My beginner reloading questions.

[Glockdude]

Hey all- Just getting started with reloading. Here is what I have

-Lee Classic Turret Kit
-Case Tumbler/Media
-9mm & 223 dies
-Enough brass to keep me busy

I just bought some CCI small rifle primers and also 1,000 of each winchester and federal small pistol primers.

Questions so far:

1) If the load data calls for small rifle primer or small pistol primer, do I have to use the brand they suggest or can I use any small rifle/pistol primer?

2) I am using H335 for rifle rounds, I found a bunch at a good price. I cannot find any pistol powder. I was trying to find Alliant Power Pistol or H38. Any sources?

3) For brass cleaning, I just toss in the media with some polish and let it go for a few hours? how clean can I expect the cases?

4) Should I purchase a headspace gauge for .223?

5) My .223 load data : My rifle is 1:7 twist, will this affect anything at all? my barrel length is also 16 inches, not 24. I could not adjust those parameters so I don't know if they have any affect.

6) Here are the projectiles I have. http://monmouthbrass.com/product/hor...t-projectiles/ are these okay for the load data below?


Case: Winchester
Twist: 1:12"
Primer: Winchester SR, Small Rifle
Barrel Length: 24"
Trim Length: 1.750"


BULLET WEIGHT55 GR. BAR TSX FB

Starting Loads H335
21.3 grains
2,920 velocity
48,900 Pressure

Max loads
22.7 Grains
3,063 Velocity
53,000 PSI

P

7) Some of my brass was 5.56 and other is .223. Does that matter?

Some of these questions may seem like common sense to some of you, but I appreciate your input.

[24Pink14Stink]

What? No pics of the new setup?

[EvilD]

Hey all- Just getting started with reloading. Here is what I have

-Lee Classic Turret Kit
-Case Tumbler/Media
-9mm & 223 dies
-Enough brass to keep me busy

I just bought some CCI small rifle primers and also 1,000 of each winchester and federal small pistol primers.

Questions so far:

1) If the load data calls for small rifle primer or small pistol primer, do I have to use the brand they suggest or can I use any small rifle/pistol primer?

2) I am using H335 for rifle rounds, I found a bunch at a good price. I cannot find any pistol powder. I was trying to find Alliant Power Pistol or H38. Any sources?

3) For brass cleaning, I just toss in the media with some polish and let it go for a few hours? how clean can I expect the cases?

4) Should I purchase a headspace gauge for .223?

5) My .223 load data : My rifle is 1:7 twist, will this affect anything at all? my barrel length is also 16 inches, not 24. I could not adjust those parameters so I don't know if they have any affect.

6) Here are the projectiles I have. http://monmouthbrass.com/product/hor...t-projectiles/ are these okay for the load data below?


Case: Winchester
Twist: 1:12"
Primer: Winchester SR, Small Rifle
Barrel Length: 24"
Trim Length: 1.750"


BULLET WEIGHT55 GR. BAR TSX FB

Starting Loads H335
21.3 grains
2,920 velocity
48,900 Pressure

Max loads
22.7 Grains
3,063 Velocity
53,000 PSI

P

7) Some of my brass was 5.56 and other is .223. Does that matter?

Some of these questions may seem like common sense to some of you, but I appreciate your input.

1. Just reduce the starting load and work up from there if you are using different primers, some are hotter than others
2. I love 335 for 223, where did you find it. Good luck finding HP38/w231, same powder, and is non existant rignt now, Power Pistol sucks for 9mm imo, but it usable, Bullseye, titegroup, unique etc work well, IF you cna find any
3. I go anywhere from 1-3 hours, not much difference between times if media is clean
4. no, not unless you are doing gunsmithing, do you mean case checker? f so than yes
5. twist wont' affect much, shorter barrel will have less velocity.
6 No find data for FMJ bullets, bullets weight is just part of the recipe
7 work up safe load for both cases, sort if you are shooting for accuracy. 5.56 has slightly less case volume.
.

[Meketrefe]

Here a few suggestions:

- Use small rifle primers for rifle. If you cannot find use small pistol but the specs change from brand to brand so they will have to be tested. some use the same amount of ignition mixture and type some they use different specs for the lower pressure pistol so watch out.

