Ok- total confusion on reloading 5.56 vs. .223

[Win]

Back in the late 80's the standard "Match" (over the course) load was 24.5 grain 4895 with 69 gr Sierra match king in LC brass with Rem small primer......though some used different primers with very similar results. Some swore by IMR 4895 and others by H-4895. Then surplus powders showed up, 4895 got hard to find and all sorts of loads were being used with various results. (This was all with Colt H-Bar rifles).

Now days, it's all re-invent the wheel...try this - try that. If you're not sure what you're looking for, go back to the original formula. It worked for over 20 years. All those Camp Perry shooters must have had some insight as to what worked on the 200, 300 and 600 yard line.

 

[mrwintr]

And since I didn't see it mentioned....

If your AR has a 1 in 9" twist you are probably not going to want to load anything heavier than a 69gr bullet anyway or accuracy will start to suffer. It isn't the weight of the bullet that causes this problem but the length of the bullet. I am guessing that when you find 5.56 NATO loads in your manuals they are probably referring to 69gr and heavier bullets.
When I have some 5.56 head stamped cases, I will load up 4 or 5 of them with a starting load and work up, and at the same time I will load some commercial cases the same and see if there is any noticeable difference....I haven't found any real difference in my AR, point of impact might differ by 1/2" up or down.

 

[RAD57]

I load for a 5.56 VTAC II and a bolt gun in .223. I load the 5.56 in LC & WCC NATO cases. The .223 I load in Federal, Lapua & Winchester cases. Believe it or not the LC & WCC cases have the most volume/capacity followed by Federal, Lapua & Winchester in that order. All 500 of my LC09 cases were once fired and picked up on the range. After cleaning, sizing, trimming, and primer pocket swaging & uniforming I found the LC brass more consistent in weight than my 400 cases of Lapua (also match prepped). Just because it's military don't assume it has less capacity/volume to other brass even if it is slightly heavier ... take some time and check it out for yourself. The primary reason I use the LC & WCC brass in the AR is because it resists dings to the case body during ejection better than my commercial brass.
Now my LC Match 308 brass is heavier and has less volume than my 308 Winchester brass! I think a lot of 5.56/.223 case weight and volume assumptions were created because of the differences in other military vs. civilian brass facts. Don't take my words or anybody else's for fact until you have verified it for yourself.

 

[mmesa005]

Note some of the differences being military vs civilian specifications and the differences in the weapons they are shy from. http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/5-56-vs-223/

 

[beerbelly]

All my brass (military and commercial) get resized in a RCBS .223 X-Die. Also use a Wilson .223 case gauge to "tune in" the die. Everything from 52 grainers to 77 grainers have worked fine in my AR`s and Mossberg MVP. I stick to 50-55 grainers in my old Rem 78 due to a 1x12 or 1x14 twist.
beerbelly

 

[greenejc]

5.56mm and .223 differences.

The .223 and the 5.56 cartridge cases have the same dimensions. The difference is in the bullet seating, bullet weight, pressures, and chamber leade. The .223 was intended to be the civilian version of the military round, but the specifications for the military round were changed after SAAMI accepted the .223 as a commercial cartridge. The 5.56 is loaded to a higher average pressure, and the chamber has a longer throat or leade to accomodate the longer, heavier bullets which are now being loaded for military use. The combination of higher pressures and a longer loaded cartridge length can be dangerous when loaded in a standard .223 chamber, since the bullet can be jammed into the rifling in the barrel, thus causing a dangerous pressure situation. But this only applies to factory ammunition, since you as a handloader have control of both the pressure of your loads and the overall length of your round and depth of seating for each bullet you intend to load. Just follow the loading manuals and don't shoot military 5.56mm in your .223 Remington chamber. Or get your chamber reamed to the Wilde chamber dimensions, which will correct the short leade problem in the .223 and make it safe to shoot military loads in your rifle. Military brass is no problem. It is the military loadings (the loaded military round) that will cause you problems.

 

[Will in Montana]

Full-length vs. Neck-Size vs. Small-Base dies

Depending upon the rifle I'm loading for (and I load for match-grade bolt guns and several brands of ARs), I use different die sets. If I'm loading for a specific bolt gun--and only that bolt gun (.223 Remington marked barrel)--I use neck-size dies, that will minimally size a fired case. This works the brass less and allows the fired brass to better mate up with the rifle's chamber. When I find a load that works well in several different bolt guns, however, I use a full-length sizing die to ensure that all of my handloads will chamber in all of the rifles I plan to use. The AR-15s are a different animal, though (and, to some extent, any semi-automatic .223 or 5.56mm marked firearms would fall into this category). The ARs (and other semi-autos) don't have the camming power of a bolt gun, and ammunition used in them must chamber more easily. For that reason, I use a small-base resizing die for any ammunition I plan to shoot in my ARs. A small-base sizing die reduces the case dimensions to the minimum, which doesn't aid accuracy as much as it improves reliability. Another drawback to this is that the brass is worked much more than with neck-size or full-length sizing dies, and the brass doesn't last as long, but that's the trade-off when you want reliability with your AR handloads. In essence, I treat the .223/5.56 as three different cartridges, depending upon what rifle I plan to use.
Hope that helps (it's accounted for thousands of Montana varmints, so far).
Good shooting.

 

[therewolf]

I agree with worrying more about the things which you
have positive control over at the reloading bench, and less
about the caliber differences.

Sorting ammo by headstamp, and if possible, boxed batch.

Keeping all cases trimmed to the same length.

Overall uniformity of the cases to be reloaded.

This is a lot like folks who over think a change in their diet,
and are so absorbed in weight loss minutiae that they fail
to stick to the original diet plan.

Stick to the basics, and don't beat yourself up over microscopic
details.

 

[gm272gs]

And use Varget.

 

[gregintenn]

I have several coffee cans of brass of varying manufacturers and markings. I use these interchangeably for plinking loads with blem or on sale 55 grain fmj bullets and imr4320. I get around 1moa from several rifles with these loads.

For precise target work, I keep a few 100 pieces of Remington 223 brass separate from the rest. These loaded with 60 grain HP Sierras and ww748 will produce tight cloverleaf 100 yard groups from at least two of my rifles.