First .223 reloading results

[KRW]

Morning all,

Just getting back into reloading having not had the need to do so for years and since the pistol ban.

A bit of fine tuning needed to get the home loads as good as the 53gn Hornady Superformance, first target from left, 4 x shots rested on bipod and bonnet @ 100yd, well impressed with these despite 2x misfires from a first box trialed.

Second target is 5 x 55gn PPU which would have been nice if they grouped the same as the Hornady at half the price.

Third & fourth being 3 x on each target of home loaded 55gn Speer with 21.5gn N133.
Working up with 22gn N133 in next batch and see we’ll how we go with a couple of clicks elevation with this.

Still have some 53gn federal to try as I just bought a box of each of these along with the Hornady and the PPU to see which group best in available Factory Ammo and free up some brass for loading.







Didn’t measure any of these as will use photos for comparison as we go, disc targets are 75mm

 

[Overlay]

Try the federal before choosing, i use them and hornady and they are both nail tackers

Have fun and shoot em all, as they lay gathering dust in the cabinet after you chose the right one to use

 

[Bowland blades]

Morning all,

Just getting back into reloading having not had the need to do so for years and since the pistol ban.

A bit of fine tuning needed to get the home loads as good as the 53gn Hornady Superformance, first target from left, 4 x shots rested on bipod and bonnet @ 100yd, well impressed with these despite 2x misfires from a first box trialed.

Second target is 5 x 55gn PPU which would have been nice if they grouped the same as the Hornady at half the price.

Third & fourth being 3 x on each target of home loaded 55gn Speer with 21.5gn N133.
Working up with 22gn N133 in next batch and see we’ll how we go with a couple of clicks elevation with this.

Still have some 53gn federal to try as I just bought a box of each of these along with the Hornady and the PPU to see which group best in available Factory Ammo and free up some brass for loading.





View attachment 307767

Didn’t measure any of these as will use photos for comparison as we go, disc targets are 75mm

i would want to know straight off why the misfires before continuing personally

 

[Will the chippy]

When I swapped to Remington primers I had 2 misfires. I think my issue was not seating them quite deep enough. Was using the press and I could only get them just level, but now using the hand priming tool an am seating them just below the case head now and not had a problem since.

 

[KRW]

i would want to know straight off why the misfires before continuing personally

Presently in correspondence with Hornady and UK rep regards the issue, the first failed round fired on second time the round was chambered (3rd round out of the box), the second failure was a couple more rounds later, either six or seven out of the box which has failed to fire after three attempts, saving this one for the rep.

Using remainder of box for practice as not thoroughly confident to continue using on pest control as the second failure nearly cost me a fox, fortunately he hung around long enough…

 

[KRW]

When I swapped to Remington primers I had 2 misfires. I think my issue was not seating them quite deep enough. Was using the press and I could only get them just level, but now using the hand priming tool an am seating them just below the case head now and not had a problem since.

The failures were with factory ammunition not reloads

 

[JockStalk]

I had the same issue with Hornady Superperformance in 7x57 and the gold coloured primers. Every second round was a misfire.
Worse, it cost me my first stag - he was less than fifty metres away and heard the click quite clearly.
I‘m surprised the passionate curse I then uttered didn’t cause him to drop dead.
But it didnt.

 

[Will the chippy]

The failures were with factory ammunition not reloads

My mistake. That's not good.

 

[User00044]

Morning all,

Just getting back into reloading having not had the need to do so for years and since the pistol ban.

A bit of fine tuning needed to get the home loads as good as the 53gn Hornady Superformance, first target from left, 4 x shots rested on bipod and bonnet @ 100yd, well impressed with these despite 2x misfires from a first box trialed.

Second target is 5 x 55gn PPU which would have been nice if they grouped the same as the Hornady at half the price.

Third & fourth being 3 x on each target of home loaded 55gn Speer with 21.5gn N133.
Working up with 22gn N133 in next batch and see we’ll how we go with a couple of clicks elevation with this.

Still have some 53gn federal to try as I just bought a box of each of these along with the Hornady and the PPU to see which group best in available Factory Ammo and free up some brass for loading.





View attachment 307767

Didn’t measure any of these as will use photos for comparison as we go, disc targets are 75mm

Where did you get your data , the reason your handloads are hitting low is because they're travelling around an estimated 200 fps slower than factory ammo .
Just to give you a rough idea , my own load is 23.1 grains of N133 using a 55 grain sbt and that's giving 3110 fps with grat accuracy from a 22" barrel , not a max charge either .
Keep going you need to get more propellant behind them .

