New to reloading - how many possible configurations???

[phillips321]

Guys,

So i've got my first 222CF which i plan to reload. However, in reading there are so many different variables in finding a suitable home load that i don't know where to start.

So far the basic (simple) things i know i can vary are:
Bullet seating depth (overall length)
Powder amount
Power type
Bullet type

However this leads to a huge problem, where do i begin?

Lets just say i have 5 different bullet types, 5 seating depths, 5 different loads of powder and 5 powered types, this leaves me with an incredible number of configurations for me to start with. 5x5x5x5 = 625 different combinations, that doesn't take into consideration that i might wish for 5 or 10 of each!

So what do i begin with????

Do i just purchase 1 type of powder and 1 type of bullet head (hornady v-max for example) and then try 5 different powder measurements and 5 different seating depths?

I'm not looking for 0.25moa groups, as i can't shoot this even if the rifle and ammo can! I'm just looking to save money on ammo and at the same time have relatively trustworthy and reliable ammo that's safe and around 1moa if i do my part.

Thanks in advance guys, and sorry for the ambiguity, but for a newbie with so many different combinations i don't know where to begin!

 

[mealiejimmy]

Have a look at the reloaders nest website .222 Remington @ www.reloadersnest.com
That will give you info on some combinations of powder and bullet weight anf how they perfrom
if you're not looking to shoot 1/4 MOA groups, then forget about seating depth, just make sure the COL is correct.

Cheers

Bruce

 

[AndrewT059]

If you havent yet, it might be worth buying a reloading manual, and having a read through,

Andrew

 

[jcampbellsmith]

Take small steps at a time. Read up on how to replicate your favourite factory round. Then trial one powder and one bullet to replicate your favourite factory round. Keep a reloading book to record what you do and don't rush.

Good luck.

JCS

 

[nun_hunter]

I bought a Lee Anniversary kit and it came with the Lyman manual. I simply found a powder that was listed for both 243 and 308 and started there, bought Remmington primers as that's what the closest shop had in stock. Both loads were made to standard length and I started 10% below max and went up in .5 grain increments and settled on the most accurate one for each calibre. Both loads shoot around the .6moa mark which is good enough for hunting and a bit of target work.

 

[andychas]

Personally I started with picking one bullet,
have a look at the bullet makers manual/online data to find their recommended powder. Noslers' site for example highlight a "most accurate load".
Buy that recommended powder if you can (some are difficult to source especially at the moment) and and cross reference that powder makers load data with the bullet makers.
You should now have a range from min to max to work with. load up 4/5 rounds going up a grain at a time from the minimum to the max (don't go over or under these!)
To start with Id ignore seating depth (go with recommended OAL for that bullet if you can find it or SAAMI) unless you are having problems or really want to.
For me that translated into having 5 rounds each of 4 different powder weights, nicely fitting into a 20 round box clearly labelled with bullet weight/powder type/charge weight.
see which powder weight gives you the best group.
if you want you can fine tune from there, doing another 4 rounds going up a quarter of a grain each time within your best powder weight range.
After that you should have the best powder charge for your rifle, if you can't get decent groups, look at changing powders first to another recommended one for that bullet, and if that doesn't work try another bullet make/weight.
try and make just one change at a time rather than changing bullet and powders, and you should get to a happy place, but always play safe and triple check everything!
enjoy and load safely!

 

[palmer_mike]

I bought a Lee Anniversary kit and it came with the Lyman manual. I simply found a powder that was listed for both 243 and 308 and started there, bought Remmington primers as that's what the closest shop had in stock. Both loads were made to standard length and I started 10% below max and went up in .5 grain increments and settled on the most accurate one for each calibre. Both loads shoot around the .6moa mark which is good enough for hunting and a bit of target work.

This is the method I'd recommend as well!
choose one bullet type suitable for your target species
choose one suitable powder to go with the bullet/chambering combination from your manual
load to book length
load from book start to book max in 1/2 gn increments (groups of 5 or whatever you prefer)
shoot these loads to find the one which shoots best.

