A couple reloading questions

[superduty]

Hi folks-  I have a couple reloading questions you all might be able to help me wrap my head around.

 

The source of the questions-  .223 Remington.

I have the Lyman manual, the Speer manual, and several of the annual Hodgdon Reloading magazines with load data-

 

The bullet I am going to be loading - 55gr. Hornady FMJBT.  Surprisingly, there is very little data that I can find for this bullet. I would have thought info would be much more common for this. The closest I can come to is a brief mention of it in the Hodgdon magazines, but none of the typical powders are mentioned for this bullet.

I have CFE223.

 

So, here goes-

While there aren't really specific recipes for this bullet, most of the load recipes I'm finding for a 55gr. bullet call for a COAL of 2.20.

 

I trimmed my brass to the trim-to-length of 1.75- all good there. I made a dummy round with one of the Hornady bullets, and I get a COAL of 2.213.

It's seated just about as far as I can go without completely covering up the cannelure.  I may be able to get the extra .013 seated to be officially at 2.20, but it will take up the whole cannelure.

Searching around on various websites, it seems like a lot of folks like to seat the bullet

mid-cannelure for crimping.  There's no way I can seat to mid-cannelure and get to the 2.20 COAL called for in the 55gr. recipes I'm seeing.

 

What is the solution to this puzzle?  Pay less attention to the 2.20 called for in the load data, or don't worry about how far I seat up the crimp, or covering up the crimp completely?

 

Also, though it's not specifically mentioned in any of the manuals, I get the impression that the COAL for .223 Rem that is stated in the manuals- 2.260-  is a MAX value-

do not go longer, but a bit shorter is fine-  am I correct on this, or no?

 

Finally, since there really isn't specific load data for this bullet, I would imagine that what I need to do is look at all the 55gr. bullet recipes that I can find for CFE223, then pick a starting load on the low end of the range and make it up as I go, watching for pressure problems, etc.  Right?

 

Thanks for the help-

 

I think I'm getting 'paralysis from analysis'.

[raildog]

I have the latest Hornady book at home i will look at it when i get home tonight

[TNMTBik3r]

Hornady manual CFE223 min is 24.8 to max 27.4gr

That is 2800fps up to 3200fps.

I use 26.5gr and seat to mid cannelure. I don't mess with crimping though. Edited January 1, 2015 by jonathon1289

[leftyk82]

2.26 is max for mag length, which is what most people load to

[superduty]

Hornady manual CFE223 min is 24.8 to max 27.4gr

That is 2800fps up to 3200fps.

I use 26.5gr and seat to mid cannelure. I don't mess with crimping though.

 

Ahh, the Hornady manual. Figures that I was missing one.  Thanks-

Do you just go with mid-cannelure, and not get too wrapped up in COAL?   Or do you measure and try to keep them all within a certain range of length?

[gregintenn]

Ahh, the Hornady manual. Figures that I was missing one.  Thanks-

Do you just go with mid-cannelure, and not get too wrapped up in COAL?   Or do you measure and try to keep them all within a certain range of length?

Mid cannelure should be fine. Don't get too bent out of shape over OAL. If it'll go through your magazine and chamber without problems, you probably aren't too long.

 

The minimum load for most any 55 grain bullet would be a pretty good place to start. Work up slowly, looking for high pressure signs. I'd go with a load for the bullet that is as close to the one you are loading as I could find. Different, shapes, ogives, etc. can have a minimal effect on pressures; but not usually much.

 

One caveat is that loads for the all copper projectiles will be different from lead core bullets. The all copper bullets will be longer. That means more bearing surface, and in turn it'll take more pressure to push it out the bore.

 

As far as crimping goes, with 55 grain fmj bullets, I get slightly better accuracy with crimped loads than non crimped loads. You'll not know until you try it both ways.

Edited January 1, 2015 by gregintenn

[TNMTBik3r]

I believe any of the Hornady 55gr options use the same load data. In the manual they have 5 bullets on that page, seems to be all their options.

I shoot mostly 55gr SP and not the FMJ. Same price and SP are more accurate for me.

[Glenndolph]

There is also an on line table for bullet weight, what powder and Primer you are using...

Every thing that I've read about reloading this round nobody says much about COL... I think what I'd do with the dummy round in manualy insert it into the chamber and see if you have to really press on it to seat all the way or does it just drop in nicely... the col seems to be a guide line and not a 'law' so I wouldn't worry too much about it if it goes into the weapon you are reloading for nicely... jus my .02 worth... I reload 9mm and .22 TCM for now... 

Edited January 1, 2015 by Glenndolph

[superduty]

Thanks for the replies folks! This has been very helpful, and I really appreciate it!

[z0mbies fear me]

Hornady 9th edition

[Omega]

I use this trick to figure out COAL for the 300Blk if I can't readily find it online it should work for .223/5.56 as well: First measure your bullet and find the part of the ogive that measures .250. Mark with a Sharpie. Seat bullet so mark is centered on the milspec mag bump. Measure and write down COAL in your notes.

Also, if you insert a bullet into a sized .223 case point down and turn to make a mark it will give you a point to seat the bullet to. Edited January 2, 2015 by Omega