What would you start off with loading .223?

[sammy]

Hello All,

I am going to start loading .223 for 1/7 16" length standard AR type rifle. My goal is to start off with standard 55-63 grain non precision ammo. I would like it to be fairly accurate but am not sure what kind of bullet or powder to start testing.

Any reliable recipe, bullet combinations you have used? If so any links would be great.

Thanks, Sammy

[NotEnufGarage]

You don't state what your objective is, other than to start loading. If you're going for cost savings, that'll be one route. If you're going for match quality ammo, that's a different route.

You can't go wrong with 55 or 62 grain FMJBT bullets, however, your 1/7 will probably like the heavier (and thus longer) bullets better.

For my plinking (low cost) rounds ;
I load 62 grain SS109 pulled bullets that I get from fsreloading.com but there are other places that have them (Rocky Mountain Reloading, Hi-Tech Ammo, and a few others). I load these with CCI #41 primers and 28 grains of WC844 surplus powder. It comes out to about $.13 per round and they shoot great out to 300 yards with my 1/7, 1/8 and 1/9 uppers.

The only problem with this formula for a beginner is that initial buy-in. The surplus powder is 25 - 40% cheaper than new canister powder, but you have to buy it in 8lb jugs and a minimum of 4 jugs to get the hazmat shipping charged waived. The other problem is finding inexpensive primers these days. Nobody seems to have the Wolf SRM556 primers now, which used to be a great deal at $15.50/1000, compared to $27/1000 for CCI #41's. I got lucky and picked up 15,000 CCI primers from someone who was moving for $300, so I'm set for a while. You won't save as much money loading if you're buying primers by the 100's and powder by the single pound. You've gotta buy big to save big.

For match grade ammo;
I use Sierra 69 grain Match King HPBT bullets, CCI#41 primers and either TAC or Varget. These are accurate and effective to about 500 yards. For longer distances, I step up to 77 or 85 grain bullets. These end up costing about $.25 per round to load, and a considerable amount of time involved in case preparation (sizing, trimming, sorting, weighing) to achieve maximum consistency. Compared to $25 for a box of 20 Hornady match rounds, the saving is still great, but like I said it takes a lot of time and attention to detail.

[mjmagee67]

For my blasting ammo I use bulk 55gr bullets and load with 2 different powders both give great results (3 in groups @ 100 yards, iron sights resting on the mag only). The loads are 25gr of H335 powder or 24gr of Alliant Pro-Varmint. Right now I am loading up Hornady 55gr SP w/cannular they are about the cheapest ($96/1000) thing going and shoot well too at least 200 yards.

[sammy]

Sorry, I did not give more details.

What I am after is inexpensive blasting ammo for now. I have no interest in benchrest shooting. Mostly want to learn and work on load development for cheap ammo.

Montana Gold has cases of 3500 for $330 shipped. This looks like a great option but I can't find any reviews on this bullet.

H335 has positive reviews. Varget as well. For now I want to get a lb of each and test them out.

[bohoki]

i load mine 55fmj with 23 gn tac or win748

23 grains will make it so you get 300 rounds a pound and it cycles in anything

most important thing is to trim your brass to 1.750 or less then everything stays happy

[Mikelarry]

if you have a 1/7 then go with a heavier round like 75gr Hndy with 24gr Varget 2.25COL

[NotEnufGarage]

if you have a 1/7 then go with a heavier round like 75gr Hndy with 24gr Varget 2.25COL

A 1/7 barrel will shoot 55's fine for plinking. I would want to keep the velocity down a little off of max to keep from overspinning them, but inside 200 yds that won't make much difference. That said, 62's or 69's would make for better accuracy, so if you're looking for sub-moa loads, look into them.

Montana Gold makes great bullets. I've used their 9MM and .45ACP bullets and have no complaints.

TAC or any other spherical powder meters really well on most powder drops, whereas stick powder varies a little more from throw to throw.

[sammy]

So what do you all think of the Hornady 55 grain soft point bullets as far as accuracy? That bullet with 748 looks like a good combination. The price is right too.

[BrianRodela]

Brass, any but keep it the same year and manufacturer to aid in consistancy, trim to 1.750"
Primers, any will do. Although most don't prefer them, I have had no problems with ones like Tula but I prefer Remington 7 1/2.
Powder, the sky is the limit! I started with Reloader 15 at 24.5gns and had no issues. Shot well, metered well and grouped well. I now use AR-comp. I was able to take a whole grain off the R-15 load and got the same results with better consistency; (+/- 7fps over the 10 shot spread). 23.5 of AR comp gives me about 2930fps where 23.0gn is around 2800. Both work well so now I use the lower of the two to save a little powder.
Bullets, I like the 69gn Sierra Match King for practice and go with 70 VLD Bergers for matches. Load to OAL of 2.255".

Many will argue that you don't need match ammo for plinking but I say shoot the best you can afford. Poor quality ammo can make it difficult to diagnose critical shooting problems or equipment. If it's not the ammo, or the rifle then there is only one variable left....... Good luck and feel free to ask many questions!!!!! We are here for ya!

[FLIGHT762]

[rtpzwms]

You may want to look at CFE powder. Its made for the 223.

[9mmrevolver]

FYI... Hi tech ammo is out of 223 ss109 projectiles. And it sucks.

[AeroEngi]

I've heard CFE223 gives great results but I've never tried it. I have been using 25 grains of H335 behind a hornady 55gr FMJBT with excellent results.

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[lpspinner]

I'm currently playing with a 55gr FMJBT with Winchester 748. I've loaded some up with 25gr and 25.8gr. I'm crimping right at the top end of the cannelure. Since I'm using LC brass, my pressure will be higher then commercial brass.

An older Winchester book has 26.2 as max charge while I have other books that go higher.

[ireload]

I use 25 grain H335, CCI small rifle mag primers, mixed brass trimmed to 1.750" (+/-.002"), Wincherster 55 gr. btfmj or Honardy 55 gr. btfmj bullet, with a light crimp, and COL of 2.220".