Made my first .223 reloads today. Need some help

triga22 · November 12, 2012, 05:38 PM

Here is a photo of my reloads. Obviously the bullet depth was way off, but the two on the right are 2.222 and 2.243 with the maximum being 2.260. Is the ridges in the bullet basically a way of saying you are in the clear? What should I aim for in bullet length? Can I pull the bullets out of the ones on the left and re use them? They are loaded with 25-26 grains of CFE 223.

JimDandy · November 12, 2012, 06:06 PM

That ring is called a:

cannelure
Definition
can·ne·lure[ kánn'l r ]can·ne·lures Plural

NOUN
1. bullet groove: a groove around the cylindrical part of a bullet

It's where you would crimp the case around the bullet. I highly highly highly suggest you read a book called the ABC's of Reloading.

You can pull the bullets. I would suggest an inertial bullet puller. All the reloading companies make them, they all basically look the same. A hollow plastic hammer. One end unscrews, you stick the round in a ring held together with a rubber band put that back inside the hammer head, with the bullet pointing in, screw the cap back on, and bang the OTHER end against something like a work bench. After a few or so good whacks depending on depth, the bullet will come loose, and you can restart with a primed case. The powder will be "lost" in that it will float around inside that hammer body and be contaminated, so dispose of safely and load new powder.

triga22 · November 12, 2012, 06:21 PM

Thank you for the help. I have the lee reloading manual. I wont waste my time on 5 bullets. I measured the length of my hornady zombie max rounds and they are 2.223. I'm thinking that means mine are good.

JimDandy · November 12, 2012, 06:27 PM

Thats a recipe and... flavor text book. The ABC's of Reloading is a generic how to manual. Think of the book you have now as a cookbook, and the ABC's as Cooking for Dummies. The book you have now tells you what to use, the ABC's tells you how to use it.

Here's a link, there's even a kindle version http://www.amazon.com/The-ABCs-Of-Re...s+of+reloading

Edit: Doing a reload exactly right is always worth your time. We've already found one thing you didn't know and one way or another didn't do right. You didn't seat them all to the same level, which will affect accuracy. You didn't know the cannelure was for crimping, so you may or may not have crimped your rounds and that crimp, if there, may or may not be in the right place.

Worst case if you pull them, you get more practice, making more identical rounds. Worst case if you don't... you're buiding a miniature bomb with at least one guaranteed and nasty piece of shrapnel... let's not think about worst case if you don't.

Pull the bullets, make them again. The same. Exactly the same, or as close as possible. Read the book. Read the other book. Read the first book again. Then get a laptop or a cellphone and follow along on the good instructional videos on youtube for setting up your dies...

triga22 · November 12, 2012, 06:33 PM

Awesome. Thanks a bunch

KenL · November 12, 2012, 06:36 PM

You worked up your bullet seating backwards. Start with the seating plug screwed way out (seats the bullets long) and then work your way in to spec. You'll waste exactly zero bullets that way.

triga22 · November 12, 2012, 06:39 PM

Yes those were from setting up the die the first time. If you notice they get better. I read the manual and it said to move the lever all of the way down while tightening the die until it touches. That's what I did and it was off. I made 5 more rounds to test out and they were all between 2.222-2.230. With the one exception being the 2.243 Those are all less than the maximum length of 2.260 and almost identical to the hornady rounds I have. Ken you make a lot of sense lol

JimDandy · November 12, 2012, 06:43 PM

One of the videos suggests using a factory round as a guide. Put that in your press, and set your die to make contact with the live round without seating the bullet any deeper in the factory round.

November 12, 2012, 05:38 PM	#1
triga22 Member Join Date: October 13, 2012 Posts: 19	Made my first .223 reloads today. Need some help Here is a photo of my reloads. Obviously the bullet depth was way off, but the two on the right are 2.222 and 2.243 with the maximum being 2.260. Is the ridges in the bullet basically a way of saying you are in the clear? What should I aim for in bullet length? Can I pull the bullets out of the ones on the left and re use them? They are loaded with 25-26 grains of CFE 223.

November 12, 2012, 06:27 PM	#4
JimDandy Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2012 Posts: 2,556	Thats a recipe and... flavor text book. The ABC's of Reloading is a generic how to manual. Think of the book you have now as a cookbook, and the ABC's as Cooking for Dummies. The book you have now tells you what to use, the ABC's tells you how to use it. Here's a link, there's even a kindle version http://www.amazon.com/The-ABCs-Of-Re...s+of+reloading Edit: Doing a reload exactly right is always worth your time. We've already found one thing you didn't know and one way or another didn't do right. You didn't seat them all to the same level, which will affect accuracy. You didn't know the cannelure was for crimping, so you may or may not have crimped your rounds and that crimp, if there, may or may not be in the right place. Worst case if you pull them, you get more practice, making more identical rounds. Worst case if you don't... you're buiding a miniature bomb with at least one guaranteed and nasty piece of shrapnel... let's not think about worst case if you don't. Pull the bullets, make them again. The same. Exactly the same, or as close as possible. Read the book. Read the other book. Read the first book again. Then get a laptop or a cellphone and follow along on the good instructional videos on youtube for setting up your dies... Last edited by JimDandy; November 12, 2012 at 06:35 PM.

November 12, 2012, 06:06 PM	#2
JimDandy Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2012 Posts: 2,556	That ring is called a: cannelure Definition can·ne·lure[ kánn'l r ]can·ne·lures Plural NOUN 1. bullet groove: a groove around the cylindrical part of a bullet It's where you would crimp the case around the bullet. I highly highly highly suggest you read a book called the ABC's of Reloading. You can pull the bullets. I would suggest an inertial bullet puller. All the reloading companies make them, they all basically look the same. A hollow plastic hammer. One end unscrews, you stick the round in a ring held together with a rubber band put that back inside the hammer head, with the bullet pointing in, screw the cap back on, and bang the OTHER end against something like a work bench. After a few or so good whacks depending on depth, the bullet will come loose, and you can restart with a primed case. The powder will be "lost" in that it will float around inside that hammer body and be contaminated, so dispose of safely and load new powder.

November 12, 2012, 06:21 PM	#3
triga22 Member Join Date: October 13, 2012 Posts: 19	Thank you for the help. I have the lee reloading manual. I wont waste my time on 5 bullets. I measured the length of my hornady zombie max rounds and they are 2.223. I'm thinking that means mine are good.

November 12, 2012, 06:33 PM	#5
triga22 Member Join Date: October 13, 2012 Posts: 19	Awesome. Thanks a bunch

November 12, 2012, 06:36 PM	#6
KenL Senior Member Join Date: May 11, 2011 Location: Colorado Posts: 218	You worked up your bullet seating backwards. Start with the seating plug screwed way out (seats the bullets long) and then work your way in to spec. You'll waste exactly zero bullets that way.

November 12, 2012, 06:39 PM	#7
triga22 Member Join Date: October 13, 2012 Posts: 19	Yes those were from setting up the die the first time. If you notice they get better. I read the manual and it said to move the lever all of the way down while tightening the die until it touches. That's what I did and it was off. I made 5 more rounds to test out and they were all between 2.222-2.230. With the one exception being the 2.243 Those are all less than the maximum length of 2.260 and almost identical to the hornady rounds I have. Ken you make a lot of sense lol

November 12, 2012, 06:43 PM	#8
JimDandy Senior Member Join Date: August 8, 2012 Posts: 2,556	One of the videos suggests using a factory round as a guide. Put that in your press, and set your die to make contact with the live round without seating the bullet any deeper in the factory round.