 

[JTO]

This is how one chap went about it with .284
http://home.earthlink.net/~rfrailey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/284loaddata.pdf

 

[nun_hunter]

Importantly, go to your nearest gun shops and ask what they stock and what they regularly have in. One place near me doesn't deal with Edgar Brothers so can't get anything Hornady for example and another won't stock Sierra bullets as standard so have to be ordered specifically. Nothing worse that finding a great load only to find that you now can't source the components easily or cheaply!

 

[phillips321]

Have a look at the reloaders nest website .222 Remington @ www.reloadersnest.com
That will give you info on some combinations of powder and bullet weight anf how they perfrom
if you're not looking to shoot 1/4 MOA groups, then forget about seating depth, just make sure the COL is correct.

Cheers

Bruce

Thanks for this website, it'll give me a starting point. I've borrowed a couple of books off a friend so i can read up on the starting points as well.

 

[Conure]

222 Remington .......................... well 52 grain match bullets and 4198 powder used to be THE bullet and powder for this round. If it's for quarry then perhaps a 50 grain bullet instead.

 

[308tikka]

I dont wish to offend, but if you are borrowing books off a mate to learn (good idea), Id really ask him to show you what he does as he can then supervise you making your first batch. there are things books wont teach you well - setting up the sizing and seating dies. Youtube is also excellent but be wary of replicating some practices which arent necessary such as crimping and which will change your pressures (although nothing wrong with it per se).

Start off slowly and choose powders which are suitable for the calibre / intended bullet weight for the cartridge. Choose bullet weight for purpose and twist of barrel.Stick to well known brands with lots of data - Id recommend Sierra for this.

If you cant get someone to teach you/supervise until you are confident, Id advise you go to a respected training provider for a course, which is a lot cheaper than having your fingers blown off or pieces of rifle and scope embedding themselves in your skull.

It is good fun though and will give you options later not avaialble in factory rounds.

 

[phillips321]

I dont wish to offend, but if you are borrowing books off a mate to learn (good idea), Id really ask him to show you what he does as he can then supervise you making your first batch. there are things books wont teach you well - setting up the sizing and seating dies. Youtube is also excellent but be wary of replicating some practices which arent necessary such as crimping and which will change your pressures (although nothing wrong with it per se).

Start off slowly and choose powders which are suitable for the calibre / intended bullet weight for the cartridge. Choose bullet weight for purpose and twist of barrel.Stick to well known brands with lots of data - Id recommend Sierra for this.

If you cant get someone to teach you/supervise until you are confident, Id advise you go to a respected training provider for a course, which is a lot cheaper than having your fingers blown off or pieces of rifle and scope embedding themselves in your skull.

It is good fun though and will give you options later not avaialble in factory rounds.

Thanks for the response and certainly no offence taken, i understand the risks involved and you're demonstrating concern for my safety so that is appreciated.

My friend will walk me through the loads the first few times with the kit i've bought and i guess from there i'll do it on my own.

The reason for asking on here was the more advice and guidance the better, and then i avoid the risk of "having your fingers blown off or pieces of rifle and scope embedding themselves in your skull".

Thanks

 

[bewsher500]

Importantly, go to your nearest gun shops and ask what they stock and what they regularly have in.

this is the most important or you will find yourself starting all over again!

on the whole the .222 is idiot proof to load for, I have had three now and only the last one required any thought!


Bullets
You are most likely shooting a 1:14" twist so bullet length is to be considered
I shoot 40-60gr but they are now ALL flat base bullets (not boat tailed), Keep it simple
VMax you mention - go for 40 or 50gr (my preference is on energy not velocity so 50's)
The 50's are short enough to be stable in pretty much any 1:14" barrel

Alternatives for vermin are Sierra Blitzking which I now use in 40gr,


Brass
get some decent stuff first off,
once fired is fine but as you are starting I would suggest a nice box of new Remington, Federal or if you can find it Norma
dont be starting with someone else's PPU brass

Primers
standard small rifle in whatever you can find
I am now using small rifle magnum primers because I happened to have 500 and couldn't get the CCI SR primers I was previously using!!
Federal, Remington or CCI are all decent

Powder
I bought 1kg of N133 when I first bought a .222 and still have about a 1/3 of it!
VV - N130, N133
RL7
H322, 335
IMR 4198

any of those will work:

Basic Manual Download
.222 Remington - Rifle reloading - Reloading Data - Vihtavuori


