Unburned powder

[luchador768]

I took my first 50 reloaded .223 rounds to the range today. The load was 55gr fmj bullet, 25.5 grains of Varget, and a CCI primer. The gun is a 16 inch AR mid-length. I noticed a fair amount of un burned powder in the upper, chamber and bore. What gives?

[lpspinner]

You may want to try to switch to the CCI NATO primers...or another hotter primer.

[frt96]

I use standard CCI small primers and don't have a problem with unburned powder, with .16" 223.....2230 powder around 23 grains..... varget may be to slow out of a 16" barrel.

[kurac]

I have never experienced un-burnt rifle powder, can you post some pictures?

[ireload]

It could be that Varget is a bit slow for a 55 gr. bullet. I have not used Varget myself so I'm assuming at this point.

You can try using small rifle magnum primer and a minimum charge of Varget for your 55 grain bullet to see if the unburned powder condition would go away.

[luchador768]

I don't have any pics, sorry. I have magnum small rifle primers, so I'll adjust the charge and make a few with them.
I'm going to go over my die set up as well. These were my first reloaded rounds ever. I'm wondering if my sizer is set up right. The bullet feels secure in the case, but I'm thinking maybe it's not allowing that extra bit of time for a complete burn. Any thoughts on that?

[lpspinner]

I just looked, I think your load is a little too much. Hodgdon publishes starting load for a

55 GR. SFIRE.......min23.5 ... max 25.1C
55 GR. SPR SP......min25.5 ... max27.5C

Since neither of your bullets is the Sinterfire or Speer Soft Point, I would start a little less then the min load. Especially if you are now going to try with a Magnum primer.

Also, I think I read recently that the CCI 400 SR primer is not recommended for the AR.

Speer's latest manual has 25.0 as the starting charge for a 55gr FMJ BT with Varget


Also, overcrimping can cause increased pressure, so you would want to be careful with that.

[luchador768]

Thanks spinner, I'll drop down and make a few and see what happens. I'm loving this reloading stuff! Trial and error and I get to shoot, can't beat it!

[lpspinner]

np...oh also this may be a little too cautious for some, but when I work with below min charges, you always want to make sure you can confirm a bullet hit on target before firing the next round.

Reason is you want to make sure there's no bullet stuck in the barrel.

[Hoop]

I noticed a fair amount of un burned powder

You're talking carbon deposits. I've found varget to do that in 223 no matter what primer I used.

TAC and AA2230 burn cleaner for me so that's what I usually use in 223 now.

[luchador768]

It looked like little rods of unburned powder vs carbon. I'll try and get pics of the bore.

[17+1]

I took my first 50 reloaded .223 rounds to the range today. The load was 55gr fmj bullet, 25.5 grains of Varget, and a CCI primer. The gun is a 16 inch AR mid-length. I noticed a fair amount of un burned powder in the upper, chamber and bore. What gives?

What do you mean, unburned? Powder residue in the upper receiver is part of AR ownership. Powder residue in the barrel is part of firearm operation. Chamber fouling can be reduced by sizing the brass to the chamber and running a hotter charge to create a better seal. I'd use a faster powder for 55 grain bullets if I were you. I use Varget for 69-80 grain 223 reloads.

[luchador768]

17+1, I've been shooting AR's since the 1980's. I know what a dirty bore/carbon bulid up looks like. There were actual rods of powder in the upper and bore. It almost looks like a case fell apart in there.

[NotEnufGarage]

Stick powder is a little harder to light than ball powder because of the reduced surface area.

Ammo for AR type weapons should use CCI #41 or Wolf KVM556 type primers, which are magnum small rifle primers with harder cups to prevent slam fires. Regular small rifle primers may not be hot enough and the cups can be too soft to safely use from a firearm with a free floating firing pin. Eject an unfired round from the chamber sometime and see if there's a mark or dimple on the primer. If so, you're dangerously close to a slamfire situation.

[luchador768]

I've noticed the little dents, I also see them on factory ammo so I wasn't too concerned. I'll give the Wolf magnum primers a go. It sounds like a heavier bullet may be a good idea as well. I just ordered some AA2230 to compare. I wish I had a range next to the bench so I could check my work at home!