62gr .224 Loading Charts (H335)

W35

W35

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I have scoured the internet for good load data for:

Hornady 62gr FMJBT

Hodgdon H335 Powder

.223 Brass (PMC and Remington)

I am seeing load data starting from 20gr to people loading to 25gr

Hornady Load Data:
Start: 20.1 Max 22.9gr

Nosler #8.0:
Start: 23.0 Max 25.5gr


Hodgdon:
Start: 19.3 Max 21.4


I am shooting out of a 14.5" 1/8 Twist Heavy AR15 Barrel. I am a little worried about over pressure, given that some data is so low and others are higher.


I loaded 100 cartridges (10 per different charging weight)

H335 ---- PMC Brass ----- Trimmed to 1.750 ----- C.O.L 2.229/2.30

10x 21.5 gr
10x 21.7 gr
10x 22.0 gr
10x 22.3 gr
10x 22.5 gr
10x 22.8 gr
10x 23.0 gr
10x 23.3 gr
10x 23.6 gr
10x 23.9 gr

I am looking for a accurate load for competition from 30M to 300M

Does anyone see issues with these loads? or would change something?

I appreciate any feedback.


Wes
 
Why is the OAL so short? 2.250 fits your mags easily. Right?

Each rifle is different. I would load up to 25.5 gr and be prepared to bring some home, if I ran into pressure signs. I suggest you 24.2, 24.5, 24.8, at least.
 
Ganderite said:
Why is the OAL so short? 2.250 fits your mags easily. Right?
Click to expand...

All the data sheets I have read suggest a C.O.L of 2.229"

When I test fit my dummy loads into my AR mags, they just fit with a little space to move freely .


I was thinking of charging them up to 25gr?!
 
in my opinion your wasting a lot of barrel life, brass life and the cost of a bullet doing 10 shot groups in load development

first you need to dial out vertical, only takes 2 or at most 3 shots of varying powder charges to show what has and what has not vertical, once you identify the loads that show vertical, you eliminate those and you work with only groups that show either 1 hole groups or anything close or horizontal groups, from there you play with powder charge, I go 1/10 th up or down but remember my charge loads only vary in 2/10 th increments, ( larger cases might be 3/10ths ), after that its only a matter of adjusting seating depth
if you still don't like what you see, several other options, change , powder, bullets or maybe the primer, but only change one thing and try again ,
and if your an accuracy nut like me you will weight sort everything
 
10 shot groups only tell 3 things,,,, #1 well tuned gun, #2 the ability of the handloader of the well tuned gun and lastly .... #3 the ability to shoot a well tuned gun

don't beat urself up if all 3 of those things don't come together right away
 
When looking at load data for a AR15 rifles the first thing you should do is check to see what type firearm the load data was tested in.

If the rifle has a 1in12 or 1in14 twist then the rifle has a shorter throat and the loading data will be conservative.

I have a Savage .223 with a 1in9 twist and its throat is "longer" than my AR15 rifles, meaning it can be loaded "warmer"

In the Lyman manual the load data it lists a 62 grain SS109 FMJ (military bullet) with H335.
H335 start 22.5 2852 fps 40,600 psi
H335 max 25.0 3168 fps 54,800 psi

Below a short throated 223 left and the longer throated AR15 on the right, and the conservative loading data is for the shorter throated "older" rifles.
In 1989 the SAAMI came out with their .223/5.56 interchangeability warning when the M885 NATO round came out. (SS109 62 grain bullet)
Meaning the new M885 round needed a longer throat to lower the chamber pressure to 55,000 psi

tviAISD.jpg


Below variations in chambers and throat diameters and length.

wjAOlWq.jpg


Bottom line, if your rifle has a 1in9, 1in8 or 1in7 twist rate it should have a longer throat. I have a AR15 A2 HBAR with a 1in9 twist and a AR15 carbine with a 1in7 twist with .0500 throat lengths. And my Savage 223 bolt action has a .0566 throat length and the different throat lengths will govern how hot the rifle can be loaded. So double check what type rifle and throat the load data was compiled in.

Get the Lyman manual, and you will see a universal receiver and a pressure test barrel. This load data is from a SAAMI minimum diameter chamber and bore to get the highest possible pressures. And when you see a specific firearm listed a strain gauge was glued to the barrel to measure chamber pressure.

Also on AR15 rifles you can have pistol, carbine, mid-length and rifle length gas port locations. And your gas port pressure at that point of the barrel is also important, meaning the burn rate of the powder will effect port pressure. So always look at what type firearm the load data was compiled from.
 
I use 24gr of H335 with actual ss109 bullets.

I have gone up to 25gr, but those are a little hot (at least for my 1:7 and 1:9 ar15s)
 
We had some nice weather yesterday, so I took my loads to the range.

I will have to do another run to fine tune the charge. But I did find that between 22 and 23.3gr seems where I got the most accuracy with these Hornady 62 FMJBT.

The impacts stringed horizontally and where 1" to 1.5"... Need to fine tune it and see what works best with this barrel.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.
 
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