My excitement is another's mundane. First rifle loads.

[Ditchdigger]

I am very excited to load my very first rifle cartridges. Three so far. I've been doing a lot of research and reading but nothing compares to getting in there and making it happen.

As of now here are my components, .223 Remington: Winchester brass,
Winchester small rifle primers
Alliant RL-15 powder
Hornady 75 grain hpbt

Starting at 20 grains of powder moving up .5 grain until max. 3 rounds each. Keeping oal set to fit my AR mag.

Oh, and I'll be using these in a Colt 6920 with 1 in 7 twist barrel.

I plan to perfect this load then shop for more economical components after I make it around my learn curve. I understand that the stock colt is not meant to drive tacks but I don't want to mass plink with sub par ammo, not knowing what the rifle is capable of.

Any thoughts or comments are looked forward to and appreciated. M'lady's x-bolt 7mm08 will be next.


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[Clovishound]

I loaded pistol calibers for years before loading my first rifle round, .223. It was strangely satisfying to load the bottleneck cartridges.

I will shortly begin loading for one of the big boys, 30-06.

 

[revolver_ph]

Appropriate powder and bullets.

Not sure what you mean by OAL to fit mags. Are you putting the bullets out to just barely fit the mag? 2.25" is what Hornady indicates.

What are you calling max load with the RL-15? Around 24 gr?

 

[MichiganScott]

Good plan, except I'd probably go up by 0.3 grains. It doesn't take much in a .223 to go over max. Another thought - the Colt is chambered in 5.56 NATO. Max for .223 will still be less than max in a NATO chamber, so 0.5gr should not be an issue. Just try feeding a couple of your first handloads to be certain that resizing, OAL, etc. is not an issue.

RL-15 is hard to beat in a 7mm-08, particularly behind a Ballistic Tip or TTSX. My wife has killed antelope at close to 400 yards, elk at close to 200, and deer at powder burn distances.

 

[Ditchdigger]

Appropriate powder and bullets.

Not sure what you mean by OAL to fit mags. Are you putting the bullets out to just barely fit the mag? 2.25" is what Hornady indicates.

What are you calling max load with the RL-15? Around 24 gr?

Yes OAL is at 2.25. From my reading about rifle accuracy and reloading , many times a bullet (especially heavy for caliber) are loaded out to greater lengths to lessen bullet jump to the rifling. But the AR (as opposed to a bolt gun) is limited by the mag size.

As far as max load, I don't recall what the book said, but yes no matter how the case looks or feels I will not exceed that. I'm using hornady vol 10.


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[Ditchdigger]

Good plan, except I'd probably go up by 0.3 grains. It doesn't take much in a .223 to go over max. Another thought - the Colt is chambered in 5.56 NATO. Max for .223 will still be less than max in a NATO chamber, so 0.5gr should not be an issue. Just try feeding a couple of your first handloads to be certain that resizing, OAL, etc. is not an issue.

RL-15 is hard to beat in a 7mm-08, particularly behind a Ballistic Tip or TTSX. My wife has killed antelope at close to 400 yards, elk at close to 200, and deer at powder burn distances.

I haven't even looked far enough ahead to shop powders or bullets for the 7mm-08, but appreciate the info. I was so proud to show her my first .223 rounds and all she could say was "those aren't 7's, I can't use them".




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[rwsmith]

I've been doing this almost 40 years..

...and it's still exciting to try out something new. My first shots I turned my head away just in case. After I got a little confidence, I didn't do that. Something about a shiny bottleneck rifle cartridge says, "sleek power". Also, you DO save money if you shoot a lot of rifle.

You are a little bit limited with a semi auto because of the acceptable range to operate the action, but it's still fun to experiment and tweak. I have a bolt 30-06 and I shoot everything from 'youth' loads that feel like a .22 to cannon proportions.

 

[Ditchdigger]

...and it's still exciting to try out something new. My first shots I turned my head away just in case. After I got a little confidence, I didn't do that. Something about a shiny bottleneck rifle cartridge says, "sleek power". Also, you DO save money if you shoot a lot of rifle.



You are a little bit limited with a semi auto because of the acceptable range to operate the action, but it's still fun to experiment and tweak. I have a bolt 30-06 and I shoot everything from 'youth' loads that feel like a .22 to cannon proportions.

And this is exactly why a bolt gun is in my near future! I need to do some more thinking on brand and caliber. So many choices, so few winning lotto tickets


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