Reloading 223 AR15
- Thread starter Weremey59
- Start date
Not so much cases that my rifles don't like per se but cases I avoid.
Norinco 5.56mm brass ( "CJ" headstamp ) is made with occasional off-centre primer pockets and flash holes; annoying enough to break a decapping pin but luckily I didn't try to prime on my progressive / have a loud surprise. I also find the brass very soft; regardless of what gun shoots the factory norinco ammo, case mouths get collapsed and case heads / extractor grooves get chewed up really easily. Mind you, my sample was only 400 rds from one lot; that was enough for me to stop using that ammo / collect the brass.
Keep an eye out for BERDAN cases if you collect / have mixed brass. I found out the hard way how easily a decapping pin can get ruined. Funny enough, it was a Lee that is supposed to slip if resistance is encountered but I managed to make it shaped like a "J" and thus useless. It's not common but you never know when you might pick up Belgian SS109 brass at a range.
One thing to think about is removing primer pocket crimping / staking when using military brass. Some folks use a swager tool / die set; others use a cutter either on a motorized case prep station (not bad) or by hand (F*** that noise if you have to process thousands of cases...)
Other than that, most 223 service rifle load data should play nice if you don't run hot / near max loads regardless of headstamp / make. There are slight case capacity differences; I get around this by working up bulk loads using brass with the lowest case capacity and then just using that load across the board.
YMMV
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Another little bit of advice is to purchase the RCBS primer pocket swager. I used to do only the military crimps but found that all cases benefited. Sometimes one military case would sneak through and gum up the works. Highly recommended.
When sizing for overall length use the shorter end of the spec. Use a factory round for reference. Your magazines will have jams at the full length spec. Good for bolt action though.
When sizing for overall length use the shorter end of the spec. Use a factory round for reference. Your magazines will have jams at the full length spec. Good for bolt action though.
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Thanks for all the awesome info guys.
Range report. I went out and finally got some rounds down the pipe. The 18.8gr of h4895 cycled perfectly and had a very gentle felt recoil to it and felt more like a push. The 21gr of imr4198 again cycled very well however the felt recoil was alot heavier then the H4895 and was alot more sharp. That being said 223 doesn't have much for recoil to begin with seeing as how I'm use to 4570 and 308. Both grouped about 1.5moa at 100m and all the brass landed in a nice pile at my 5 o'clock about 6-7 feet away. I'm pretty sure I could tighten the group a bit havin a scope on it however with the iron sights I have, I'm very happy with the group and reliability of the ammo. Anything sound's off? Is the brass landing at my 5 o'clock mean I'm undergassing it?
Range report. I went out and finally got some rounds down the pipe. The 18.8gr of h4895 cycled perfectly and had a very gentle felt recoil to it and felt more like a push. The 21gr of imr4198 again cycled very well however the felt recoil was alot heavier then the H4895 and was alot more sharp. That being said 223 doesn't have much for recoil to begin with seeing as how I'm use to 4570 and 308. Both grouped about 1.5moa at 100m and all the brass landed in a nice pile at my 5 o'clock about 6-7 feet away. I'm pretty sure I could tighten the group a bit havin a scope on it however with the iron sights I have, I'm very happy with the group and reliability of the ammo. Anything sound's off? Is the brass landing at my 5 o'clock mean I'm undergassing it?
FirearmsEnthusiast
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If you're really keen on developing precision handloads for the AR-15, I recommend Zediker's excellent books - Handloading for Competition, and the Competitive AR-15.
In a nutshell:
- he likes W-W brass.
- match bullet weight to twist rate and to application - loading for 200-300 yards is a different load than for 600.
- don't screw around with seating depth - load to mag length - overall length
- use thicker primers - CCI as mentioned by another poster, to reduce slam-fire risk
- don't expect more than a few reloads from brass in either the AR-15 or M-14 due to the violent ejection - he doesn't anneal (I do)
- watch and trim cases carefully - a safety issue
- crimp or use enough neck tension to avoid bullet setback in magazine from recoil of previous rounds or even due to chambering (decreases seating depth)
Great thread!
In a nutshell:
- he likes W-W brass.
- match bullet weight to twist rate and to application - loading for 200-300 yards is a different load than for 600.
- don't screw around with seating depth - load to mag length - overall length
- use thicker primers - CCI as mentioned by another poster, to reduce slam-fire risk
- don't expect more than a few reloads from brass in either the AR-15 or M-14 due to the violent ejection - he doesn't anneal (I do)
- watch and trim cases carefully - a safety issue
- crimp or use enough neck tension to avoid bullet setback in magazine from recoil of previous rounds or even due to chambering (decreases seating depth)
Great thread!
