Cheers.
- Thread starter Cpt.Flan
- Start date
You should consult one or more reloading manuals for load data. There are a wide range of propellants which are suitable for the .223. Charge weights and COL are dependant upon the propellant used, type and weight of bullet, and the throat and/or magazine dimensions of the individual rifle. What is a safe load in one gun may not necessarily be the same in another. This is why loading manuals give a min/max suggested load for each bullet weight and propellant combination with the advice to start at the minimum and work up loads incrementally watching for pressure indicators.
Be careful with internet loading data and recipes. Best to use what comes from a proven manual by an established manufacturer-Speer,Hornady,Nosler,Sierra,Lee,Lyman,Hodgon are some of them.
Be careful with internet loading data and recipes. Best to use what comes from a proven manual by an established manufacturer-Speer,Hornady,Nosler,Sierra,Lee,Lyman,Hodgon are some of them.
dudley2112
Youth Group Leader
- Location
- Ottawa, Ontario
25.5 or 26 grains of winchester 748
You have to work up the load for your rifle. I've always started with whatever powder is given in my Lyman manual for the accuracy load for whatever bullet weight I'm loading.
What bullet weight you pick depends on the rifling twist in your rifle. Heavy bullets tend to prefer a fast twist. Light varmint bullets a slower twist.
Use the OAL given in your manual.
You should separate the two brands of brass too. Milsurp brass is a bit thicker than commercial and requires you to drop the powder charge by 10% and work up. Mind you, LC 5.56 brass isn't always thicker. Weighing one will tell you.
What bullet weight you pick depends on the rifling twist in your rifle. Heavy bullets tend to prefer a fast twist. Light varmint bullets a slower twist.
Use the OAL given in your manual.
You should separate the two brands of brass too. Milsurp brass is a bit thicker than commercial and requires you to drop the powder charge by 10% and work up. Mind you, LC 5.56 brass isn't always thicker. Weighing one will tell you.
Doesn't fit in
X3 Win 748 25gr , that's max and 27 gr in not getting fit in the case, even coompressed
X3 Win 748 25gr , that's max and 27 gr in not getting fit in the case, even coompressed
rnbra-shooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Brunswick
Load your 55FMJs to magazine length. That would be 2.26" C.O.A.L. or perhaps a bit less; be sure to verify that they easily fit into your magazine.
I have gotten very good results from H4895, which is a very close cousin of Varget. But these short grained stick powders flow somewhat awkwardly into a narrow .223 neck, you have to be vigilant in case it bridges.
It's a lot easier to use a ball powder such as Win-748 or H-335 or BL(C)-2, etc, they flow nearly like water. See your favourite loading manual, and work your way up to the max load. I have used WC-845, which is a non-cannister powder similar to H-335, which I got from Higginsons Powders, for a pretty darn good price. It's not available anymore, but WC-735 is (you use H-335 data less 10%, IIRC - it'll be on the box).
When you need to buy bullets again, you might want to try slightly heavier bullets (your 1-9" is able to stabilize bullets up to 75 grains). I've shot a few Armscor 62 FMJBT bullets ($150/1000 from site sponsor http://www.mysticprecision.com/ ), they are excellent plinking-grade bullets. I used 24.3 WC845 with them, which gave 2950fps in my 20" barreled AR-15 (you'd probably get 2800-2850 in your 16" bbl). If I load up more I'd probably go half a grain hotter.
Another cheap bullet that might shoot reasonably well for you in a Winchester 64 grain Power Point, it's a flat-base lead-tip hunting bullet, they were about $20 per 100 from Higginsons when I bought them. 25.0 of H4895 gave me a nice hot 3080 fps with them.
Last edited:
dudley2112
Youth Group Leader
- Location
- Ottawa, Ontario
my manual doesnt list 25 as max... if you mean max that will fit in it could be your using 5.56 casing which have slightly less capacity.
I have reloaded a boat load of .223 for plinking, and I found the WC-735 that Higginson Powders sells is great and cheap!
Currently $119 for 7 lbs of the powder, and it has gone up considerably since I bought my last shipment. If you get 21 lbs at a time the shipping is free! Might need a few people together for that deal.
I have never found reloading data for it, but reducing the data for H-335 (by 5% like Higgison says) has worked perfectly for me.
I do not reload .223 for extreme accuracy, I just plink with it, so I have no idea if the powder is any good for extreme accuracy. It works great for me.
Mike
Currently $119 for 7 lbs of the powder, and it has gone up considerably since I bought my last shipment. If you get 21 lbs at a time the shipping is free! Might need a few people together for that deal.
I have never found reloading data for it, but reducing the data for H-335 (by 5% like Higgison says) has worked perfectly for me.
I do not reload .223 for extreme accuracy, I just plink with it, so I have no idea if the powder is any good for extreme accuracy. It works great for me.
Mike
Last edited:
