Hi everyone.
I am new to reloading I got a setup about two weeks ago and have loaded 150rds and don't have any real "issues" I get pretty darn consistent velocity and am not seeing any loss in accuracy compared with most match grade loads so I know I am doing it "right" but I also know I can do better. I got a 2 hour "crash course" in reloading from the guy at the store, he helped me set up my dies and we loaded ammo in the store as he tried to cram as much knowledge into my head as possible in that short amount of time.
I do have a few questions/concerns and hope that you more experienced guys can help me out and maybe give me tips on improving my setup/technique so bear with me as I walk through my process.
I have a Hornady Lock and Load press kit with RCBS dies a Full Length sizing die and a seating/crimping die I'm using a Hornady digital scale and Hornady's powder measure with Lee case trimmer tools. I am loading for .223/5.56 and I have cases segregated and different loads for each case type.
I am hand cleaning my used brass, brake clean for the outside and a good wipe down which is slow but it works and I will invest in a media tumbler later, a primer pocket cleaner and and old bore brush for the inside of the case, I am not going crazy I am just knocking some of the fouling out of the inside, cleaning the primer pocket and making sure the outside is clean and free of any debris that will scratch my dies. I make sure the cases are totally dry before I do anything else.
I then lay cases out on a blue shop towel usually 10 at a time and spray them down with Hornady case lube that came with the kit, I roll them to distribute the lube and remove any excess, the cases have a thin oily film on them, they are slippery but not dripping lube, I inspect the cases before they go into the sizing die. The sizing and de-priming process goes smooth the press goes "over center" and the top of the ram and the die are making light contact. Coming back out I have no issues although some of the case necks are tighter than others and require a bit more force to get beyond the expander ball.
Here is my first question/concern. My book says trim 5.56 to 1.250 but my Lee case trimmer stops cutting at 1.256" I cant screw the dang thing down any more/tighter and a lot of my cases are at 1.255". The guy in the store said as long as they were all the same length between 1.250-1.260 its fine and less trimming means longer case life. Do you all agree? Should I buy a different case trimmer that will actually get down to 1.250? This ammo is mostly going back in the same gun but I also don't want any issues if I do want to load into a different rifle.
I trim to 1.256" on the 50-60% of cases that will actually need it as stated, I debur inside and out and remove primer crimping since most of my brass is Lake City 5.56.
I then install primers using the tool I got with the Hornady kit no issues here. I never touch the primers they go straight from the box to the tool. The remaining primers go into a sealed container with a couple of silica gel packets.
I have CFE223 powder mainly because it was available in 1lb bottles but am happy with my results so far so I bought 2lbs more and I think I will just stick with it I did lose some because I was an idiot and didn't clean/degrease my powder measure before pouring some into it but I realized it as soon as I did it and I didn't load any contaminated powder and I didn't try to save any of the powder that went into the oily powder measure.
I think I have a very good process for metering out powder (And CFE223 meters extremely well) I keep the hopper topped up to about the same level the whole time to keep steady pressure in the powder column.
I have marked the drum and the frame of the measure so I can run the lever, pouring powder into my pan, then I lift it up about 1/3rd of the way and drop the handle from the same height each time.
I found when I was racking/knocking the drum by the handle after each load was measured to knock out any powder stuck in the exit funnel I was getting a lot of .2-3 gr variation and with the "drop method" from the mark I made I get the same amount within the tolerance of my scale which is 1/10th grain about 80% of the time. If its over I knock a tiny amount of powder back into the hopper if its under I just pour the whole thing back in and try again.
Ive been measuring every charge before I load it into a case. I know its time consuming but I am looking for extreme precision and I don't mind taking my time.
For loads I stopped at 24.5 (.4 under book max) for .223 and 26gr (.5 under book max) for 5.56. I am getting an average of 2638fps and 2784fps out of .223 and 5.56 respectively with Hornady 73gr ELD's in 35-40 degree weather. No excessive pressure signs from each load and accuracy on par with most factory match ammo. Gold Medal Match is still better but I will eventually dethrone that load.
When it comes to seating and crimping I am running into an issue where I get rings from the seating rod around the tips of my bullets they aren't deep but I assume that cant be good for consistency and it seems like I am really having to push on the load lever pretty hard, some cases it takes more effort to seat the bullet than it did to size them. I have also seen a few extremely thin copper shavings appear around the case mouth that I am certain are coming from the bullet jacket. I do my best to set the bullet in the case perfectly plumb vertically before seating.
Am I doing something wrong when seating my rounds? Or anywhere else in my re loading procedure? Is there anything I can do about the ring being left on my rounds during seating? And should I even worry about that?
Sorry for writing a "How I learned to reload on my summer vacation" short story but I figured the more detail I gave the better the help I would receive.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.
