.223 Component Suggestions

[Cokeman]

I am interested in loading .223. I have been reloading .38 special and 9mm and am now thinking about .223. I have been looking at bullets which are about $0.11 a bullet. Is that a good price? What is a good powder to start with? I need small rifle primers, right?

Who has the best deals on components?

 

[LoonWulf]

Just my general thoughts....

I always like 8208, cfe223, and the 4895s (mostly do to availability) for loading .223 and similar size cases

If your going for accuracy loads don't buy the absolute cheapest bullets you can find. Decent bulk target and varmint bullets are available and affordable.

I used Cci SRMs or Rem 7.5 in my .223 and 6x47 loads simply because the cups are tougher, and my 700s tended to pop primers. But yes small rifle primers are needed, and as a note federal are the softest

 

[ballman6711]

What's the twist rate on your rifle? It can (and usually does) make a difference as to what it shoots well. My 1:9 twist likes 55-62 grain bullets. I haven't tried anything heavier since these shoot well enough for me.

What are you planning on shooting and at what distance? If you're like me and just punch paper at 25~50 yards, most any cheap bullet will do. Sometimes I stretch it out to 75~100 yards, and my loads shoot ok at that distance (open sights, poor eyesight, and a milspec trigger don't help me at all).Shooting prairie dogs at 300 yards will require a better bullet and much better accuracy.

For powder, you may have to take what's available in the appropriate burn range and go with that. I like IMR 3031 with 55gr bullets, and TAC with 62gr. Others have different preferences, and you'll really just have to try a powder or two until you find something you and your gun like. I would suggest starting with a single pound, in case it doesn't work well, and then if it does stock up. I get ~250 rounds per pound, so that is another thing to be aware of.

For primers, I use CCI 450's and CCI 41's. I've worked up my loads and the 450's have no issues so far, and the primers look good after firing.

A bit of info on your rifle and your intended purpose will get you a lot of responses.

chris

 

[Kaldor]

I am interested in loading .223. I have been reloading .38 special and 9mm and am now thinking about .223. I have been looking at bullets which are about $0.11 a bullet. Is that a good price? What is a good powder to start with? I need small rifle primers, right?

Who has the best deals on components?

Components are where you can find them right now, still... Expect to pay 80-100 per 1000 for primers. Powder is available as long as you arent terribly picky on brand. Bulk bullets are in good supply, some match stuff, not so much.

Check your twist rate to determine max weight you should shoot. Anything over a 9, go with 55s. A 9 will shoot up to a 62 pretty well. An 8 will shoot up to a 77 well. A 7 will shoot up to 85 or so. Obviously every barrel and gun is different, as Ive seen 77 SMKs shoot just fine in a 9 twist. So just general guidelines.
Beyond that? If you are building blaster ammo, a decent ball powder is a good place to start. TAC, H335, Staball Match, etc. If you are pursuing accuracy, look for 8208 XBR, Benchmark, Varget which are extruded powders, which are generally more accurate.
Primers can be bog standard small rifle. Never felt a need to shoot mil primers like 41s in any of my 223 stuff, and Ive run some pretty stout loads.
Cases can pretty much be anything. You can buy tons of once fired stuff on the internet, and thats what I recommend. Dont get too wrapped around the axle about headstamp sorting. If you want matching headstamps, go buy new brass, instead of sorting 2000 cases for headstamp, and having 300 of this, 200 of that, situation. Starline is a good source for new brass thats decent quality.

 

[TEXASJD]

https://www.cdvs.us/product/223-556...boat-tail-bullets-224-diameter-500-pack-copy/.
7cents
https://cheapest-ammo.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=82
6.4cents
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022626125?pid=901840
About as cheap as you can go right now

 

[Cokeman]

What's the twist rate on your rifle? It can (and usually does) make a difference as to what it shoots well. My 1:9 twist likes 55-62 grain bullets. I haven't tried anything heavier since these shoot well enough for me.

