my first rounds.

[Dick Chaney]

Just had a friend over who has been showing me how to reload. Today we pressed our first rounds of 5.56. All I can say is there is more to this then meets the eye. I had a blast doing it and love all the new toys I get to use. Figure I am averaging 50 every 4 hours. Not so good

 

[aaron.foulk]

At least you have components. Try finding 50 rounds to buy at the same price. It'll take you more than 4 hours. Congrats.

 

[byf43]

Just had a friend over who has been showing me how to reload. Today we pressed our first rounds of 5.56. All I can say is there is more to this then meets the eye. I had a blast doing it and love all the new toys I get to use. Figure I am averaging 50 every 4 hours. Not so good

I am ANAL when it comes to case prep!

Your speed will increase, with time.

First..... work on PERFECTION, not speed. The expression - "The devil is in the details" is very, very accurate.


Congrats on producing your first loads...... and 5.56x45mm, at that!!!!!!!!

 

[Mossyoak]

Oh yea, first time I reloaded I measured each and every round on the scale. I was afraid of a double charge or missing a charge. Triple checked overall length of finished rounds. I was a mess the first time around and I have done shot shells for years.

 

[hodgepodge]

You are learning the process, and there's something to learn/adjust at every stage. Speed will come. Patience.

 

[Melnic]

Congrats.
After about the 3rd or 4th session, my time was about half, the consistency better and the sweat less.....

My friend said to take 3 steps to make sure you don't have an uncharged or double charged case. For my rifles, I can't fit 2x powder so visual before bullet seating and weighing after is good. He also said to be thinking about squibs on every reload. I have never had one but think about it.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

Congrats OP. It will take you a while to get all the steps down and fall into a rhythm while reloading. Pay attention to the details and if you question anything, stop what you are doing and double/triple check everything, even if that means pulling the bullet and starting the process over for the entire batch.

There are 2 kinds of reloaders. The ones that don't pay attention and are living on borrowed time. Then there are the ones that make sure they leave all their mistakes at the reloading bench, instead of at the range.

A few members that I have shown/taught how to reload were warned that it would take a minimum of 2.5 hours to make 50 rounds. When they saw how anal I was about the cases, primer depth, powder charge (I weighed every single charge and made sure it was dead on exact), bullet seating depth, and OAL, I think they understood why it takes so long. In addition I was answering all their questions while we were doing all the steps. If it was just me making those 50 match grade loads, it would take me about an hour to an hour and a half. You will get faster as time goes on, but you should never be lulled into complacency because you think you know are doing it right. You will find out when you need to measure OAL and other things. I measure OAL on my non match loads about every 10-20 rounds., but I measure every round on my match loads.

Welcome to your new addiction, errr, I mean hobby.

 

[Dick Chaney]

Question should I stop and fire some rounds before I make anymore. When I go to fire I should be looking for what? I know what the books say about cracks primers and things like that I am concerned about the paper. How do I know I have a good load and not to mess with it? Sorry my English grammar sucks.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

Question should I stop and fire some rounds before I make anymore. When I go to fire I should be looking for what? I know what the books say about cracks primers and things like that I am concerned about the paper. How do I know I have a good load and not to mess with it? Sorry my English grammar sucks.

How many do you have on hand right now?

Look for signs of over pressure, bulged cases, blown out primers, and cracked cases. You will know you have a good load by the results on the target. As time goes on and you do load development, you will tailor your load(s) to your rifle/barrel. You can start your load development by beginning your charges at the low end of the powder charge and upping it .1gr every 5 rounds. When you get the tightest groups, that will be the powder charge your barrel likes.

 

[Dick Chaney]

I have a 100 rounds that I have made. I have 5 that have to be checked I believe there is something wrong with them...

All 100 are the same exact from oal to bullet to powder. I want to make sure they fire. I am a little scared to pull the trigger on the first one. I know he showed me right and I took my time but you just have to wonder.

I have another bullet type its a barnes 55 fmj but when you look at the book you dont get to much info on powder to use. Can I use the hornaday book with a similar bullet? they only difference I think are one is boat tail and the other is flat. Should I stick with the same powder or try the other I have. I used h335 and could use benchmark?

 

[DaemonAssassin]

I have a 100 rounds that I have made. I have 5 that have to be checked I believe there is something wrong with them...

All 100 are the same exact from oal to bullet to powder. I want to make sure they fire. I am a little scared to pull the trigger on the first one. I know he showed me right and I took my time but you just have to wonder.

I have another bullet type its a barnes 55 fmj but when you look at the book you dont get to much info on powder to use. Can I use the hornaday book with a similar bullet? they only difference I think are one is boat tail and the other is flat. Should I stick with the same powder or try the other I have. I used h335 and could use benchmark?

Use the Barnes book for Barnes bullets, Sierra book for Sierra bullets, Hornady book for Hornady bullets, etc... In doing so you will get the manufacturer data for loading with the powders they tested.

I understand your hesitation with firing off your first reloads, but have faith in yourself. You were taught well and you will be fine, your reloads will be fine. You don't have anything to worry about.

 

[Dick Chaney]

First I would like to say I am not questioning you and appreciate you getting back to me.

I understand using the correct manual (here it goes) The website does not or the manual give you any loads for the bullets I bought from barnes. I bought with out thinking because they became available. They are Barnes (22499) 22 cal .224 55gr jhp fb. 5oo in a box sold by midway.

I believe the reloading manual is out of date from the reviews it got.

 

[byf43]

I have a 100 rounds that I have made. I have 5 that have to be checked I believe there is something wrong with them...

All 100 are the same exact from oal to bullet to powder. I want to make sure they fire. I am a little scared to pull the trigger on the first one. I know he showed me right and I took my time but you just have to wonder.

