New To 223

[RBHarter]

I don't know about the feeder . I do know that you have a factor that's will require a change in your loading if your in the neck with a starting load . Since there are several sources quoted with 25.0-.5 as start loads you have to look at your brass . I will admit that I didn't read back through the thread to see if you mentioned what brass you are using. GI5.56 will be heavier brass than say Winchester commercial 223 Rem. Probably by a lot ,heavier means thicker walls and less space inside thus higher pressures for a given load . Given what you have I would back down to at least 24.5 gr but I would also check the measure against your powder lot on a scale also . Weights can change lot to lot and if your powder measure happens to have all loose or tight parts it could be off by a grain . Volume doesn't always work for weight .

[6Gears1Speed]

As a matter of fact, just tonight I weighed out all of my latest batch which was LC brass, 55 grain fmj with H335 at 24.2 grains. I weighed the completed cartridges and some are off by nearly 2 grains. Most by a grain or so but at least three were off by 2. Some of that can be variations in brass, primers and bullets but I'm guessing most of it is the powder drop. I knew this dropper is not very precise so I figured I'd weigh the final product.

To date for my 223 loads I've tested H335, IMR 4320, Varget and AR Comp. None of them showed any signs of over pressure. They all cycled well but I haven't tested accuracy and velocity yet. I just got a chrono and I have a collection of rounds I've made up over the past few months that I'm going to test.

[6Gears1Speed]

Oh, and I've segregated the ones that are within range from the ones that were out of range. The ones that were way out I will disassemble and the others I will label as such.

[RBHarter]

I have weigh lottery a lot of brass because I load for a very fussy 06'. Within a factory loaded lot of Remington brass I found cases weighing from 189 to 208 gr . From 100 cases I got 30 cases that weighed into lots of 1.5 grain window . IE 191.7 to 193.2 gr. I did that to get lots big enough to work up hunting loads and keep a full box.

[6Gears1Speed]

You're right. I didn't have any unprimed cases but I weighed a bunch of primed cases and there was up to a 3 grain difference from one to another. So I guess my powder drop is ok. I weigh 10 or so drops before production and they are usually only off by one to three tenths. I was thinking I had an occasional drop that was way off but I guess it's the brass. Thanks.

[6Gears1Speed]

As for the problem of the next round in line sitting on top of the round being fed and causing it to topple, I'm working on a rig to keep the next round from dropping until the round being fed has passed through. I will post a video once I'm done.

[olm911]

What about powder suggestions? I hear H335 is a good one for 223 and I already have a 1 lb. bottle of Alliant AR-Comp that I bought just because it was on the shelf at the time. What are some other popular powders for 223? While searching around for information I got the impression that 55 grain fmj bullets are pretty popular and there is a lot of data for that bullet in my book so I bought a bunch. That's what I'll be starting with.

Varget is a great powder to start with using 55gr bullets. Compressed loads are the norm with this combination.

[olm911]

I just read the instructions in the Lee Ultimate 223 die set. I have to charge each case by hand with a funnel? I started that way last year and not only is it painfully slow but I would up with two dangerous squib loads. I looked into the cases more than once to make sure they were all filled and still had two squibs that got stuck in the barrel. Luckily because I had just started and was doing it manually I was looking for squibs so nothing happened. I looked on the Lee website and didn't see a powder through expanding die for 223. Is it true that I have to do these by hand?

Get the Perfect Powder Measure, mine works great. Just make sure you break it in properly and use a consistent motion and it will throw quite an accurate charge.

[Poppop]

PPM
Very smooth and accurate-need to adjust the mic and lock the thimble