What are you planning on shooting and at what distance? If you're like me and just punch paper at 25~50 yards, most any cheap bullet will do. Sometimes I stretch it out to 75~100 yards, and my loads shoot ok at that distance (open sights, poor eyesight, and a milspec trigger don't help me at all).Shooting prairie dogs at 300 yards will require a better bullet and much better accuracy.

For powder, you may have to take what's available in the appropriate burn range and go with that. I like IMR 3031 with 55gr bullets, and TAC with 62gr. Others have different preferences, and you'll really just have to try a powder or two until you find something you and your gun like. I would suggest starting with a single pound, in case it doesn't work well, and then if it does stock up. I get ~250 rounds per pound, so that is another thing to be aware of.

For primers, I use CCI 450's and CCI 41's. I've worked up my loads and the 450's have no issues so far, and the primers look good after firing.

A bit of info on your rifle and your intended purpose will get you a lot of responses.

chris

Components are where you can find them right now, still... Expect to pay 80-100 per 1000 for primers. Powder is available as long as you arent terribly picky on brand. Bulk bullets are in good supply, some match stuff, not so much.

Check your twist rate to determine max weight you should shoot. Anything over a 9, go with 55s. A 9 will shoot up to a 62 pretty well. An 8 will shoot up to a 77 well. A 7 will shoot up to 85 or so. Obviously every barrel and gun is different, as Ive seen 77 SMKs shoot just fine in a 9 twist. So just general guidelines.
Beyond that? If you are building blaster ammo, a decent ball powder is a good place to start. TAC, H335, Staball Match, etc. If you are pursuing accuracy, look for 8208 XBR, Benchmark, Varget which are extruded powders, which are generally more accurate.
Primers can be bog standard small rifle. Never felt a need to shoot mil primers like 41s in any of my 223 stuff, and Ive run some pretty stout loads.
Cases can pretty much be anything. You can buy tons of once fired stuff on the internet, and thats what I recommend. Dont get too wrapped around the axle about headstamp sorting. If you want matching headstamps, go buy new brass, instead of sorting 2000 cases for headstamp, and having 300 of this, 200 of that, situation. Starline is a good source for new brass thats decent quality.

My twist rates are 1 in 8 for an 18 inch barrel and 1 in 7 for a 16 inch barrel. I don’t need to worry about brass. I have saved all mine. I usually don’t shoot more than 100 yards.

 

[JEBruns]

The change from reloading straight wall pistol to bottle neck can be a lot to learn. There are more possible steps, like trimming and annealing. I made the jump a couple of years ago. I enjoy reloading bottle neck, but it is for sure more time consuming.

As far as components, I agree with LoonWolf. If you want accuracy at 100yds, bulk stuff probably is not going to get it done. I can get sub-MOA groups out of my .223, but only when using Sierra MatchKing bullets. Hornady is in the ballpark but not sub-MOA. Bulk stuff from Rocky Mt Reloading has been disappointing through a lot of load testing. Would be okay for just plinking though. My rifle likes CFE223 best.

Good luck!

 

[lightman]

I shoot mostly the plastic tip varmint bullets from Hornady, Nosler or Sierra, whenever Midway has them on sale. If I want to show out at the range I use the 69 grain Sierra Match King and Lapua brass. Any small rifle primer, but usually a CCI or Remington Benchrest. And any case. I'm using BL-C2 currently. Its slow but its accurate and meters well. I plan to switch over to either Benchmark, Tac or AA2230 the next time I load a batch.

 

[ballman6711]

Check your twist rate to determine max weight you should shoot. Anything over a 9, go with 55s. A 9 will shoot up to a 62 pretty well. An 8 will shoot up to a 77 well. A 7 will shoot up to 85 or so. Obviously every barrel and gun is different, as Ive seen 77 SMKs shoot just fine in a 9 twist. So just general guidelines.

Very good advice ^^^. You have to try a few different things to see what your gun shoots best, there really is no magical bullet that works in a given twist.

I worked with a guy who had a 1/7 twist, and he said 55's were not good, 62's were ok, but 69's were very accurate if he did his part.

chris

 

[Cheesemaker]

Small rifle primers are the right size. If you are shooting in an AR platform you may want to consider CCI #41 primers.

