Reloading adventure - Critique or Roast

[tanks]

Originally Posted by waveslayer

...
Guess I'm a progressive fanboy ! I will take it when I'm sputting out over 600 to 800 rounds an hour on it. ...

Those are rookie numbers

[waveslayer]

Originally Posted by tanks

Those are rookie numbers

Ha ha ha I love those machines. I almost bought one that would do 25K-50K an hour. The issue was getting powder and brass at that time. It was only $50K

My wife thinks I only have 3 guns

[L4D]

EDIT: DONT DO THIS DUMB STUFF THAT I DID BELOW - STICK WITH RECOMMENDED/SUGGESTED STARTING LOADS

My first batch. I have a couple primers that I think may be deeper than i'd like. I did a light crimp, cant really tell its crimped at all other than the fresh ring that the crimp die left behind.





I started below suggested starting load. The load data I used was with SRP all i could get my hands on were SMRP's. Lots of feedback online that its fine but some suggested backing off a bit.

I did have some "events" lol.
Getting the powder measure setup I was using a fired case to get the actuator on full drop. The I did the first powder drop just to test. The case had no primer...

Static was my biggest issue. Powder was sticking to the hopper sides and inside the case mouths which made it difficult to get a good measure so my loads are probably +/- .2

This is fun. I'll go see how these rounds do.

[kcheung2]

I strongly suggest against going below starting loads. The newb thinking is that if starting load is safe, then going below it is even safer. Actually that's not true. Besides the risk of a squib, pressures are not linear with powder charge and going below a minimum case fill can create an erratic powder ignition which can actually increase pressure.

[TomReloaded]

You don't have to adjust loads for magnum primers... also a whole *** grain below minimum is not a good practice. With *most* powders its *probably* ok, but you may have issues. Theres just no reason to do it, mostly.

For an AR15, you actually need magnum primers, or the #41 cci military style primer. They don't change you charge or load, but the cups are harder and prevent piercing.

Another oddity specific to 223. The max load for 223 is below the 5.56 nato spec load. Do with that information what you want, but there it is. For 223, I load right in the middle of the load range and 9/10 times its pretty damn close to the most accurate charge anyway. A few bullet and powder combos need more fiddling with, but 55 or 62gr loads with an appropriate powder, the mid charge tends to work best.

[L4D]

....looks like ill be putting those first two loads away.

[divingin]

Originally Posted by L4D

Static was my biggest issue. Powder was sticking to the hopper sides and inside the case mouths which made it difficult to get a good measure so my loads are probably +/- .2

Simplest (and perhaps the messiest) cure is to get a tube or can of powdered graphite. Dust all surfaces with it, and blow off the excess (compressed air can, lens duster bulb, or an air compressor, whatever you've got.) Works a treat.

You can use dryer sheets, but beware of ones that have waxes as a softening agent; those will cause more sticking of powder than the static does.

[xrMike]

Originally Posted by L4D

....looks like ill be putting those first two loads away.

Feels pretty good, huh? Looking at and handling those 1st rounds you made yourself.

[L4D]

Originally Posted by divingin

Simplest (and perhaps the messiest) cure is to get a tube or can of powdered graphite. Dust all surfaces with it, and blow off the excess (compressed air can, lens duster bulb, or an air compressor, whatever you've got.) Works a treat.

You can use dryer sheets, but beware of ones that have waxes as a softening agent; those will cause more sticking of powder than the static does.

I picked up a can of powdered graphite. Just didn't use it. I will prep for that now...

Originally Posted by xrMike

Feels pretty good, huh? Looking at and handling those 1st rounds you made yourself.

It did until I made a fool of myself posting those low loads on the interwebz I should have known considering the close difference in gr weight between starting and max. I took "suggested" starting load with careless thought.

[kcheung2]

Originally Posted by TomReloaded

You don't have to adjust loads for magnum primers... also a whole *** grain below minimum is not a good practice. With *most* powders its *probably* ok, but you may have issues. Theres just no reason to do it, mostly.

For an AR15, you actually need magnum primers, or the #41 cci military style primer. They don't change you charge or load, but the cups are harder and prevent piercing.

Another oddity specific to 223. The max load for 223 is below the 5.56 nato spec load. Do with that information what you want, but there it is. For 223, I load right in the middle of the load range and 9/10 times its pretty damn close to the most accurate charge anyway. A few bullet and powder combos need more fiddling with, but 55 or 62gr loads with an appropriate powder, the mid charge tends to work best.

I agree with that. In fact for most cartridges I've found that generally a load about 2/3 between min and max works best for me.

OP - I think you'll find your lower accuracy node around 24.0 grains, +- 0.3 on either side.

Also, in re: your other post about a trimmer, you can get away with somewhat long cases in 5.56 chambers. Once fired (or even 2x) cases rarely stretch beyond the generous dimensions of military chambers. Yes you should trim but don't let that be a bottleneck right now. However when you've developed a production load, then yeah trim the long cases.

[xrMike]

Originally Posted by L4D

It did until I made a fool of myself posting those low loads on the interwebz I should have known considering the close difference in gr weight between starting and max. I took "suggested" starting load with careless thought.

No biggie, everybody makes different mistakes starting out.

The only mistake you NEVER want to make is to forget or fail to drop the powder and then load the bullet into an empty case.

I usually load 50 rounds at a time and before I load the bullets I put all the cases in a block and take a flashlight and look into them and make sure each one has powder, and it's all at the same level inside the cases.

You can pull those bullets and reuse everything, no waste.

[L4D]

Originally Posted by xrMike

No biggie, everybody makes different mistakes starting out.

The only mistake you NEVER want to make is to forget or fail to drop the powder and then load the bullet into an empty case.

I usually load 50 rounds at a time and before I load the bullets I put all the cases in a block and take a flashlight and look into them and make sure each one has powder, and it's all at the same level inside the cases.

You can pull those bullets and reuse everything, no waste.

Yep, I'll pull those later. I went back and used graphite to coat the powder die, extender and tube for the powder measure. Went ahead and made 10 more rounds 23.5gr and 24gr. Charges were perfect.

I should have been as careful on the first batch as I was on the second.

[CCrawford]

Just FYI on Lyman manual, the 51st ed is out, 50th should be bought at a discount. If not, get the 51st.

Good luck on your reloading adventure. Be careful, can be addiction.

[L4D]

Went to go choot em'
50 yards off hand from a 18" barrel
I discarded 2 rounds from the 22.5gr group - The primers were seated to deep for my liking. probably would have been fine.

Every group cycled fine. No signs of over pressure.

23.5gr is what i'll stick with.

[Imageview]

Awesome, congrats. Definitely super satisfying to fire off rounds you have made yourself. Seeing your results motivates me to get back to experimenting with 357 max.