.223 reloading questions

[TonyDedo]

Hi guys,

I'm going to start reloading .223 this spring/summer, and as I'm doing my prelim research, a couple questions have come up:

One, what weight bullet should I be using? For reference, I'm shooting an AR-15 with a 1-7 HBAR barrel. One source I've read says that I shouldn't shoot 55gr or anything lighter than 60gr because the twist is too fast. Another source has told me that the heavier bullets are really for serious match shooting, and at my level I won't notice a difference, so I should stick with the cheapest 55 gr bullets I can find. Any thoughts?

And two, what's the difference between 22 cal and .224? In particular I was looking at Sierra bullets, and I noticed they had all sorts of bullets from 43gr-90gr listed as .224, then a couple 60 and 70 gr listed at 22. What's the deal?

Thanks!

 

[Nickle]

Tony, 62 grain and up is recommended. You can try some of the 55 gr bullets, and if they shoot well enough for you, go ahead and use them.

Sierra shows 2 diameters, .223 and .224. You're going to want the .224 diameter bullets. The .223 are for the .22 Hornet and .218 Bee and if you notice, they're WAY too light for a 1-7" AR.

If you want some really accurate stuff, use the 69 gr Match King bullets. The 77 gr work good, but you may have mag feeding issues with them.

At any level, you need to load ammo that's accurate enough to do what you want.

Any questions about reloading, ask me. If you post something, and don't get e response in a couple of days, ask me by PM, and I'll give you a reply.

 

[rscalzo]

I and others have found that the 55 and below bullet weights don't work very well out of the 11 and 7/8" barrels. I would suggest staying with the 62 grain and heavier. The 77 grain bullets will work just fine through a standard magazine however they are getting pricey.

 

[EC1]

Sierra shows 2 diameters, .223 and .224. You're going to want the .224 diameter bullets. The .223 are for the .22 Hornet and .218 Bee and if you notice, they're WAY too light for a 1-7" AR.

it should be noted that the older 22 hornets were mainly .223 diameters, however, nearly all modern rifles for the hornet are made to .224 diameter.

 

[Gammon]

I have ARs in 1/9 and 1/8 barrel twists. 55 grain bullets aren't all that accurate in these barrels, but they are CHEAP. I use the 55gr bullets for practice and match use inside 100 yds. For longer ranges I use the Sierra 69 gr HPBT bullet and get 2.25 in five shot groups at 300 yds.

The difference is that the 55 gr IMI bullets cost me $.035 each and the 69 gr Sierras cost me $.13 each. Use the cheapest quality bullet you can get away with; for short range the 55s may be ok and can save you a bundle.

 

[bpm990d]

Hi guys,
One source I've read says that I shouldn't shoot 55gr or anything lighter than 60gr because the twist is too fast. Another source has told me that the heavier bullets are really for serious match shooting, and at my level I won't notice a difference, so I should stick with the cheapest 55 gr bullets I can find. Any thoughts?

Please see this post about shooting 55gr. M193 ammo in 1/7 twist barrels. At one point the Army used it for soldier qualifications and in my experience it is typically more accurate than the M855 Ammo that I have shot.

In general heavy bullets are better at longer ranges but in most applications less than say 300 yards the shooter has way more influence than the weight of the bullet. I think it is more accurate to say that match quality projectiles are better suited for matches, accuracy work or shooting at long ranges than heavy bullets.

With most shooting things, what you choose to shoot should be driven by the target and distance you are shooting at.

B

 

[M1911]

A number of years back I was competing on the 600 yard range at Devens. I didn't have enough 69 gr Gold Match for the entire match (yup, my bad), so 2/3rds of the way through I had to change to 55 gr. At the time, I was shooting at Sharpshooter level in Service Rifle, so I was not a great shooter.

Let me tell you, at the 600 yard line with some wind, even a hack like me could tell the difference between 69 gr match ammo and 55 gr commercial.

If you're going to the effort to reload and you are doing so for match ammo, spend the money on some quality bullets, the heavier the better.

 

[rscalzo]

As a side note, Reading will not allow any bullet below 62 grains at their 600 yard line.

A few weeks back a friend tried some 55 grain bullets through his Colt HBAR as the bullets were available. At two hundred yards they were tumbling.

 

[Admin]

As a side note, Reading will not allow any bullet below 62 grains at their 600 yard line.

A few weeks back a friend tried some 55 grain bullets through his Colt HBAR as the bullets were available. At two hundred yards they were tumbling.

+1 You really shouldn't shoot anything less than 69 at the 600 and only if you can't find 75's, 77's, or 80's.

 

[bpm990d]

I would suspect that something is wrong with the ammo or rifle is they are tumbling at 200. I've shot M193 & M855 ball out to 600 in M16A2s and ARs without it tumbling. Beyond 300 things started to really open up, but I suspect that is more a function of the quality of the projectile and the rifle firing it instead of the bullet weight.

I think the rule at Reading is purposefully designed to help the inexperienced from using ball ammo at 600 as it is not all that accurate at that range. Even less so if it's fired in a NATO chamber. 53 gr. match projectiles shot out of a rifle chambered to shoot them well will shoot nice little groups at 600 yards as long as there is not a lot of wind but any little puff of wind really blows them around.


B

 

[bpm990d]

+1 You really shouldn't shoot anything less than 69 at the 600 and only if you can't find 75's, 77's, or 80's.

I agree. There is a reason that people choose those projectiles.

B

 

[M1911]

As a side note, Reading will not allow any bullet below 62 grains at their 600 yard line.

A few weeks back a friend tried some 55 grain bullets through his Colt HBAR as the bullets were available. At two hundred yards they were tumbling.

I've shot 55 grain bullets through my Colt HBAR and Armalite Golden Eagle at 200, 300, and 600 yards. No tumbling. They were certainly not as accurate at 600 yards than 69 gr Federal Match and were more affected by the wind. But they weren't that bad. IIRC, my HBAR has a 1:9 barrel, and my Golden Eagle has a 1:7 7/8 barrel.

What ammunition was your friend using?

 

[BLAM]

In some ammo evaluations I took part in at work several years ago we found the 55gr bullets to not tumble initially, but to fly sideways in high spin barrels. The high spin rate of the bullet from the 1 in 7 barrel would cause the gyroscopic effect to overtake the small mass / inertia of the bullet and cause it re-orient itself, bullet pointing up but stable. After 200 to 300 yards the aero-forces take over, because the coefficient of drag has gone up with the bullet being sideways, the bullet slows down to a point that it is no longer stable and then it tumbles. We even tried a 1 in 5 barrel that spun the copper jacket off of the bullet as soon as it exited the barrel!