seat and crimp at the same time, in my experience it does crimp a little bit, which sometimes open up your case mouth if the die body is screwed lower . if you still want to crimp, then you can do it on the last station.
 
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