 

[Nature Boy]

Sierra 69gn SMKs and 25.2gn of Varget (if you can fInd it) or VV N140 as a substitute , which has been more available.

Shoot the above into one hole groups until you get board.

 

[Hugger-4641]

I would try Hornady 69gr Bthp or SGK in the 1/8 twist and 75gr BTHP in the 1/7. These have been MOA or better in my Ar-15's. Powders already mentioned should be fine, 8208, Tac, Vargett, etc. I like N133 in the heavier bullets and CFE223 in the lighter bullets.

 

[Lee Q. Loader]

I would suggest you start with H335. In my experience it is more difficult to find a load that doesn't shoot well with 50 or 55 grain bullets.
Also 8 lbs of H335 is around $245, 8 lbs of Varget is about $350.
H335 is awesome in 223 and just plain works.

 

[Hikingman]

Yes, small rifle primers.

Also there's the proper lube and should bump aspect in the process.
See this helpful THR thread.

 

[kmw1954]

Only shooting to 100 yards, stop and look at Rocky Mountain Reloading (RMR) and look at their 69gr and 77gr .224 bullets for those twist rate barrels. With the 69gr bullets I have had great luck using TAC and A2460 out to 300yards. Also RMR is a site sponsor and offers a discount. I say this because I have shot over 1k of them over the past 2 years.

 

[nastynatesfish]

Personally. mid youre limited to 100yds to shoot. Get some Hornady 55gr btsp. They shoot plenty accurate and are 8-9 bucks per 100. You don’t need to run the heavier target bullets like the 68/75/77. Look at the faster powders like aa2230 or h4198. Cfe works well too but you may loose a bit on the velocity due to it being a slower powder. I like n133 for 55s. Plenty of speed and accuracy.
also. Don’t worry about loading to 2.260, load them to the cannelure. It’ll be short. But that’s ok. Trim your brass and if you have any crimped stuff be sure to ream or stage the primer pockets. Regular small rifle primers of whatever type you can find will suit you plenty fine.

 

[JEBruns]

I would suggest you start with H335. In my experience it is more difficult to find a load that doesn't shoot well with 50 or 55 grain bullets.
Also 8 lbs of H335 is around $245, 8 lbs of Varget is about $350.
H335 is awesome in 223 and just plain works.

I wish I could find a good load with H335. I have an 8lb jug of it and have tried hard to get something approaching MOA at 100yds. Just no luck with my Zev Core Elite AR (1:7). It likes CFE223 though. Which is a good note for the OP. Just because a particular recipe will give one rifle great results does not mean the same load will work well in your rifle.

 

[Bartojc]

Seems most folks can find something decent with H335 and 55gr bullets, and Varget or 4895 w/ 62 gr and heavier.

For bullets the FMJ won’t be as accurate as something else, but they are cheap. The Hornady FMJBT 55 gr are very reasonable in bulk but don’t expect them to be under 1 MOA because they won’t be. I have found Sierra Pro Hunter and Nosler Varmegeddon 55 gr Hunting type bullets to be a balance between cost and performance. Accurate enough but don’t break the bank. Caution though it’s been about 3 years since I bought any .224 bullets. A lot of guys like Sierra Match Kings for accuracy. You have to decide how accurate you need them to be and how much you are willing to pay.

- Jeff

 

[Random 8]

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/17171 Consider this bullet. It is value priced, comparable to some of the cheapest FMJs you'll find. Being a soft point, it is more versatile, useful for varmints, light hunting, defense, or shooting fun targets such as water jugs and leftover veggies. I've found them extremely accurate and easy to find a good load for. I use this bullet for my all-around carbine load, and have started using it for 100 and 200 yard high power matches on reduced course of fire. At shorter ranges, it outshoots my match bullets!

I am loading AA 2495 presently for accuracy loads. These I use for the above mentioned match shooting as well as coyotes and such. This powder also gives me very good cold weather performance.