- There are many good popular powders. you can even use shotgun powders if you shoot lead or plated copper. Be careful with lead because it can lead to problems and some even void
the warranty in the modern pistols. Popular pistol powders are WST, WSF, AA#2, AA#5, AA#7, reddot, bullseye, power pistol, Unique, w231, H110, etc...... one could even look into 2400, AA#2 even clays (very clean) for cast/plated loads. So check the manufacturer's loads both powders and bullets manufacturers for every load you want and start low. Make a list of pouplar powders and
drive around and adapt to what you can get. once you buy get 8lbs canisters specially if it is the one you really want/like.

-H335 is a good powder but it is temperature sensitive. So if you develop the loads in the winter stay away from max loads. Also if you let a round sit for too long on a warm chamber in the winter might see inconsistent results if you shoot for top accuracy.

With a 55 FMJ you might start a 22 or 23gr. Barnes are reduced because they are solid bullets and therefore longer bullets. Otherwise you might see short stroking. If you cannot work reloads at the range reload 5 shot strings with half grain variation all the way to max and use the lake city brass that can take much more heat than the max loads in the manufacturers website that are for milder 223 anyway.


http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle


BULLET WEIGHT55 GR. SPR SP

Starting Loads
Maximum Loads

Manufacturer Powder
Bullet Diam.
C.O.L.
. Vel. (ft/s)
Pressure

Grs.
Vel. (ft/s)
Pressure

Hodgdon H335
.224"
2.200"

23.0 3,018
40,800 CUP

25.3 3,203
49,300 CUP

-For brass cleaning you do not need tumbling unless it is too bad. Very dusty and dirty business and dust is too abrasive in the brass and dies. So if you cannot afford a sonic cleaner not big deal
find a plastic container with a nice wide lid, put the brass, a few oz of simple green, hot water (the hotter the better) and shake it a few times and let is sit for 10-15 min. Then do several rinses and in the one before last rinse with a bit of baking soda to neutralize any acid. Then rinse again. then in a towel shake well and dry and let the brass dry in a cardboad box close to the heat vent
or in a basement on top of a vent if it is not too hot (don't want to start a fire) as you have one batch ready you can work on another.
Regarding the mixing the brass for rifle, don't. Segregate the brass by head stamp. With LC (lake city) and other nato you might have to remove a crimp and it is harder brass with more capacity.
so if you want your accuracy to stay need to be consistent. To remove the military crimp the rcbs attachment for the power drill will do it consistently for you. You can also use the lee trim gauge to quickly trim brass pretty consistently using the drill. By hand you will get tired and find out soon enough.

-You do not need a headspace gauge for the loads. This is meaningless because no gauge can guarantee is a match for the chamber you have, and chambers can be cut with a wide nr. of reamers all within spec. If you use the dies that is your headspace right there. So make sure the length of the brass is below max
length and the rest the round should chamber w/o problems. In case o the pistol you can take the barrel out and make sure the round drops freely in the
chamber you are intending to shoot it from snug and good fit but it drops freely. That is your ultimate check right there and best practice anyway.

-1:7 twist is standard military. not needed by any 223 loads unless you are shooting 90gr and some 80gr VLD match bullets that have to be single fed anyway.
They are created to stability long tracers. It should be find the only concern is wihth super light varmit bullets like 40gr shot a extreme speeds like 3700fps where in some cases soft jackets could disintegrate with the fastest twist due to jacket separation induced by the torque forces between extra speed and twist. With the average rounds you should be ok. always loose some minor speed for the average purpose but if you have a carbine anyway not big deal.
Those hornady projectiles are the best of its class more consistent and accurate than the average for practice or hunting with pelt preservation (small holes).


For pistol I would also segregate and start with right consistent OAL (Overall lenght) and trim to consistency if necessary. At this point whith consistent brass segregation and preparation you can expect same results and better accuracy plus you remove risk.

Do not mix brass.
Start with same known OAL both consistent and safe.

Here one manufacturer with reloading info with the differences between soft brass (223) and hard brass at nato pressures...

http://www.accuratepowder.com/wp-con...d_data_3.5.pdf

[EvilD]

Any reload, lead or not will void the warranty.

[Meketrefe]

Any reload, lead or not will void the warranty.

It depends on the manufacturer.

[Glockdude]

What? No pics of the new setup?