I am new to reloading I got a setup about two weeks ago and have loaded 150rds and don't have any real "issues" I get pretty darn consistent velocity and am not seeing any loss in accuracy compared with most match grade loads so I know I am doing it "right" but I also know I can do better. I got a 2 hour "crash course" in reloading from the guy at the store, he helped me set up my dies and we loaded ammo in the store as he tried to cram as much knowledge into my head as possible in that short amount of time.
I do have a few questions/concerns and hope that you more experienced guys can help me out and maybe give me tips on improving my setup/technique so bear with me as I walk through my process.
I have a Hornady Lock and Load press kit with RCBS dies a Full Length sizing die and a seating/crimping die I'm using a Hornady digital scale and Hornady's powder measure with Lee case trimmer tools. I am loading for .223/5.56 and I have cases segregated and different loads for each case type.
I am hand cleaning my used brass, brake clean for the outside and a good wipe down which is slow but it works and I will invest in a media tumbler later, a primer pocket cleaner and and old bore brush for the inside of the case, I am not going crazy I am just knocking some of the fouling out of the inside, cleaning the primer pocket and making sure the outside is clean and free of any debris that will scratch my dies. I make sure the cases are totally dry before I do anything else.
I then lay cases out on a blue shop towel usually 10 at a time and spray them down with Hornady case lube that came with the kit, I roll them to distribute the lube and remove any excess, the cases have a thin oily film on them, they are slippery but not dripping lube, I inspect the cases before they go into the sizing die. The sizing and de-priming process goes smooth the press goes "over center" and the top of the ram and the die are making light contact. Coming back out I have no issues although some of the case necks are tighter than others and require a bit more force to get beyond the expander ball.
Here is my first question/concern. My book says trim 5.56 to 1.250 but my Lee case trimmer stops cutting at 1.256" I cant screw the dang thing down any more/tighter and a lot of my cases are at 1.255". The guy in the store said as long as they were all the same length between 1.250-1.260 its fine and less trimming means longer case life. Do you all agree? Should I buy a different case trimmer that will actually get down to 1.250? This ammo is mostly going back in the same gun but I also don't want any issues if I do want to load into a different rifle.
I trim to 1.256" on the 50-60% of cases that will actually need it as stated, I debur inside and out and remove primer crimping since most of my brass is Lake City 5.56.
I then install primers using the tool I got with the Hornady kit no issues here. I never touch the primers they go straight from the box to the tool. The remaining primers go into a sealed container with a couple of silica gel packets.
I have CFE223 powder mainly because it was available in 1lb bottles but am happy with my results so far so I bought 2lbs more and I think I will just stick with it I did lose some because I was an idiot and didn't clean/degrease my powder measure before pouring some into it but I realized it as soon as I did it and I didn't load any contaminated powder and I didn't try to save any of the powder that went into the oily powder measure.
I think I have a very good process for metering out powder (And CFE223 meters extremely well) I keep the hopper topped up to about the same level the whole time to keep steady pressure in the powder column.
I have marked the drum and the frame of the measure so I can run the lever, pouring powder into my pan, then I lift it up about 1/3rd of the way and drop the handle from the same height each time.
I found when I was racking/knocking the drum by the handle after each load was measured to knock out any powder stuck in the exit funnel I was getting a lot of .2-3 gr variation and with the "drop method" from the mark I made I get the same amount within the tolerance of my scale which is 1/10th grain about 80% of the time. If its over I knock a tiny amount of powder back into the hopper if its under I just pour the whole thing back in and try again.
Ive been measuring every charge before I load it into a case. I know its time consuming but I am looking for extreme precision and I don't mind taking my time.
For loads I stopped at 24.5 (.4 under book max) for .223 and 26gr (.5 under book max) for 5.56. I am getting an average of 2638fps and 2784fps out of .223 and 5.56 respectively with Hornady 73gr ELD's in 35-40 degree weather. No excessive pressure signs from each load and accuracy on par with most factory match ammo. Gold Medal Match is still better but I will eventually dethrone that load.
When it comes to seating and crimping I am running into an issue where I get rings from the seating rod around the tips of my bullets they aren't deep but I assume that cant be good for consistency and it seems like I am really having to push on the load lever pretty hard, some cases it takes more effort to seat the bullet than it did to size them. I have also seen a few extremely thin copper shavings appear around the case mouth that I am certain are coming from the bullet jacket. I do my best to set the bullet in the case perfectly plumb vertically before seating.
Am I doing something wrong when seating my rounds? Or anywhere else in my re loading procedure? Is there anything I can do about the ring being left on my rounds during seating? And should I even worry about that?
Sorry for writing a "How I learned to reload on my summer vacation" short story but I figured the more detail I gave the better the help I would receive.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.
