Anyone Reloading for .223 AR-15?

DannoBoone

DannoBoone

Active member
My son who has two jobs and has to travel quite a bit for one of
them has asked me to reload for his AR-15's. Even though I have
been reloading for over 50 years, it has been for bolt actions
and mostly neck sizing. So, I'm just a "pup" when it comes to
reloading for any semi-autos, and am open to suggestions.

I've read that bullets clear down to 53gr have been accurate,
but also know any round needs to be loaded such that the rifle
will cycle dependably. How does one compute loads for that? He
doesn't want to spend a fortune on bullets, and I am looking at
55gr Dogtown bullets. Would they work dependably and accurately?
He is mainly concerned about accuracy to 100yds rather than long
range accuracy.

Is a case length head space gauge a good idea?

What I am asking for is a dependable, accurate load which will
not jam in his rifles, and how to go about it.
 
Some say small base 223 dies are the best for dependability but I've loaded thousands with a cheap Lee 223 die without a problem.

As for accuracy, it's just like finding a load for a bolt gun, some loads the gun will like some they will not. As for case over all length, as long as you're under 2.250" the ammo will fit and function in a magazine, actually loading for accuracy in an AR is a little easier with the fact that most guns want the ammo loaded between 2.235-2.250, I start at 2.240" and leave it there unless some powder tweaking wont give me the groups I want.

Just load the ammo like you normally would, 98% you will have no problems.

I've been doing a lot of load work the last year with my AR that has a Black Hole Weaponry barrel, if he has one of the polygonal rifled barrels they aren't any pickier about ammo you just have to load a little differently to get them shooting well.
 
Full length size, small base if you have it, stoke it over Varget, seat them to mag length. Do a bit of load work up, as not all 55grn bullets are created equally. I would be surprised if you didn't find that 27.3grn of Varget under the 55 JHP or JSP Dogtown bullet will shoot very well for you.
 
Full length size. You might get away with neck sizing but it's been problematic for too many (including me).

Some have found the need for a small base die but I haven't so far.
 
Always full length size, brass is cheap so throw away questionable pieces, Lee dies are sufficient, don't mix headstamps, check water capacity, choose bullet based on bearing surface length vs. Barrel twist.(longer for faster twist),

If you factor in speed vs accuracy vs temperature stability my vote would be for H4895 powder.

Otherwise test test and test some more and you will have tons of fun learning
 
Its been mentioned already, but make sure you pay attention to your magazine length. Nothing worse that going to the range and your rounds won't fit in the magazine!
 
Don't even think of neck sizing for an ar. make your rounds just shy of mag length[id] and your usually good to go. If you want to just load and go shooting get hornady 55sp or fmj's , they are about as cheap and good as it gets with around 23.5- 24 grs of h-335 and rem 71/2, fed 205 and lots more.
 
Be careful with Dogtown Bullets. Ive had quite a few blowup out of a 7 twist barrel. No problems out of a 9 twist [beeep].
The 53gr Vmax and Varmegeddons have been easy to dial in good loads for with XBR8208 and Benchmark.
 
Just an FYI that no one mentioned. If you are reloading military brass you will have to reduce the published charge by a few grains. The military brass is thicker and the internal capacity is less.

Varget is my current favorite powder for heavier (60 / 69 gr.) bullets and H355 is my current favorite for lighter bullets like the 50 to 55 grain.

Good luck!
 
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What powder will you be using? Full length size for sure. Those 55 dogtowns will function fine, I wouldn't bet the world on accuracy but I am assuming your son knew that when he bought them. If you can list some powders you have I can give you some of my recipes.
 
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You will need a case length guage or measuring device. I load a lot of mil-surp brass and some of it is pretty long on the first firing and needs trimming. A primer pocket reamer is also needed to get rid of the primer crimp if you use any military brass.
 
Thank-you all for the suggestions. Some of it I knew, and some of
it I didn't. Assuming I know nothing, though, is a lot better than
assuming I do, and leaving some pertinent info out!

Is it being too anal to worry about cycling problems? I've heard
or read somewhere in the past that certain reloads have caused
cycling problems, i.e., jamming. My only experience with this is
with a couple .22RF semi-autos. Neither my old Rem 550-1 or my
Marlin M60 will reliably eject Standard Velocity ammo and jam
the next round. Both handle High Velocity very well. Neither
work with Hyper Velocity. Of course rounds can be loaded too
"hot", but can they be loaded too "light" for the AR-15 to
cycle reliably?

Yes, I've run into that mag length problem with bolt actions,
too. That's why I'll never get rid of my blind mag Sav VLP's...
no mag length problems there!

According to Hornady, the following powders that I have can be
used for the .223 with 55gr bullets:

IMR3031
H322
H335
TAC
IMR4895
Varget (just enough for testing)
It also lists IMR4198. I have quite a bit of H4198...anyone use
it?
 