I have another bullet type its a barnes 55 fmj but when you look at the book you dont get to much info on powder to use. Can I use the hornaday book with a similar bullet? they only difference I think are one is boat tail and the other is flat. Should I stick with the same powder or try the other I have. I used h335 and could use benchmark?

First I would like to say I am not questioning you and appreciate you getting back to me.

I understand using the correct manual (here it goes) The website does not or the manual give you any loads for the bullets I bought from barnes. I bought with out thinking because they became available. They are Barnes (22499) 22 cal .224 55gr jhp fb. 5oo in a box sold by midway.

I believe the reloading manual is out of date from the reviews it got.

Hopefully, your friend that is helping you learn how to load/reload is also giving you advice on how much powder to use.

Hodgdon H-335 powder is PERFECT for .223/5.56x45mm!!!!!!

One thing I always caution - don't try to 'hotrod' a load, when working up a new load.
Reading several different manuals, compare data and come up with a load that's kinda/sorta in the middle of the road, so-to-speak.

IF you change bullet manufacturer(s), weight, shape, design, work the load for each bullet, separately and keep notes on your data.

I normally load 5 to 10 rounds, when working up a load, then shoot/test them, checking for abnormal signs.

Always look for signs of excessive pressure, when working up a load.
Flattened primers. Pierced primers. Stretched cases.

Sidenote: I once helped a friend work up a load for his hunting rifle, in .30-'06, in a Remington 760 pump. He used sooooooo much powder that after ONE firing, the cases were stretched waaaaaay over max length! Checking his data, he was actually 1.0 grain OVER max! This load was looking for a catastrophe!! Not only was it waaaaaaay too hot, it wasn't accurate. His new load was extremely accurate, was just above 'middle of the road', and he anchored a nice buck at 125 yards, two days later.


ETA: If you don't mind, tell me/us how much H-335 you are using, and what the COAL is on your loaded rounds.
(Also, what loading manual are you using??)

 

[Pinecone]

There are several ways to work up an accuracy load.

One of the most common ones these days is the Optimum Charge Weight. The point is, you want a load that small variations will not blow the groups.

With OCW you load a series of rounds with increasing charge weights (about a 3/4 - 1% increase each step), and shoot the groups (shoot one round of the first increment at one bullseye, then one round of the second increment at the second bullseye, and around to the max load, then repeat). This averages out changes from barrel heating and fouling.

You bit the range of loads where they shoot to the same Point of Impact. Then play with things like seating depth.

I have attached a photo of the OCW target working up a load for my .308. The sweet spot for this is 43.3 - 43.7 grains of powder.

 

[jhalcott]

I helped a guy reload some .44 Mag rounds, HE did the work, I just explained what and why as he went along. When finished I took him out to the range to fire the ammo. He's a big strong guy and my trigger is only about 3 pounds. It took him almost a minute to fire that first round. After counting all his fingers and toes, he continued to shoot the rest of the ammo. He reloads regularly now. Personally, I think taking your time to reload correctly is MUCH better than blowing up a gun or injuring a bystander!

 

[Dick Chaney]

The load I have worked up are 21 grain with h335 the maximum c o l is 2.250 and using .224 60 gr v-max #22281 the trimmed case length is 1.750 primer were federal small rifle.

I was using the hornaday book. I also have the sierra, nossler, and spear reloading manuals.

I found out that Barnes must of made those bullets as a special for only midway to sell. I feel as if I bought a lemon.

 

[byf43]

The load I have worked up are 21 grain with h335 the maximum c o l is 2.250 and using .224 60 gr v-max #22281 the trimmed case length is 1.750 primer were federal small rifle.

I was using the hornaday book. I also have the sierra, nossler, and spear reloading manuals.

I found out that Barnes must of made those bullets as a special for only midway to sell. I feel as if I bought a lemon.

Dick, don't worry about the boolits being a 'special run' for Midway USA.

For the 55 grain Sierra "Blitz" and the 55 grain Hornady "V-Max" boolits, I load 25.9 grains of H-335.
Cases are trimmed to the 'standard' 1.750".
I like and use Federal primers...... A LOT!!! Very consistent.
COAL for these loads are 2.250".


I'll also have to check my notes for the velocity. (If memory serves me, this load pushes the boolit to right at 3,000 fps. in my rifles.)
This load is VERY accurate in both my AR and Remington 799.


Winchester "W-748" is also a GREAT powder to use in .223/5.56!!!
25.8 grains to 26.0 grains will put you near a sweet spot.
Same COAL.

Here's a thread that shows some loads and data:
http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=107082

 

[Pinecone]

BTW it is VERY difficult to double charge a .223 case and not notice. Since a normal load just about fills the case, a double charge would have powder running EVERYWHERE.

Uncharged case is possible.

When I load rifle rounds one at a time (not on the Dillon), I pick up a primed case, add powder, seat bullet, put in box, repeat. It is hard to miss charging a case this way.

 

[Dick Chaney]

Pinecone that is the way he showed me to do it. I know only that way.

The bullets are a cup and core.

I am using the hogdon page to make the load 55gr Spr sp is what seems to be the closest bullet I can find. Thank you for all the help byf43

 

[Pinecone]

Double charges are a big concern for pistol loads with small volume powder charges. Things like .38 target loads where you can physically get 2 or 3 or even 4 charges in a single case.

Some people use loading blocks. Where they stand up to 50 cases in the block, add powder to all the cases, then add bullets. This method can lead to no powder or extra powder. But in a loading block, you can use a light and quickly look at all the cases to see if they have the same level of powder.

The Hodgdon book groups bullets by weight. So all 55 gr bullets have the same load data. I load 25 grains of H335 behind 55 gr .223 bullets, YMMV.