As to how to go about the load process
choose your brass and primer from available sources (run all new brass through a FL sizer, don't undersize the case, that's a different essay!)
Choose a powder appropriate for your calibre/cartridge and bullet weight (IMO go for the slower burn rate powders that will get the job done, the data will show you which, e.g. VV data N130 is faster bruning than N133 which is faster than N135 etc etc)

look at the data and see the range for the charge levels for that powder and bullet combo
likely to be less than 2gr in .222 with N133 and 50gr (or any other for that matter
[TABLE="class: reload_data, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD="class: reload_maintitle, colspan: 6"]Bullet[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_maintitle"]Powder[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_maintitle, colspan: 4"]Starting load[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_maintitle reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD, colspan: 4"]Maximum load[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: reload_title, colspan: 2"]Weight[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_title"]Type[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_title"]Mfg[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_title, colspan: 2"]C.O.L[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_title"]Type[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_title, colspan: 2"]Weight[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_title, colspan: 2"]Velocity[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_title reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD, colspan: 2"]Weight[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_title reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD, colspan: 2"]Velocity[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: reload_data, width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TD]3,2[/TD]
[TD]50[/TD]
[TD]SPSX[/TD]
[TD]Hornady[/TD]
[TD]53,0[/TD]
[TD]2.087[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"][/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"][/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"][/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]N130[/TD]
[TD]1,30[/TD]
[TD]20.1[/TD]
[TD]912[/TD]
[TD]2992[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"]1,39[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"]21.5[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"]986[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"]3235[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]N133[/TD]
[TD]1,38[/TD]
[TD]21.3[/TD]
[TD]908[/TD]
[TD]2979[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"]1,49[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"]23.0[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"]979[/TD]
[TD="class: reload_grey, bgcolor: #DCDEDD"]3212[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


So N133 with 50gr is 21.3gr start and 23,0 max
no way you are getting 23gr in without a compressed load and I will put money on the fact that you will see accuracy nodes (indications) well below max

If I was doing it I would go for:
1x21.3gr
1x21.5gr
1x21.7gr
1x21.9gr
3x 22.0gr
3x22.2gr
3x22.4gr
3x22.6gr
3x22.8gr
3x23.0gr
1x23.2gr

Seat the bullet to FACTORY or Book OAL or AT LEAST ONE FULL CALIBRE DEPTH
the singles above are pressure testing rounds for safety not accuracy, you are wasting ammo testing for accuracy at starting load levels and no-one buys a .222 to shoot 50gr at 2850fps!!

case, primer and bullet combinations can all add up to range from moderate to dangerous so work through them and check cases and primers for marks and pressure signs as well as checking bolt lift and percussion noise differences. lots of things here,

you WILL see changes in group size from three shots
you can shoot five if you want, but I see no reason is wasting a box of bullets to shave 1/16" of a group on a given day

once you see the best group size, choose that charge level and you can then tweak either side of the charge level keeping OAL the same
or
just skip to tweaking the OAL
would be nice to know where you limit is here so before you go any further load a dummy round with a fired case with the neck squeezed to just hold a bullet and chamber it. As you do it will hit the rifling and push back into the case indicating max OAL
remove and measure at least 10 times to get an average for MAX OAL in your rifle

53mm is book
try
3x 52.6
3x52.8
3x53.2 (you already did 53mm remember)
3x53.4
etc etc until you reach just under your MAX OAL

My bet is you end you end up with a sub MOA round pushing moderate velocities (3-3100fps with 50gr) with a near as dammit book OAL....that's how easy the .222 is to get shooting well

 

[phillips321]

Wow! big thanks to bewsher500 for this! This is an incredible starting point for me. You've done much of the hard work here that would have taken me ages to understand. I really appreciate this. If i could give you a thumbs up somehow i would

 

[Digger686]

Personally I started with picking one bullet

Importantly, go to your nearest gun shops and ask what they stock and what they regularly have in.

If you are looking for a practical, serviceable round this is where I would start.

Choose a suitable bullet for your gun which you will be able to obtain regularly. Load to the standard COL and try a range of powder weights starting from 10% below the maximum given in the loading data.

As you get more experience and become more proficient, you can always tweak the COL to see how it affects accuracy and performance.