For everyday shooters, I've used up some odds and ends including AA2230, BL-C2, W748 and VN140. All gave me acceptable accuracy. I'm presently loading H335 and getting sub MOA with a cheap carbine. All above are using "NATO" or small rifle Magnum primers, and are in the .223 section of various published datas. I'm not hot rodding, and I'm not reducing either. Loading within a tenth or 2 of .223 rem max data.

 

[alsaqr]

Began reloading the .223 in 1968. Since then i've used IMR 3031 almost exclusively with bullets to 55 grains. Presently i'm attempting to work up loads using CFE .223, but it ain't there yet.

Very seldom shoot bullets over 55 grains. i shoot a lot of Winchester 55 grain FMJBT bullets. My accuracy loads use Barnes TSX and Sierra 55 grain GameKing SBT and HP bullets. My preferred primer is Winchester.

Most of my brass comes from once fired US military cases. My best cases come from one lot of TW 67.

 

[Varminterror]

Varget is the easy button. 50 Vmax’s or 69 SMK’s. If these don’t shoot, the rifle don’t shoot.

 

[AJC1]

If you like to shoot and volume is the key
69rmr
Tac
There are no good primer deals, I prefer cci but that doesn't seem to matter.
You already have brass.

 

[2ndtimer]

I am interested in loading .223. I have been reloading .38 special and 9mm and am now thinking about .223. I have been looking at bullets which are about $0.11 a bullet. Is that a good price? What is a good powder to start with? I need small rifle primers, right?

Who has the best deals on components?

My personal favorite powder for .223 is Ramshot TAC, I used to run H-335, but TAC seems to run cleaner and is more versatile with the full spectrum of bullet weights.
My favorite bullets are Hornady 62 gr BTHP’s that Mid South shooters supply used to offer in bulk at a great price. For reasons unknown, they are not currently being produced. So for affordable reasonably accurate bullets, my current choices are the RMR 69 gr BTHP and Hornady 62 gr FMJBT, as well as the 55 gr SP or FMJ.
Best current prices on primers are at Sportsman’s Warehouse, when in stock, otherwise plan on spending around $100 per brick of 1,000 including hazmat fees and shipping. My preference is for RP 7 1/2 or Federal AR Match, but have had good results with CCI, Winchester, Wolf, Sellier & Bellot and I would not hesitate to buy Fiocchi, if available. (Their small pistol primers work great and SW has them for $8.25 for a sleeve of 150, which equals $55 per thousand. And while I haven’t used their small rifle primers, my experience with their pistol primers gives me confidence.)
Best deals on components:
https://www.rmrbullets.com/shop/bul...w-point-boat-tail-3-gun-hunter-bullets-new-2/
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/
https://www.grafs.com/
https://www.midwayusa.com/
https://americanreloading.com/4-projectiles
Be sure to shop around. Many times you can get some special deals, I have ordered from all these places over the years, with complete satisfaction.

 

[ben293]

My favorite bullets are Hornady 62 gr BTHP’s that Mid South shooters supply used to offer in bulk at a great price. For reasons unknown, they are not currently being produced.

American Reloading got new Hornady 62gr BTHP with cannelure in recently- looks like they are still in stock.

 

[Wildbillz]

If it were me? I would start out with 55grn FMJ or 62grn FMJ bullets. In fact I think starting out I would pickup some of those pulldown surplus bullets TexasJD posted the link to. Primer wise I like the CCI #41 mil spc primers. But right now I am using up some old Wolf SRM primers I have. Powder wise I like Win 748 and AA2230. Both of these seem to meter well and don't require a large lot of powder for a decent round, making your powder go farther. Case's I use mixed cases that I pickup at the range (watch out for the mil cases that need to have the primer pocket swaged). The target below was shot at about 75 yards using my range bag as a sandbag. Pulldown 55grn bullets, CCI primer with 26grns of Win 748. My note in the bag says that it should be around 2865 FPS velocity (I have not run them over a crono this is from the Speer manual). Rifle was a 16" M4 type rifle.

Best of luck
WildBillz