The pics are coming!

[Glockdude]

1. Just reduce the starting load and work up from there if you are using different primers, some are hotter than others
2. I love 335 for 223, where did you find it. Good luck finding HP38/w231, same powder, and is non existant rignt now, Power Pistol sucks for 9mm imo, but it usable, Bullseye, titegroup, unique etc work well, IF you cna find any
I found it online at selway.http://www.selwayarmory.com/hodgdonh...erequired.aspx

3. I go anywhere from 1-3 hours, not much difference between times if media is clean
4. no, not unless you are doing gunsmithing, do you mean case checker? f so than yes
5. twist wont' affect much, shorter barrel will have less velocity.
6 No find data for FMJ bullets, bullets weight is just part of the recipe
Where can I find such data?
7 work up safe load for both cases, sort if you are shooting for accuracy. 5.56 has slightly less case volume.
.

2. I love 335 for 223, where did you find it. Good luck finding HP38/w231, same powder, and is non existant rignt now, Power Pistol sucks for 9mm imo, but it usable, Bullseye, titegroup, unique etc work well, IF you cna find any
I found it online at selway.http://www.selwayarmory.com/hodgdonh...erequired.aspx
6 No find data for FMJ bullets, bullets weight is just part of the recipe
This suggests 24-24.5 grains is ideal. But like meke said, I think I will start on the lighter side. http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.ht...&f=42&t=298735

[Cgrutt]

Only thing I can add to above is congrats and you might need to swage 556 primer pockets but not on 223. Good luck and let us know how you make out..

[Meketrefe]

I am against swagging the primer pockets and for cutting them with the primer pocket tool that is easy to use in the power station or a simple drill. The swagging puts too much pressure on the web of the brass by deforming it. I don't like anything that risks deformation of this vital section of the brass.

[24Pink14Stink]

Nice setup GD!

[Glockdude]

Rookie mistake. Sorted all my brass before cleaning it. Now I have to clean in small batches.

[Meketrefe]

Rookie mistake. Sorted all my brass before cleaning it. Now I have to clean in small batches.

Prep all the brass before you start not just rifle, also pistol so you start with the same consistent OAL for the case. Never assume anything.
Then after that you can recheck every time that should be fine. Rifle if you trim .020 consistently you will have 4 to 5 reloads or more depending
on how much the rifle case is pushed back. a nice set of calipers are now your best friend. The lee gauge system works great with a power drill
but later you might want to jump into a powered station like RCBS (good price). You can have the lee gauge work on the RCBS provided a small
adaptor that you can also do with a coupling, a nylon bushing and a bolt of the given site for that station.
Eventually the best way to make super consistent brass in one pass is the forster 3 way. The only one 3 way system that actually works.
What I mean is not simply cut 3 way but to produce super consistent cuts from case to case.
I have tried it all already. So take note and save some time and headaches and carpel tunnel as well. LOL..

[Glockdude]

Prep all the brass before you start not just rifle, also pistol so you start with the same consistent OAL for the case. Never assume anything.
Then after that you can recheck every time that should be fine. Rifle if you trim .020 consistently you will have 4 to 5 reloads or more depending
on how much the rifle case is pushed back. a nice set of calipers are now your best friend. The lee gauge system works great with a power drill
but later you might want to jump into a powered station like RCBS (good price). You can have the lee gauge work on the RCBS provided a small
adaptor that you can also do with a coupling, a nylon bushing and a bolt of the given site for that station.
Eventually the best way to make super consistent brass in one pass is the forster 3 way. The only one 3 way system that actually works.
What I mean is not simply cut 3 way but to produce super consistent cuts from case to case.
I have tried it all already. So take note and save some time and headaches and carpel tunnel as well. LOL..

Thanks for all the info. I have been reading the lee "Modern Reloading" book and pairing that with this thread is really helping.

[EvilD]

CLose to the shape of a FMJ, this is the load I use LET WEIGHT55 GR. SPR SP

Starting Loads
Maximum Loads

Manufacturer

Powder

Bullet Diam.

C.O.L.

Grs.

Vel. (ft/s)

Pressure

Grs.

Vel. (ft/s)

Pressure

Hodgdon

H335

.224"

2.200"

23.0

3,018

40,800 CUP

25.3

3,203

49,300 CUP