I Would Like To Introduce You To... PERFORMANCE UPDATE, Post #20

A

AndrewNS

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My first hand load!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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And 39 of his closest friends!

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Here are the specs:

.223 REM loads
Federal Brass
Federal small rifle primers
55gr. Hornady V-Max Bullets
23 gr. of Accurate AA2230 Powder
OAL of between 2.268 and 2.272 inches


I weighed every charge individually and trickled to the exact powder weight each time to make 100% sure that I was getting the same amount of powder in each load, and I measured every completed cartridge with my new digital calipers to make sure that my OAL was within 2 thou +/- of the perfect OAL for my gun, which is 2.270 inches, so they are within 2 thou +/- of that. (I had the chamber in my rifle measured to see exactly where the rifling in my barrel starts to find out this perfect OAL, the bullets are seated in the cases at 20 thou from the start of the rifling.)

The cartridges on the left were neck sized only, the cartridges on the right were full length sized. That is the only variable on these loads, I wanted to see how much of a difference neck sizing makes vs. full length sizing.

I can't wait to get them to the range tomorrow and see how they perform! I'll post up the results when I get home.
 
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I thing of beauty .. And it is not alone ......

After it dies for you .. Will you reserve that space beside your pillow for its' memory , or will the whispers that you heard just after it's creation be amplified by it's death ... horde, horde, Horde, HORDE!
 
rocor98 said:
I thing of beauty .. And it is not alone ......

After it dies for you .. Will you reserve that space beside your pillow for its' memory , or will the whispers that you heard just after it's creation be amplified by it's death ... horde, horde, Horde, HORDE!
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After it makes the ultimate sacrifice for me, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes a new one will be reborn from it's remains.
 
Very nice. What equipment are you using?

.223 is what I want to start with also. I have quite a bit of brass now. :)
 
No joke .. I bought the equipment to load 200 spear GDHP 230gr .45acp rounds in 200 starline nickel cases using CCI primers to be as close to factory as I could .. That was December .. Is it done .. No

Only did it as could never buy factory rounds .. Always out of stock online .. ( have 20 factory now for comparison )

I now have a new pistol , 1000 factory rounds and about 100 lbs of lead and all the gear to smelt and cast two years worth of plinking .. Will need to spend some of the factory rounds to augment my base empty .45 brass, but just have to stop going bigger and do like you did .. Create some things of beauty .. Three weeks I guess ..
 
Says goodbye to your spare time and money, say hello to reloading!

All those cool doo dads you used to walk past in the gun store with nary a second glance are going to become coveted treasures!
 
Congrats. I can only see one big problem. If that is your reloading area in the pic and there is a lady in your life it is too nice and clean for you to keep it long. ;);)
 
themikea said:
Very nice. What equipment are you using?

.223 is what I want to start with also. I have quite a bit of brass now. :)
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-Lee 50th Anniversary Reloader Kit which includes:
-Breech Lock Challenger Press with a breech lock quick change bushing
-A complete powder handling system with the repeatable Perfect Powder Measure
-Lee Safety Scale
-Powder Funnel
-Case preparation tools include a Cutter and Lock Stud, Lee Chamfer Tool, Sizing Lube, Primer Pocket Cleaning Tool and the large and small Safety Prime

-Lee PaceSetter Die Set which includes:
-Lee Factory Crimp Die
-Conventional Bullet Seater and Roll Crimper
-Shell holder
-Powder dipper
-Load data
-Storage box

-RCBS Powder Trickler

-Cabela's Bullet Puller (Accommodates all calibers from .17 to .416)

-Canadian Tire Electronic Digital Caliper

-Lee Pilot & Shell Holder For Lee Case Trimmer - .223 Rem

-Lyman Turbo Tumbler

-Ballistic Services Case Lube (Thanks Peter!)
 
3macs1 said:
Congrats. I can only see one big problem. If that is your reloading area in the pic and there is a lady in your life it is too nice and clean for you to keep it long. ;);)
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Believe it or not, when I was trying to figure out where to do my reloading I was planning to put a new bench in my shed or garage. My wife says to me, you don't want to have to sit out there, just use the spare bedroom for your gun room.
 
Congrats on starting reloading, that bed in the loading room could be used for a nice nap when your tuckered out from pulling the handle on the press.:D
 
AndrewNS said:
Believe it or not, when I was trying to figure out where to do my reloading I was planning to put a new bench in my shed or garage. My wife says to me, you don't want to have to sit out there, just use the spare bedroom for your gun room.
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Yep been there at least four times now. Bedroom, spare room, room in basement, new room in basement. Now seeing if the dogs will rent me some space. :) She is a woman give her 5 or 10 years and let me know where you end up. ;);)
Yep mine says my reloads must really suck since in 36 years she has not even been able to train me to reload even this :(
paper_zpsb2a37494.jpg
 
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3macs1 said:
Yep been there at least four times now. Bedroom, spare room, room in basement, new room in basement. Now seeing if the dogs will rent me some space. :) She is a woman give her 5 or 10 years and let me know where you end up. ;);)
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We actually have the house that we are in on the market right now and will be building a new one once this one sells. The house that we are in right now is on slab, so no basement, and the new house is going to have a basement.

The other day she says to me "Wouldn't it be cool if we had a room in the basement that all of the guns could hang on the walls to be displayed rather than be in the safes? What would we have to do to be able to do that? You should do it in the next house, the whole basement can be dedicated to having the pool table, dart board and a gun room."

I didn't know what to say... She left me speachless, which doesn't happen often...

I love this woman more and more every day.
 
Like to know your results with the neck sizing only.I just handloaded 10 rounds H-4895 25gr 53gr Hornady never tried them yet.With the same charge full sizing the brass I was getting 1/2 to 7/8 groups at 100 yds with a brand new Tikka t3 Heavy barrell .223.I do not think that necking sizing will help that much except for brass prep which seems to take the longest.Let us know and Good Luck
 
3macs1 said:
Yep mine says my reloads must really suck since in 36 years she has not even been able to train me to reload even this :(
paper_zpsb2a37494.jpg
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Well that's easy, just tell her that since you enjoy reloading so much you don't want to take all the fun so you decided to leave things other than gun cartridges for her to reload so she can share in the enjoyment! :p
 
Ok, here's the results:

All targets were shot with 3-shot groups, the targets are labeled with edge to edge measurements and center to center conversions.

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The best group on the left hand target:

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The best group on the right hand target (and also the best group I've ever shot!!):

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A 5-shot group, just to see how it would do (0.995 - 0.224 = 0.771 center to center):

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On the targets I have indicated which shots I called as pulls, I was a little excited to be shooting my hand loads and rushed it. Once I slowed down and concentrated things closed in nicely.

For those that were curious, as I was, about the effect of neck sizing only vs. full length sizing, the difference is incredible. The target on the left shows the difference really well with the center and bottom left targets.

The target on the left also ALMOST qualifies for UnderTheGun's factory hunting rifle challenge... SO CLOSE!! Next week I'll get it!!
 
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