anyone reloading .223 for your AR

[1911s4ever]

I'am considering reloading the .223 for my AR15 and was wondering if anyone has or does.......and have you had any function problems with reloads ect? Also are is there any good information on the web about relading for the AR? Last of all do you guys think reloading for the AR is a waste of time and i should just stick with factory ammo?
I have two OLYs and just love shooting them ,one is for the range and one i use for coyote hunting (really hooked on the AR) any info you guys have would be great!

Thanks

[Rew]

for my ARs, M17 and NEF handi-rifle in .223. For just a day of blesting on the range, it's not worth the trouble, but for varmint and coyote hunting or setting down for some serios mid-long range shooting, load developement is a must. I full lenth resize in a small base die for my semi's. For coyote's I like V-max bullets but for PD's and other small varmints any 50-55 grn softpoint or FMJ is fine, unless you are really into the "Red mist" thing, than a 45 grn v-max or ballistic tip is cool. CCI primers mostly, but the powder and charge you will have to work with for your rifle. :cool:

[Pogo]

I have in the past reloaded .223. But, with the price I can get Wolf ammo for my Bushie, I can't justify spending the time to reload. Whenever I fire American brass I always pick up the empty cases so that I can later reload them if I decide to do so.

[inspireart]

I am an accuracy nut. My Rock River has a 1 in 8 barrel twist. So it likes heavier bullets. I usually buy 69 gr. Sierra Matchkings at Midwayusa.com. Usually I can get a 100 for about 10.00. I bought 1000 rounds of once fired brass on EBAY. River Valley Odinance processes .223 brass for 39.00 per 1000 including priming. So I do not mess with those steps, just throw my Varget powder and seat the bullet. It is such a time saver I have to force myself to reload for my .308 guns. My semi-homegrown loads are capable of .5 MOA. Match quality ammo for .15 a round. How do beat that?

[ep_shooter]

I have reloaded for my .223. With surplus prices at less than $4 a box, I haven't reloaded in a while. My last ammo purchase was at $3.19/box (=$0.16/round).

If you don't already have the equipment, I wouldn't recommend it. I used to load .270, 9mm and .223. With care you can load rounds to your own specifications, a plus. But for range use, anything (cheap) will do. Care MUST be exercised in reloading any round. Reloading is probably economical only if you already have the brass (collect it). The other down side is the time required. If you only shoot about 300 rounds per trip, it will still take several hours of work to reload that many rounds (clean the brass, inspect the brass, resize the brass, prime the rounds, drop the powder, and seat the bullets). Brass length, bullet length and poweder charges should be exact and therefore need to be checked. Primer types can also cause delays.....etc. I usually lose half my brass, so eventually you will have to acquire additional brass. Based on how hot you load the rounds, reuse of the brass should also be limited (do as I say not as I do). (Check out what the bullets, powder and primers will cost per round.) It can be fun, if you have the time available. I don't.

I find it easier and quicker to just buy surplus ammo!:D

[Wyon8ve]

Guess I'm one of the rare ones who doesn't buy commercial/military surplus ammo for their AR. I load my own, but don't load target loads for it (but, I do for my bolt guns).

I use the IMI 62 gr bullet (available from Wideners in bulk, although the price has apparently tripled since my last order), Winchester, IMI, Remington and Lake City brass (in that order for the number of rounds reloaded), WSR primers and an assortement of powders.

My best accuracy has been achieved using extruded powders, but they are difficult to meter accurately and consistently into a small necked case like the .223. So I've been using ball type powders almost exclusively.

Most recently I've been using 25.0 grains of WC844, but have had acceptable results with 24.5 gr of W748. Chrono testing of the W748 rounds have indicated it has a temperature sensitivity and gets hotter as it ages. On days when the temperature is above 90 degrees the velocity goes up about 50 fps on average, when below 50 degrees it drops about 50 fps on average when compared to velocities measured on a 70 degree day. Rounds loaded with the W748 increased on average 50 fps (maximum was 100 fps!) on a 70 degree day after 10 years of storage at temperature swings from sub-freezing to over 90 degrees. Similar storage testing will be done on the WC844 loads in a few more years, but this powder seems fairly indifferent to increases in temperature. I haven't yet chronyed any when its real cold.

Accuracy is acceptable, better with the WC844 (1.25" groups) than the W748 (2" groups). Both are acceptable for what they are.

The Winchester and IMI brass use the same powder charge while the Remington likes a little more (< 0.5 gr) to achieve similar velocities (larger case volume I'm guessing). With the LC brass the performance varied drastically by lot numbers and it was too much effort to expend prepping and sorting it to save a few cents per case.

As with any reloads, start with about 10% less than max (that 25.0 grains is near max) and work up the loads watching for signs of excess pressure. Be careful... go slow...

As everyone else who's responded has pointed out, it isn't cheaper to reload for the AR if you're happy with surplus, there is the time it takes to reload several hundred rounds and the expense of the equipment. But, some of us just like to roll our own... it's a personal thing I'm sure. ;)

[1911s4ever]

WOW.....thanks for the great info guys! T he factory .223 loads are accurate enough for me at this time. I thought i could load my own for a good savings....however as it has been pointed out unless i have the time to spare it's not cost effective. I would rather buy the ammo and be at the range. Maybe i will change my minde down the road ,but for now i will stick to factory loads.

Thanks again all for all the info, it was very helpfull to me. I had been considering reloading for sometime but dodn't want to jump in till i know more about it.

thanks!!!:D

[orlando_5]

I’m also an accuracy nut.

The powder: Reloader 15. 25.5 gr
Bullet: Sierra 55 gr blitzking Moly.

I can get .5 MOA or less prone.

A lot of expert suggested using Sierra 52 or 53 gr bullet, H4198 or IMR4198 for powder. Personally I like to use heavier bullets because I practice around 200-400 yards for my AR-15.

http://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/223_loads.html

If you’re going for accuracy for your AR, it is not worth your time or barrel life to use surplus ammo. You will never really notice true improvement in your accuracy skill by using surplus ammo.

Using Wolf ammo on AR 15 is not good. You’re only asking for trouble by using steel case on your AR 15. Wolf steel cases work great for AK but differently not for AR.

[Wyon8ve]

orlando_5,

What's the twist rate on your AR? I have a 1:9 and the lighter bullets (e.g. 52-55gr) just disintegrate from the centrifugal forces if I get the velocities above 3000 fps.

That's why I've been shooting the 62 gr IMI.

[orlando_5]

My is 1:9 twist.

Your problem might be the bullets you use. It is not the twist of your rifle. 1:9 should be able to handle 55gr bullet. The copper bonding might be separating in flight. Another thing you have to look at is that non premium/match bullets like IMI has an error of +-.05 gr. In fact I have used IMI 55gr bullet and have tested the weight of IMI 55gr. and it does have an error of +-.05 gr. (mostly between 53-57) I use the IMI 55gr bullet for cheap close range practice.

I did use IMI 55gr bullets for long range shooting to just test how accurate it is. It did not destabilize in flight (target paper did not show any keyhole). It gave me around 2 MOA as should be expected.

Powder: Win 748. 24.3 gr (less then 3000 ft/s)
Bullet: 55gr IMI from Wideners (in 1000 bullets)
Tested: 100 and 200 yard.

AR 15 are just great rifles. Everyone should own at least one AR 15. Of all the rifles I have in my collection, it is my AR 15s that I use the most.