July 31, 2011, 09:24 AM | #1 |
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Join Date: December 26, 2004
Location: Louisville KY
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Issue with 223's
I've reloaded about 1500 223's now after getting my S&W a few months ago. A couple stoppages with the first 1200, but yesterday was a whole different story.
I had been using 55gr surplus bullets but the supplier was out and I got 500 of the 62gr (weighed) FMJ instead. Following the Lyman manual for the 63gr Jacketed SMP bullet it says... H335 23.7-26.4max I went with 25gr charge as I've had good results with a 'middle' load 335 before. My rifle wouldn't go into battery yesterday. Found out a fired primer fell out and got stuck in the chamber face, easily cleared out. I showed a couple other fired rounds to the RO and he noticed the primers were flattened, so I switched over to my leftovers with 4064 and had no issues. My 'new' reloads are 24gr H335, is that still too hot, despite what the manual says? I also noticed the OAL is listed as 2.26, while mine have to be at 2.24 for reliable loading in my magazines. |
July 31, 2011, 10:09 AM | #2 |
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Flat primer = too hot a load
My Hornady reloading data does not have a 62 gr data but using 55 gr FMJ it tops off at 23.2 gr and using 68 gr BTHP it max out at 23.8
Check out Hodgdon website. http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp Bullet Weight (Gr.) Manufacturer Powder Bullet Diam. C.O.L. Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure Grs. Vel. (ft/s) Pressure -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63 GR. SIE SP Hodgdon H335 .224" 2.200" 22.5 2820 41,000 CUP 25.0 3051 50,000 CUP It tops off at 25 gr. I would reduce 10% and use that as a starting point. Make sure to trim your cases to length as that can also cause problems. |
July 31, 2011, 11:11 AM | #3 |
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Chris,
You just learned a couple of things:
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July 31, 2011, 12:51 PM | #4 |
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What kind of primers are you using? If winchester, switch to something else like Remington 7.5, Wolf small rifle magnum or CCI. I had pressure signs with winchesters in my 17 Remington Contender even with very light loads, switched to 7.5 and never had an issue again.
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July 31, 2011, 01:12 PM | #5 | |
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Hi Chris
Quote:
I use 25 grains of H335 for the 55 grain V-Max at 2.20 OAL, so that load for a 62 grain bullet will be just a tad too hot for the 62 grainers. As an example I use 22.8 grains of IMR 8208 XBR powder for the 60 grain A-max set to 2.200, I know a short OAL for that bullet. You have to remember that the 62 grain FMJs are steel core bullets and might develop a higher pressure to get them started. Short answer, go to 24.5 grains of H335. Jim
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