 

[Lloyd90]

I’d stick to the factory ones if they shoot like that

 

[KRW]

Where did you get your data , the reason your handloads are hitting low is because they're travelling around an estimated 200 fps slower than factory ammo .
Just to give you a rough idea , my own load is 23.1 grains of N133 using a 55 grain sbt and that's giving 3110 fps with grat accuracy from a 22" barrel , not a max charge either .
Keep going you need to get more propellant behind them .

https://reloadingdata.speer.com/downloads/speer/reloading-pdfs/rifle/223_Remington_55.pdf.

Just working my way up from Speer data
will be out again later if I can dodge the rain

 

[KRW]

I’d stick to the factory ones if they shoot like that

It’s the two out of the first seven rounds out of the box that misfired that has put me off Hornady Lloyd ,that said the others have been ok up to now.

Must admit the accuracy of results surprised me, got some replacements on the way from Hornady rep so will have another box to trial on paper when they eventually arrive.

 

[User00044]

https://reloadingdata.speer.com/downloads/speer/reloading-pdfs/rifle/223_Remington_55.pdf.

Just working my way up from Speer data
will be out again later if I can dodge the rain

Going from their data , nearer 300 fps down compared to factory , which would explain the impact shift .

Keep going up

 

[KRW]

Going from their data , nearer 300 fps down compared to factory , which would explain the impact shift .

Keep going up

got some at 22.00gn loaded and will put a couple of 22.5gn together and see how they fly before fine tuning

 

[Will the chippy]

I normally start about halfway and work up in .3 grains in my 22250. Maybe just up in .2 grain increments you might be jumping over your ideal load.

 

[bakereloadprune]

Just working my way up from Speer data

Suggest you also look at the VIHT website for comparable min/max loads.

Rifle reloading data | Handloading | Rifle calibers | Centerfire Rifle bullets | Reload your own ammo - Vihtavuori

Vihtavuori offers rifle reloading data for numerous calibers and bullets for match and hunting purposes. Never exceed maximum loads.

www.vihtavuori.com

Its great you have Speer to reference, especially for their COAL and a second (or more) references to see where the max charges are from each of the references (usual caveats for their setup/components doesn't equal yours). 5 shot groups across the higher-end (below max) across a number of increments (0.2-0.5gr steps) depending on how much you want to get into it, could find you a sweet-spot without chrono.

One issue I had in my development was a skinny/sporter barrel which got hot fast and spread my groups (I didn't chrono) - depending on conditions, don't rush it and let things cool...

Enjoy!

 

[User00044]

I would hazard a guess and say that the Speer data is aimed at the American market to be SAMMI compliant , given they are an American produced manufacturer . Which , would explain the max' charge being low when compared to the data from the likes of VV and Sierra .
CIP maximum pressure for the .223 is a little over 62,000psi and SAMMI around 5,000psi less . VV , who's data is generally regarded as conservative , gives much higher maximum for a similarly constructed bullets .
Keep an eye on those primers and keep going .
Just a suggestion , when you're letting the barrel cool , remove the moderator as it will let the barrel cool more evenly and a touch quicker as will the moderator.
VV app , if you haven't got it already, is free .

 

[User00044]

Bad maths day , SAMMI is around 7,000 psi less than CIP for the 223 .

 

[ChesterP]

with 55gr I load 23.6gr N133 for 3150fps and very decent accuracy, sub moa. Your N133 loads are a little light but I wouldn't advise going above 23.6. It's a relatively small case so case to case differences make a big difference and case consistency matters with all these smaller cals. I mainly use Lapua or Sako brass and that load is safe in either for my rifle. I wouldn't go above 0.2grns once you reach 23gr loads.

 

[KRW]

Thanks for all of your input guys, as above, the plan is to start low and work my way up and so as to be able to also see improvements along the way.
What I didn't realise is how quick just a few rounds can heat up the barrel, the fifteen shots taken on the targets in the image posted at beginning of the thread was probably over a 10 minute or so period and the barrel was quite warm when finished and removing the mod.

I will be shooting a remaining 6 x 21.5gn loads that I have already made up on the same targets first off and when I next get out and see if the heat may have affected anything as they were last shots on target last timearound.