From: Ed.Harris@p0.f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Ed Harris)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Loading .223 Remington
Keywords: reloading, .223 Remington
Date: 27 Jul 90 16:12:25 GMT

Best all-around accurate load I have found, regardless of rifle type or
barrel twist is to use the Sierra 52-gr. or 53-gr. benchrest bullets
and 22 grs. of H4198 or IMR4198; or alternately 23.5 grs. of H322, and
anybody's match primer, in whatever brass you have, but sorted by make
or arsenal and year. This is not a high velocity load, about 2950 fps
in the AR-15, but HIGHLY accurate. Shoots well in 7" twist or 12" twist
barrels. This load was recommended to me by Wally Hart when I started
shooting benchrest and I have concluded that if a .223 rifle will not
group with this load, it wioll not group with ANYTHING!  In a full
blown benchrest rifle, taking GI cases assembled on a Dillon loader,
with no benchrest tricks whatever, the stuff averaged 1.39" for
twenty-five consecutive 10-shot groups at 200 meters fired the same
day, running a round-robin on five different makes of primers. Primer
make made no difference either! Like CCI450 and Federal 205 best, but
Winchester WSR is also very good if priced compettively. DO NOT exceed
this charge with 4198, as this is a fairly fast burning powder for this
case. As for the H322, this  surplus powder varies from batch to batch,
and while the 23.5 gr. charge suggested to me was a mild load with the
lot I used, others may run faster, so please be careful.

--

	Ed Harris at The Black Cat's Shack (Fidonet 1:109/401)
	Internet:  Ed.Harris@p0.f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org
	UUCP:      ...!uunet!blkcat!417.0!Ed.Harris

From: Ed.Harris@p0.f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Ed Harris)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: .223 Contender loads
Keywords: reloading, .223 Remington
Date: 6 Aug 90 18:45:46 GMT

I have found that in just about any .223 rifle or handgun of any twist
that a charge of 22 grs. of either Hodgdon or Dupont 4198 with any
bullet from 50 to 55 grs. is reliable and accurate. I like the Hornady
50-gr. SX bullets for woodchucks, and use the 53-gr. Sierra benchrest
bullets for punching paper. I have found these are about universal
loads and shoot in anything. I have found it groups better in the 7"
twist AR-15 HBAR than 69-gr. MatchKings, and it is an effective
competition benchrest load in my light varmint class guns with 14"
twist Hart barrels. In the TC I would not be afraid to shoot the
"para-military" commercial ammo of US make, such as the Olin-USA or
Federal American Eagle, but I would be a bit cautious of foreign or US
military issue ammo, because it is loaded to alot higher pressures. A
few rounds won't hurt, but lot of them may loosen up the gun if it has
a SAAMI-type .223 Rem. chamber. If you can seat out a 53-gr. Sierra to
2.29" overall length and get the barrel locked, it has essentiually the
military style ball seat, and should be safe if you get no other
pressure signs, but if Sierra bullets seated to that OAL jam in the
rifling origin or are visible marked in a used barrel when you close
the action with resistance, you probably have a SAAMI-tyle chamber and
the NATO loads will produce higher pressures than the gun was designed
for. The TC works OK with small cases up to about 50,000 cup, but real
GI ammo in a snug SAAMI chamber will often do 60,000+, and you don't
want to loosen the gun prematurely by shooting "near proof" loads in
it.

--

	Ed Harris at The Black Cat's Shack (Fidonet 1:109/401)
	Internet:  Ed.Harris@p0.f417.n109.z1.fidonet.org
	UUCP:      ...!uunet!blkcat!417.0!Ed.Harris