What COAL for AR?

beltfed said:
The 75gr. AMax has a shorter bearing length than a 69 gr. SMK, and will work fine in most 9 twists as the bearing length is really what drives whether a bullet will work with a given twist.
Those rounds seated to 2.260" or shorter - they may feed fine, but you are courting bullet setback, and a potentially unsafe situation. Add to that the fact the AMax has a secant ogive, and with that OAL, a hellish long jump to the lands - they are probably not giving you the accuracy you want at shorter ranges, and at longer ranges, the likelihood of concentricity issues creeping in are quite likely.
They really are designed for hand loaders a) loading into or nearly into the rifling lands, and b) single loading their ammo or have mags (on bolt guns) that can handle longer OAL.

There are other excellent (and arguably better) bullets that work in the AR - 77gr. SMK, Nosler 77 gr. OTM, the new (in 2014-15) Sierra 77gr. Plastic tipped match, Berger 77LTB & 73 gr. BT match bullets are just a few.
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This.

If you wanna play with heavies in a .223 AR, 77 SMKs work well with 1 in 7" (no experience with shooting them in a 1 in 9" yet.) That said, I'd break out the hammer of education and chalk this up as another lesson filed away for future reloading endeavors; it's not worth the risk of a Kaboom due to bullet setback to burn those handloads off.

Edit to add:

Entered the following in Quickload:

2.250" COL
75 Gr .224 Hornady AMAX
1.750" brass length
23.5 Gr IMR 4895 @ 70 Deg F

Using .223 Rem SAAMI specs and a 20" barrel length, your loads are upwards of 60000 PSI (5000 above max spec!!!)

Using 5.56 x 45mm NATO specs and a 20" barrel length, you're on the razor's edge, mate ( 25 PSI below 62000 max!!!)

Curious to see what your fired brass / primer cups look like.....
 
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So what bullets would you guys recommend for use in an AR? I would preferably like about 75 grain roughly.. Also where do you buy them? I would like to buy in a pack of 500 or 1000 to save some money.

Thanks.

Edit: Also, what bullet puller would you guys recommend? I guess I have to pull all the bullets I just made..
 
Hey Matty, beltfed posted a list of potential bullets for you to consider. As for a puller, RCBS press mounted with a 22cal collet works really well for me. Once you get the hang of the puller ie how much to tighten it etc, you can pull those bullets in probably 20mins.
 
Trinimon said:
Hey Matty, beltfed posted a list of potential bullets for you to consider. As for a puller, RCBS press mounted with a 22cal collet works really well for me. Once you get the hang of the puller ie how much to tighten it etc, you can pull those bullets in probably 20mins.
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I won't have a problem with the COAL with those ones? I am thinking of either getting the 69 or 77 gr Sierra from Budget shooter supply, I shouldn't have a problem with either of those? I can't seem to find anything else in stock anywhere else, where do you guys buy from that has decent prices?

Do you know if the bullets I pull will be reusable after? I think I will sell the remaining Amax's I have I guess since I can't use them.
 
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I am thinking about getting the Hornady camlock puller and collets with an order of 69gr SMK's. Any experience with the Hornady one? I watched a Youtube video and it looks like it works pretty good, much better and quieter then the inertia pullers.
 
According to Sierra's loading guide for 69gr SMK in AR use:

Staring load at 22.9gr (~2500fps) and max 24.5gr (~2700fps) at 2.26" COAL.

Some folks have had good luck with the Hornady camlock puller and prefer it over the RCBS one.

If the jacket isn't damaged on the pills, they can be reused. You will have to disclose that and discount it if you resell them to be fair. I still got a box of 75gr AMAX sitting in my locker. One day I'll get a 223 bolt gun and shoot 'em out. lol

Hornady has temporarily suspended making certain bullets. You can see what's suspended on their website. Henry from Budget Shooting is a great guy to deal with. You'll be in good hands.
 
Yeah, I have a couple hundred new ones.. then I will have about 175 pulled ones. I think I am going to get the Hornady one from Budget and bullets at the same time, save some money on shipping. They seem better then the hammer type pullers.
 
Matty308 said:
Yeah, I have a couple hundred new ones.. then I will have about 175 pulled ones. I think I am going to get the Hornady one from Budget and bullets at the same time, save some money on shipping. They seem better then the hammer type pullers.
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The only time I use a hammer puller is for pistol ammo. Everything else gets pulled on my press with my RCBS puller die. Heck, I've even pulled 357Mag and 45ACP with my RCBS puller.
 
hexbasher said:
It's not in front of me, but my hornady manual has 75 gr listing under "223 Service
rifle"
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The BTHP (#2279) lists as a regular mag length of 2.250" (most ARs mags will take up to and including 2.260" - but better to play it safe for feeding sake)
The A-Max is a different beastie - as-tested COL from Hornady is 2.390" (from my older 6th edition)
 
So I got some 69 gr SMK after realizing that the AMax were the wrong type I need. Just wondering if anyone has a decent load to start from with IMR4895 and those bullets? I know I am going to have to find a load that works but if anyone has a good load they have that I could start from that would be great.

Thanks.
 
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