Hey guys, I have reloaded before but its been probably 6 years and I only did 9mm and 45acp. I am getting back into it and gearing up for mostly 223. I am just trying to make sure I didn't miss anything and any advice you guys might have. I am loading for the AR platform first off. I will be running a RCBS rock chucker supreme once it comes off back order, i have the basic lee hand press now but it wouldnt work with my primer pocket swager dies. i got the lee custom dies for resizing using the full length resize. my barrel is a 16" 1/7 but i am hoping to get a 16" 1/8 in a couple of months so i can run 55g a little more accurately. I know with my 9mm loads accuracy improved significantly even with cheap bullets, should I expect the same out of my rifle? most of my loads are going to be for plinking purposes and so i can start stacking some ammo. based on the number I ran it should save me around 50-100 per 1000rnds to load vs buy. if im loading match bullets i should be at the same price as factory bulk. my rifle currently shoots about 1.5moa with good ammo.
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new to 223
- Thread starter Shadow9mm
- Start date
gojuice101
New member
I don't think you'll notice much difference between 1:7 twist and 1:8 twist. I have one of each and they shoot the 55gn bullets basically the same. Those are the only bullets I've shot. It might make a difference in some guns, but I haven't seen it.
Have you considered which powder you'll try? I highly recommend Reloder 10x for the AR, but there are numerous other powders that work fine as well, including h4895, varget, and AR-Comp.
Have you considered which powder you'll try? I highly recommend Reloder 10x for the AR, but there are numerous other powders that work fine as well, including h4895, varget, and AR-Comp.
http://www.exteriorballistics.com/reloadbasics/gasgunreload.cfm
Once you have your Sizing die set up, size a few fired cases.
Check to see that these "sized" empty cases chamber and extract with ease before you load any primer,powder,bullets.
Nothing worse then loading a bunch of ammo, only to find out the the FL sizing die was not adjusted correctly.
Once you have your Sizing die set up, size a few fired cases.
Check to see that these "sized" empty cases chamber and extract with ease before you load any primer,powder,bullets.
Nothing worse then loading a bunch of ammo, only to find out the the FL sizing die was not adjusted correctly.
Shadowman,
The main trick with different twist rates is to minimize twist for the sake of cheaper bullets that aren't well balanced, a problem generally due to the jackets being unevenly thick. Well-balanced match bullets or other good quality bullets often show no difference.
For 55 grain BT FMJ's like the Hornady, assuming your short barrel can't move it over about 2900 fps, an 11" twist would be about ideal. 12" is a little slow for best accuracy, but 11" would be custom. 9" is probably as close as you'll come in a stock purchase.
I have an 8.5" twist on my match gun, and it still stabilizes 80 grain Sierra MatchKings just fine. 7" isn't needed until you get to the extra long 80 grain and heavier VLD designs or unless you are shooting the 80 grain MatchKings in subzero low altitude conditions. The 7" twist's military use is stabilizing the long-for-weight M856 tracer round, plus handling extremely cold, high density atmospheric conditions.
The main trick with different twist rates is to minimize twist for the sake of cheaper bullets that aren't well balanced, a problem generally due to the jackets being unevenly thick. Well-balanced match bullets or other good quality bullets often show no difference.
For 55 grain BT FMJ's like the Hornady, assuming your short barrel can't move it over about 2900 fps, an 11" twist would be about ideal. 12" is a little slow for best accuracy, but 11" would be custom. 9" is probably as close as you'll come in a stock purchase.
I have an 8.5" twist on my match gun, and it still stabilizes 80 grain Sierra MatchKings just fine. 7" isn't needed until you get to the extra long 80 grain and heavier VLD designs or unless you are shooting the 80 grain MatchKings in subzero low altitude conditions. The 7" twist's military use is stabilizing the long-for-weight M856 tracer round, plus handling extremely cold, high density atmospheric conditions.
Quality bullets are probably the biggest contributor to good accuracy in a firearm. If accuracy is what you want, you probably should avoid the bulk 55 gr FMJ bullets that have the open bases. Even an accurate rifle is lucky to manage sub 2" groups at 100 yards with those. Both my AR's are twisted 1 in 8", and shoot MOA or under consistently with quality bullets from 40 gr to 69 gr. By quality, I mean Nosler Ballistic Tips, Varmageddons, or Custom Competition, Hornady V-Max or Z-Max or Sierra Matchkings. Of course, my heavy barreled Stag Model 6 is more accurate than my S&W M&P 15 Sport, but even the Sport is consistently around 1 MOA even with Hornady 55 gr Spire Points or 50 gr Spire Points (My favorite cheap bullets) In my rifles the lead tipped spire points are much more accurate than any open based FMJ bullet.