Originally Posted By: DannoBooneThank-you all for the suggestions. Some of it I knew, and some of
it I didn't. Assuming I know nothing, though, is a lot better than
assuming I do, and leaving some pertinent info out!

Is it being too anal to worry about cycling problems? I've heard
or read somewhere in the past that certain reloads have caused
cycling problems, i.e., jamming. My only experience with this is
with a couple .22RF semi-autos. Neither my old Rem 550-1 or my
Marlin M60 will reliably eject Standard Velocity ammo and jam
the next round. Both handle High Velocity very well. Neither
work with Hyper Velocity. Of course rounds can be loaded too
"hot", but can they be loaded too "light" for the AR-15 to
cycle reliably?

Yes, I've run into that mag length problem with bolt actions,
too. That's why I'll never get rid of my blind mag Sav VLP's...
no mag length problems there!

According to Hornady, the following powders that I have can be
used for the .223 with 55gr bullets:

IMR3031
H322
H335
TAC
IMR4895
Varget (just enough for testing)
It also lists IMR4198. I have quite a bit of H4198...anyone use
it?

I have found H4198 to be a very accurate powder for .223 loads with 55gr bullets. Your velocities will be low and you might well experience feeding issues with this powder. IMHO the other powders you have listed will be better options for your .223 loads. I have no experience with IMR4198 or IMR3031 in .223 loads. I have had good results with all the others.


 
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Originally Posted By: DannoBooneThank-you all for the suggestions. Some of it I knew, and some of
it I didn't. Assuming I know nothing, though, is a lot better than
assuming I do, and leaving some pertinent info out!

Is it being too anal to worry about cycling problems? I've heard
or read somewhere in the past that certain reloads have caused
cycling problems, i.e., jamming. My only experience with this is
with a couple .22RF semi-autos. Neither my old Rem 550-1 or my
Marlin M60 will reliably eject Standard Velocity ammo and jam
the next round. Both handle High Velocity very well. Neither
work with Hyper Velocity. Of course rounds can be loaded too
"hot", but can they be loaded too "light" for the AR-15 to
cycle reliably?

Yes, I've run into that mag length problem with bolt actions,
too. That's why I'll never get rid of my blind mag Sav VLP's...
no mag length problems there!

According to Hornady, the following powders that I have can be
used for the .223 with 55gr bullets:

IMR3031
H322
H335
TAC
IMR4895
Varget (just enough for testing)
It also lists IMR4198. I have quite a bit of H4198...anyone use
it?






It's a very reliable system, far different than your rimfires. Especially in 223 it's easy to make it work.

1. resizing, like has been said full length obviously. If you have the rifle(s) when you resize, you can be sure. Test the empty resized case in the rifles. Most will resize just enough for easy bolt closure and easy extraction to minimize case stretch, but you can just set the die all the way down to minimum size then they should for sure be fine.

2. primers, it's best to use a hard cup primer like cci 450, rem 7.5, several others. Supposedly softer ones like cci400 could slam fire from the floating firing pin of the AR. Shot thousands with those primers, never has happened to me but I have switched also.

3. powder, of those you listed, for the purposes you listed, I would go h335 or tac. Easy to measure, good burn rate for the 223 with 55's. I have had trouble with imr 4198 not cycling an ar long ago, it's a little on the fast side. It might work in yours however.

4. bullet, obviously they need to fit the mags, but checking the distance to lands is always a good idea. Very unlikely you'd run into trouble, depending on the chamber. With dogtowns you might not even get to mag length and still have enough in the neck, I'm not sure. No need to crimp but some like to.

Follow these and I don't think you'll have any issues.
 
I would use H355 of the ones listed. I have always had good results with 25.0 of H335 with 55grn bullets. My AR15's (carbine, mid and rifle length) gobbled them up no problem. I use CCI 400 SR primers and have never had a slam fire, not to say it can't happen because it can I suppose. You will certainly not get short stroking or be too light with 25.0 of H335. I load all my mass produced AR ammo to the cannelure which puts them right at 2.200"
 
Get your hands on his rifle before you size a bunch of brass even if you have a good case gage. One of mine I have to screw the sizing die down about an extra 1/4 turn than the others and the case head is at the Veeerry bottom of the notch on the Dillon case gage. Use the rifle as the case gage and make sure it will go into battery as you adjust the sizing die before sizing a bunch only to find out they won't let the bolt lock into battery. The Dog Town bullets will be fine and I shoot a bunch of them. I like them. Mag length will keep you from seating to far out. I have found lots of unfired new 5.56 on the ground at the range that I have picked up and use for measurements when setting up for the ARs. A lot of the things you have leaned about loading for bolt rifles doesn't apply to ARs.
 
I am not home so the exact charge will not be listed. I do know that I run h322 with a 55 nbt. One of my old Sierra books had it listed as an accuracy load. I could tweak it some but it works good in 2 predator technology rifles and a Remington R15.
 


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