The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > Handloading, Reloading, and Bullet Casting

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 9, 2010, 10:35 PM   #1
Ridgerunner
Junior Member
 
Join Date: March 9, 2010
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 13
.223 reloading for an AR

The answer is likely here and the subject beat to death but I don't see it. I just got a Colt AR15 in .223 and plan to reload and am looking for the best recipe to duplicate the military specs and for the cleanest burn. I load for old rifles in .45-70 and .45-90 and have 5 shotshell presses, but have no experience with this little bottleneck wonder of a cartridge and will take all the advice I can get. I have reloaded for 300Win Mag in the past so am familiar with bottleneck cartridge reloading. I'll take advice on the best 55gr fmj bullet to use also- brand and source.
Ridgerunner is offline  
Old March 9, 2010, 10:42 PM   #2
riverwalker76
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 13, 2010
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 993
The closest thing I've found to a milsurp load would be the following ...

Bullet: 62 gr. FMJ

Powder: 22.5 gr. of Accurate 2230 (A warm / in the middle charge)

Brass and Primer: Lake City with CCI 450 Small Rifle Mag Primer.


A word of warning .... don't shoot Remington 6 1/2 in your AR reloads. The cups are too thin and have been known to slam fire. I would use either CCI 450 , Winchester small rifle primers, or Remington 7 1/2 .

Last edited by riverwalker76; March 10, 2010 at 01:03 AM.
riverwalker76 is offline  
Old March 9, 2010, 10:47 PM   #3
Shoney
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 21, 2002
Location: Transplanted from Montana
Posts: 2,311
What is the twist on the rifle???

The optimum bullet weight depends on it.
__________________
I pledge allegiance to the Flag - - -, and to the Republic for which it stands….Our Forefathers were brilliant for giving us a Republic, not a democracy! Do you know the difference??? and WHY?http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissue...les.asp?id=111
Shoney is offline  
Old March 9, 2010, 11:13 PM   #4
zippy13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 23, 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 6,442
A +1 to Shoney
zippy13 is offline  
Old March 11, 2010, 10:58 AM   #5
Jim243
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 5, 2009
Location: Just off Route 66
Posts: 5,067
Shoney is right it will depend on your twist rate.
Jim243 is offline  
Old March 11, 2010, 01:29 PM   #6
Ridge_Runner_5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 8, 2008
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 1,925
If it is a Colt, it is likely 1:7 twist...

BTW, Im not related to OP...
Ridge_Runner_5 is offline  
Old March 11, 2010, 04:55 PM   #7
Dave R
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 7, 2000
Location: Idaho
Posts: 6,073
I've been reloading for ARs for about 6 months, so I'm only a little ahead of you. I've tried 55gr bullets and 40gr bullets ( I do a lot of varmit shooting.) I use H335 powder at published loads, and have never had a problem with cycling or pressure. IIRC, H335 was one of the original powders for the AR.

My point is, the AR should digest any .223 load that is within published specs, no?
__________________
I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).
Dave R is offline  
Old March 11, 2010, 09:00 PM   #8
fpchief
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 12, 2010
Posts: 122
What riverwalker76 said....also, you can go one step up and use the CCI M41 nato spec primers and for all intents and purposes, you will have a l.c. round. minus the anealing and crimping. The M41 primers have a harder cup and negates most slam fires. i have had good luck with them.
fpchief is offline  
Old March 11, 2010, 09:26 PM   #9
riverwalker76
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 13, 2010
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 993
Quote:
What riverwalker76 said....also, you can go one step up and use the CCI M41 nato spec primers and for all intents and purposes, you will have a l.c. round. minus the anealing and crimping. The M41 primers have a harder cup and negates most slam fires. i have had good luck with them.
I'd sure like to know where you are getting the CCI 41 primers. Around here they are as scarce as hen's teeth. I was going to mention them to him, but the likelihood of him being able to find them are slim.

Thanks for bringing that up.
riverwalker76 is offline  
Old March 13, 2010, 05:41 PM   #10
fpchief
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 12, 2010
Posts: 122
Bob's gun shop in Norfolk. I was T.A.D. up there and went messing around the other day. Walked in and they had a bunch of them large and small rifle sitting on the shelf. I about had a heartattack. Them realized that i flew in and could not take them home. Luckily, one of the guys new a guy that was headed back to south la. and took them home for me. Were a little high, at $36.50 a thousand..
fpchief is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:31 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.04182 seconds with 8 queries