Shooting My First Reloads...223

[DeerhoundLurcherMan 997]

I went for hodgdon cfe223 and 50grn blitzkings in the end with federal primers, loaded as per hodgdon website... loaded 4 rounds at 27.0g, 4 at 27.5, 4 at 28.0 and 4 at the maximum 28.5......

 

Measured out 100 yards and had a go....Wind was gusting to 15mph left to right....

 

The first 4 at 27.0 grouped like a shotgun...

 

 

Then 3 rounds at 27.5... I dropped the 4th loading the magazine and pushed the bullet back in the case slightly...

 

 

Then 4 at 28.0 which was the best group, before it opened back out...

 

 

Then the 28.5s

 

 

Then I put 4 factory vmax rounds through it...

 

 

So I found it liked the 28.0 of powder, and I'm sure I can get it under an inch in in better conditions...Any one have any advice for me to help get the group size down...?

 

Cheers

[shropshire dan 467]

Give Slipper a message I know he reloeds for a .223

[Tremo 138]

Funnily enough I load my .223 Tikka using 50gr Blitz as well. I found 28.5gr of CFE 223 worked the best for me. My groups are 0.5" and better at 100 yards.

 

Firstly I would say give it another try when there is less wind. Finding an accurate load is difficult at the best of times, but throw in the effect of a windy day and you might as well hit your head up against a brick wall. When I'm running test loads such as this I never go out when its windy.

 

What OAL did you use?

 

As said in one of the previous threads, some rifles like the bullet to jump to the lands, some not so much.

 

Welcome to the world of handloading.

[DeerhoundLurcherMan 997]

Well the hodgden website said oal of 2.210, which is what I went with, but I the vmaxs which I have been using are 2.223... What about you?

 

I'll certainly load some more at 28.0 of powder and shoot them on a calm day...

[Tremo 138]

I don't have any of those completed rounds here at the moment. I'm currently using Nosler Varmageddons.

 

I don't measure the base of the case to the tip anyway, but to the ogive of the bullet. I believe that it is the preferred method. Tipped projectiles can vary in tip length.

 

From my data I can see that I used 1.802" for this measurement (base to ogive).

[Tremo 138]

This is the equipment that I use for this job .....

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCPgKNp8i7o

[Skull Hooker 185]

Looks like the 27.5 suits your rifle too, but I agree that you should wait for a still day and try again, because taking those results as gospel could send you down the wrong path early.

Once you've satisfied yourself of the load, start mucking about with the bullet seating depth. Get yourself a OAL gauge from Hornady and measure the distance between the bolt face and the lands. Using your pet powder weight, start loading different lengths and see where you go with that.

 

I once read an article by a top reloader. I stand to be corrected on this but it could have been Bruce Potts. He decides on the six or seven powder weights in the recommended ladder and selects one in the middle. He then does the bullet seating depth investigation first. Using the depth that gives the closest group, he THEN starts experimenting with powder weights etc,

 

Horses for courses though. Good luck

[slipper 116]

Hi mate I'll look through my notes when I get home,

I would be a hypocrite if I gave out advice as I have only been reloading for 12 months or so, and I took advice off Charlie caller etc

but all I use is 25g of viht 133 with rem 7 1/2 primers oak of 1. 840

That's shooting a cz 527

[slipper 116]

Sorry forgot to add I use Winchester 40g silver tips, good luck mate if I think of anything else I'll add it but I'm afraid it's generally trial and error just make sure you try them in the same conditions if you can

[riflehunter583 58]

I reload .223 its become an obsession!

 

my first attempts at reloading were similar to yours.

your best making an oal length gauge to measure your rifles chamber spacing. then try just off the lands with 3, then 20 thou off and then say 40 off all 3 shots with the best powder charge of your choice. what I'm suggesting is overall length is a biggey.

 

make sure you have the right barrel twist or your bullet length a 1 in 12 sounds good for your bullets.

 

also sounds like your neck tension might be a little too loose or inconsistent if you can push bullets back into the neck. make sure when you put the brass back into the press to neck or full length size put good pressure on the press but do not overwork the brass. I use a ft lb gauge so each resize has the same neck tension.

 

when you find a sweet load for your chamber you will easily be shooting sub inch groups on calm days.

 

also use a bipod to help you or sand bag/very stable rest. bad rest is bad news for testing reloads.

 

dependant on how far you want to go with reloading and how much case prep you want to do you can do many other things to make precision rounds getting little gains for lots of work. not to relevant to hunting. like primer pocket uniform flash hole uniform. same brass age and brand only, perfect consistent weight of powder. consistent brass and bullet weight check. neck turning and concentric checking like I do but not usful for crap chambers. neck tension check or use of bushings.

 

good results come from consistency consistency consistency in each cartridge.

 

let the chamber cool for a little after each shot.

 

make sure you have some copper in the barrel before testing.

 

avoid guesty windy days.

 

if you don't want to do the case prep use lapua / norma or hornaday brass in that order. good brass give a good start.

 

good luck mate

 

the biggest points scored by finding the best powder charge for your barrels vibration (the node) and best cartridge oal length for your chamber cartridge combo.

 

be very carful of using other peoples recipe in your chamber as it might be a different size especially when working with hot loads. your gun is totally unique. what works in one gun might not be ok in others.

 

only crimp according to the bullet. crimping is really for cannalure bullets. with varmint or light jacket bullets only a very light crimp to avoid risk of bullet deformation.

.

Edited April 20, 2015 by riflehunter583

[charlie caller 3,654]

Are you crimping the case? If you are, try crimping a little tighter, if not then do so, as said your neck tension is weak if you are pushing the bullet into the case, your rounds will never shoot well without uniform neck tension, hence why crimping is good.

[DeerhoundLurcherMan 997]

Thanks folks, I've loaded a hand full at 27.8 and put the full crimp on them....Results to follow...

[Dagben77 2]

If you can be bothered to do the measuring etc, I'll gladly run yours through QuickLoad. Might yield some results worth looking at!

[DeerhoundLurcherMan 997]

Shot 3 groups of 4 rounds today using the 12 I loaded at 27.8 with the full crimp...

 

At 100m...

 

First group was ok... but a tad low and left..

 

 

So 2 clicks up and 2 clicks right shoud get me bang on....Then this happened...

 

 

It really threw me off for a minute, It could of only been that my reloads are shite, or I was not letting the barrel cool enough?...So started again and waited 10 mins between shots...Which proved to work...

 

 

I'm sure with more tweeking I could do better but shooting 1 inch groups is good enough for me, half inch better than the vmax's I used to use and probably cost me half the money..

 

I think I'll load a few more and see what they go like out to 200 and see how much they drop..

[DeerhoundLurcherMan 997]

Really surprised me how much difference the temperature of the barrel made... Learning folks!