Advice Please

[speeddemon94]

Okay...I finally have all of my components.

Is it an acceptable thing to take a known load (bullet weight, and powder charge) and just load it? I am not looking for accuracy rounds as these are GP .223 rounds. I will likely shoot some coyote, but we are not looking for super groups.

I'm guessing that there is enough load data out there for me to pick a mid range powder charge and go for it?

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[bellarum]

There are no "known loads" for any firearm except for the loads that are developed for those firearms. Might sound strange but, you should always develop any load for any firearm regardless of the components. There is a TON of info online but, I would start by owning a few manuals and reading them cover to cover a couple times before assembling ammo for any firearm. There is NO one size fits all round even with factory ammo. (the loads that I assemble for my M&P have too long of OAL for my sons Walther) Some firearms hate certain factory rounds. Look at bullet manufacturer, powder manufacturer online data as well. Never use anyones online recipies for true data. It is way too "ez to tipe the rong" info while trying to help a reloader out by sharing data. Read up and work up. Reloading is fun but, it can be very dangerous if you take any part of the process for granted.

 

[Velzey]

I have had good luck with the Nosler book, they mark their most accurate load tested. I have tried several and have been very pleased!

 

[speeddemon94]

I have had good luck with the Nosler book, they mark their most accurate load tested. I have tried several and have been very pleased!

This is what I'm getting at. If I take a load from a book and load it to with one of the lower powder charges,for .223, and shoot it through a rifle chambered in 5.56, then I am likely to be safe?

I do not have the means to just go somewhere and "work up" a load. I am very fixed income, and cant afford a membership to shoot, and the driving into the woods seems way too spotty up here, in the PDX area.

 

[Eludnu]

Speed,

You have to start somewhere. My 2cents on loading 223. I used a couple books to settle on a midrange load for my first 223 reloads. Nothing too hot, just not at the lowest powder starting level, with the idea, as always of working up. Some things I learned:

1) The first bullets I used were Nosler Ballistic Tips (No cannelure.) Those will work fine in a bolt action, but not for beans in a semi. Bullet often got pushed back into the case when the round cycles on blowback. Crimping doesn't solve this issue. Only a bullet with a cannelure, and crimped properly, will. Took me a couple times to figure this out. No cannelure, no semi.

2) While one of my semi's fired the first reloads fine, outside of the occasional bullet pushback, the Mini 14 refused to play right out of the gate. In fact the case setback which worked flawlessly on rifle 1, caused the first round to freeze in the chamber on the mini. FTF, with a loaded chamber, and unable to either activate the safety, or open the bolt. Not fun. I had to increase the case setback significantly to get the rounds to cycle freely in the mini.

3) Both rifles now use the original startup recipe, and rifle 1 will chew through the loads made for the mini, but it took a few times to get setback, OAL, right for the mini.

4) I now load for each rifle if I want real accuracy, rather than just hitting paper.

5) Youtube is your friend.

I'll be happy to get you into the range I'm a member of in Albany if you would like to test some loads.

 

[speeddemon94]

Yeah, I have 69gr HPBT sierra match kings and they will be fed into a very forgiving platform. I am not looking for super accuracy yet, mainly just to put back a few rounds to have. I have some 50gr VMAX That I plan to load to put down coyotes with, but for the moment I just feel the need to produce at least couple hundred rounds that go bang and send rounds downrange.

I was in the Army and not paying attention. I got caught with my pants down on this thing and am bingo on ammo. Retired prematurely, and just screwed up. Not a great feeling.

 

[speeddemon94]

And this is one of those times that I really miss Medford. The Jackson County Sports Park costs $5.00 a day to go shoot all day. It's gone up, used to be 2 bucks a car but still, cheap and no monthly dues.

Not to mention I could drive for 30 minutes in any direction and be in the woods in a place I could shoot for nothing.

I would love to work rounds up for accuracy.

 

[deadshot2]

Okay...I finally have all of my components.

Is it an acceptable thing to take a known load (bullet weight, and powder charge) and just load it? I am not looking for accuracy rounds as these are GP .223 rounds. I will likely shoot some coyote, but we are not looking for super groups.

I'm guessing that there is enough load data out there for me to pick a mid range powder charge and go for it?

You wouldn't be the first, nor the last, to do this. For all those that say don't, I wonder how many of them just blindly buy a box of factory ammo and shoot away without question.

Check out the load database at Handloads.com and you'll quickly get a feel for what is an acceptable load. If you are somewhat timid, just take a load that's right in the middle of the manufacturer's published data for the bullet/powder combination.

 

[techiej]

My round trip time to range is tool long to be able to make up a few rounds and test and adjust.

What I do is work up a small number of rounds starting with the minimum load and working up to the maximum load. I then test 1 round at a time starting with the minimum. As soon as I reach a satisfactory load -- examining the spent casing, primer, how the gun cycles, etc. I stop. I then pull all rounds that were not at this load and just reuse the components.

I always use at least 2 sources of data for any given load workup in case there is a misprint. For high power loads (i.e. 44 magnum) I also post on some reloading forums id'ing the components and the firearm and ask for feedback.

 

[deadshot2]

My round trip time to range is tool long to be able to make up a few rounds and test and adjust.

Why not invest in a Lee Hand Press, an inexpensive reloading digital scale, and work up your loads right at the range. No fancy powder "throwers" needed, just a simple set of Lee Dippers and an inexpensive trickler. One of the bench rest shooters I see a couple times a week doesn't even use a trickler, just takes a "pinch" of powder from a plastic cap and "trickles" his load to exact weight from between thumb and finger. Touching the powder doesn't seem to harm his powder one bit as more frequently than not he just leaves single holes at 300 yards for his 3-shot groups.

The nice thing about "Range Loading" is that if you find a "sweet" load, you can load more of the same to verify rather than having to come back later. Also cuts out the need to disassemble those that are pre-loaded yet you won't shoot.

 

[speeddemon94]

You wouldn't be the first, nor the last, to do this. For all those that say don't, I wonder how many of them just blindly buy a box of factory ammo and shoot away without question.

Check out the load database at Handloads.com and you'll quickly get a feel for what is an acceptable load. If you are somewhat timid, just take a load that's right in the middle of the manufacturer's published data for the bullet/powder combination.

And I figured that this was the case, but I just wanted someone else to verify for me. Thank you.