Reloaded my first 223 this week and...

Goofyfoot2001

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It was pretty annoying. So while I will painstakingly measure out each round of 300 win mag, I stopped that nonsense pretty quickly with the .223. I grabbed the cup that came with the new die set and did 5 to 10 dips and weighs to see how close I was getting.

I have some IMR3031 and hogdon shows 20-21.4ish with a 55gr bullet. Now, I'm thinking to myself, wow, that's a narrow azzle margin considering even my 9mm is a 3-4gr spread, load wize. But I did end up getting scoops all in that range. Maybe it's the shape and size of the pellets that made it easy. I randomly selected and weighed a few filled cases to be sure, when all were filled.

So then comes the bullet seating. Total pain in the manizzle and I don't like it. With my 9mm I can plop a bullet in each on the tray, and then just pop em in the the thing with the arm thing and pull down on it and I'm good to go. The 300 win has a big enough bullet that I it's easy to deal with, especially if you're loading up some factory second 240 grainer freight trains.

Then I decided to crimp. Should I crimp? If you read this far, do you crimp the little bastages?
 
My 223 loads are going in an AR so yes I crimp.
I use a Uniflow powder drop to get within a few 10ths, and an electronic powder trickler to top up the charge on the beam scale. Takes maybe 10 seconds tops and no gyrations - just tap the button and watch the scale. I've been trying to find a link but it seems they don't sell them anymore. this is the closest: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/291789/hornady-vibratory-powder-trickler
 
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I don't crimp 223, and all I shoot them in is ARs. I've been loading 223 almost 10 years. Crimping is a waste of time if you ask me, but I don't treat my reloads like SHTF ammo and don't intend to chamber them over and over. There is usually more than enough neck tension to hold the bullet in place.
 
I use an RCBS competition seater die and it side loads the bullet through a window which contains it and holds it in place; no balancing act and it’s super easy

If the neck is sized properly then crimping, to me, serves no purpose
 
Conventional wisdom says to crimp for a semi-auto, but it all depends. With a 55gn bullet, you will probably have enough neck tension to not worry about it.

I did a test a while back, between no crimp, lightly crimped, and heavier crimp, and by far the best results were with no crimp. Group size, and velocity spread, doubled between no crimp and light crimp. But, that was with one bullet and one powder.

I have one semi-auto (Ruger Mini-30, 7.62x39) that I absolutely have to crimp. It slams the rounds into the chamber so fast that the bullet will start to jump out of the case, just like a kinetic bullet puller.

If you want some peace of mind, load up a dozen dummy rounds. Cycle them through the gun a few times and see if the OAL changes.
 
I did a test a while back, between no crimp, lightly crimped, and heavier crimp, and by far the best results were with no crimp. Group size, and velocity spread, doubled between no crimp and light crimp.

I concur. I just finished a ladder yesterday on .223 with 55 gn V-MAX. I crimped the lot and was working in 1.0 gn increments for the charge (second ladder). Speeds were all over the place and and the best STDev was 15.8 fps with an extreme spread of 41 fps. It was garbage. No way my powder measurement was off by that much and the cases were once fired and trimmed. The only culprit that I can think of is the crimp and neck thickness. No way that I am going to turn .223!!!!!

I still think that I found my charge weight, but the next batch will definitely be uncrimped. At least that will remove one variable.
 
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Once I found the correct powder/charge for my gun. It shoots very well. I enjoy a game that I have of clipping green briars in front of my target at 100 yards.
I crimp lightly using a lee fcd.

Fun thing about reloading, ask 20 people the same question, get 20 different answers.
 
Fun thing about reloading, ask 20 people the same question, get 20 different answers.

You are correct, and only people demented enough to reload ammo in the first place could come up with 20 different responses to a two choice question like, "to crimp or not to crimp". But reloaders can do it. Such is our little community.
 
I reload 308, 300BLK, 45ACP and even 9mm but .223 is so low in cost and high in time and difficulty of reloading that I've never bothered with it. I also buy 9mm bulk sometimes to replenish the brass supply. If I had a progressive press maybe that would be different.
 
I reload 38, 357, 9mm, 45ACP and 223 on a RL550B and crimp all. I can crank out around 200 223 per hour with a cost of around $.18-.19 each, so speed is no issue and cost is definitely less than anything I've seen in bulk. Besides, I enjoy reloading as much as shooting, so it's a win win for me. I reload 308 on a single stage and trickle every powder drop. I can easily crank out 16-24 an hour.
 
I reload 308, 300BLK, 45ACP and even 9mm but .223 is so low in cost and high in time and difficulty of reloading that I've never bothered with it. I also buy 9mm bulk sometimes to replenish the brass supply. If I had a progressive press maybe that would be different.
.12
Actually with free brass, it's half as much as store bought. I'm getting 250 55gr on etsy for $24 so about $29 shipped say $30 so .12 per bullet, free case, .04 per primer, maybe .11 powder let's see that's $0.27 per shot vs $0.35 for store bought. Plus the serenity afforded by the zen like concentration of reloading.
 
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I reload 308, 300BLK, 45ACP and even 9mm but .223 is so low in cost and high in time and difficulty of reloading that I've never bothered with it. I also buy 9mm bulk sometimes to replenish the brass supply. If I had a progressive press maybe that would be different.

Depends on the type of ammo. 55gr plinkers? Might be able to find some Wolf or Tula cheap enough to outweigh handloads. Match bullets like Tipped Match Kings which are $1.20 a round from Black Hills versus 38-40 cents handloaded.... I’ll stick with reloads
 
This I did not know - thanks. I get as good or better with steel cased ammo from a SBR.
Its great for blasting but I use cheaper steelcased for that purpose, and buy omce fired cases for $30 per 1000 or less so except for a small SHTF stash i dont bother with it in bulk
 
Depends on the type of ammo. 55gr plinkers? Might be able to find some Wolf or Tula cheap enough to outweigh handloads. Match bullets like Tipped Match Kings which are $1.20 a round from Black Hills versus 38-40 cents handloaded.... I’ll stick with reloads
I tried various factory ammo in my 20" stainless AR and the best I found was Winchester black box 77gn, which gave about 0.75" @ 100, but cost $1.20 each. (I have never tried Black Hills). Just like you say, my hand loads are at least that good, but about $0.35 each. I can load cheap plinking loads for about $0.20 each.
 
You all should try Hornady Match Steel Case. It shoots great and the cases are disposable, lol.
 
Winchester black box 77gn, which gave about 0.75" @ 100, but cost $1.20 each. (I have never tried Black Hills). Just like you say, my hand loads are at least that good, but about $0.35 each. I can load cheap plinking loads for about $0.20 each.

Those are 77gr Sierra Match King bullets (SMK) in that Winchester load. IMI matches a 5.56 spec version that is around $0.71 each and are about the cheapest way into a factory SMK 77.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/8...ng-hollow-point-ammo-can-of-120-6-boxes-of-20
 
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