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Old 07-12-2017, 11:49 AM
hdwhit hdwhit is offline
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Location: North Texas
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When I can get it, I prefer IMR-4198 for my 223 loads. 19 grains will put a 55 grain bullet into the 3,000 fps range while a similar velocity would require 23 grains of Benchmark, 25 grains of WW-748 or 25 grains of Varget. And since those powders all sell locally for about the same price per pound, the ability to get nearly 100 extra rounds for the same money is important to me.

I buy range brass from various internet sellers. After I clean, size and (if a bottleneck cartridge) trim it, I sort the cases by headstamp (and year if applicable) and when I have 50 matching cases, I will load them.

I use whatever small rifle primers I can get.

I use Hornady 60 grain spire soft point or spire hollow point bullets for serious work and cheap 55 grain FMJ for playing.

I have an RCBS single stage press and I use standard (not small base) dies to load for two Ruger Mini-14s and two S&W M&P-15 rifles. In all cases, small base dies have not proven necessary.

I use a Forster case trimmer. I trim all "new to me" brass when it is first processed into my reloading stream. I know from past experience that it will be "lost in the weeds" before it needs to be trimmed again.

Quote:
Hotshot wrote:
...would be your favorite loads...
No. No. No.

My "standard" load of 20.3 grains of IMR-4198 under a Hornady 60 grain bullet (per Hornady Handbook #4) is NOT a load you should start with. It is, in fact, ABOVE maximum load per Hornady Handbook #8.

Consult your manuals and recognize the lower loads on the lefthand side of the table are called "STARTING" loads for a reason. Start there and then increase subsequent loads by 1/10 or 2/10 grain each time until you either get a load that shoots consistently and works the action of your gun OR if you start to see pressure signs.

Doing anything else is just a recipe for acquiring the nickname "lefty" or "one eye".
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