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Posted: 3/15/2010 3:42:34 PM EDT
| Ok im getting ready to get into some reloading. first timer. I'v got Hornady 55gr fmj bt, once fired PMC brass, hodgdon h4198 and CCI Magnum small rifle primers #450. from what i'v read i should be good right?? Im not looking for long distance accuracy 100yds and it gos bang. |
Not EVEN close. Have you looked up your C.O.L. ? What about your powder charge ? ROOKIE. We all have to start someplace and Rookie is where we launched from. Welcome to the platform. IMR is made by Hodgdons and they have a website. Your loading rifle with Hornady bullets so having Hornady's book is a plus. Always reference powder manufcturers website for charge weights and buy Richard Lee's 2nd Edition loading manual. It's the one book that will get just get you by. Reading from page 155 in the Hornady 7th edition manual. Your C.O.L. is 2.200. 17.4 grains of IMR4198 will get you 2800fps, 18.2 gr 2900, 19.1 gr 3000, 20.0 gr is max for 3100fps. Start low and work your way up. Good Luck, Don't blow your gun up. 
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Looks like you have stuff you can work with. From http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp I found this data, it doesn't specify which primers they use, so as always, start with the min load, make some test loads in increments to the max load and test fire them starting with the lowest powder charges first, stop as soon as you see any over pressure signs like flattened primers
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All the PMC brass I have loaded had tight primer pockets and the PP's were crimped.
I uniform the PP's and remove the primer crimp before loading. Only have to do this the first time you load the cases. Read the FAQ's at the top of the page, Good info up there. Don't miss the 4 part Tutorial on reloading 223. |
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Quoted:
Not EVEN close. Have you looked up your C.O.L. ? What about your powder charge ? ROOKIE. We all have to start someplace and Rookie is where we launched from. Welcome to the platform. IMR is made by Hodgdons and they have a website. Your loading rifle with Hornady bullets so having Hornady's book is a plus. Always reference powder manufcturers website for charge weights and buy Richard Lee's 2nd Edition loading manual. It's the one book that will get just get you by. Reading from page 155 in the Hornady 7th edition manual. Your C.O.L. is 2.200. 17.4 grains of IMR4198 will get you 2800fps, 18.2 gr 2900, 19.1 gr 3000, 20.0 gr is max for 3100fps. Start low and work your way up. Good Luck, Don't blow your gun up. Knock it off; teach without condescension. This is a hard thing some times, but in the end you'll be better for the restraint. I'm guilty of the same thing, and it's something I have to fight sometimes. |
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I think that you'll be surprised with the accuracy of that load. I've found very few wildly inaccurate loads in loading .223 although some are more accurate than others.
I'd recommend that you get any reloading manual, like hornady's for more background and guidance. Plus you're getting good advice here, and we all start somewhere. Good luck, it's a lot of fun and addictive. |
| You've got the right components to get started. There's lots of good advice here, especially if you can tune out the smart alec's. The only real important thing your missing is a good reloading manual as stated above. A good reloading manual is like a bible and will serve you well. Many of us have collections of relaoding books from years of experimenting with new loading data. |
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I have had excellent results with IMR 4198. I don't load bullets heavier than 55g with it because it is long extruded powder and fills up the case fast. You should be good with the components you have. I would recommend purchasing the 2008 Nosler Reloading Book for referencing. This is one of the newer editions out there and has great info ... not only does it tell you what powder charges you can use, but it also tells you what velocities to expect with minimum, and progressively heavier loads.
Sarg |
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Quoted:
Ok im getting ready to get into some reloading. first timer. I'v got Hornady 55gr fmj bt, once fired PMC brass, hodgdon h4198 and CCI Magnum small rifle primers #450. from what i'v read i should be good right?? Im not looking for long distance accuracy 100yds and it gos bang. H4198 is fast for a 55 grain bullet. It will work, but you will not get the highest speeds possible with safe charge weights. H4198 is a great gunpowder for bullets on the light end up to about 50 grains weight, and the grain size is small so it runs through a measure pretty well. Stay within published load data with this gunpowder and you will be okay, and I expect you will get good results. IMR 4198 is a whole nuther propisition when it comes to metering in a measure. The grains are very long, but small diameter and this gunpowder doesn't meter worth a hoot through a Uniflow, you'll get lots of cut grains that interupt smooth operation and cause large charge variation. |
| What others have stated about having multiple reference manuals is right on. Pick up as many loading manuals "even used ones" at a local gun shop as you can find. Its the PROCESS that is the most important aspect of loading and not simply matching up components that will give you an accurate and reliable load. As far as your components go " there are 4" your brass case is the most important of these. Learning to not just size but to uniform your cases is what gives you the most return in terms of accuracy as well as reliabillity. Some will argue this point with me but they've not studied or competed in long distance competition. Sure you need the right primer, but there are probably several that will do, and you need a powder with the right burning rate but again there are several that will do for most any loading combination, and of cource a quality bullet of the right wieght range for the rifling twist of your weapon and there are many availabe for most any calliber, made from everything from lead and lead core steel core and solid copper slugs and a few other oddballs. I'd suggest you find a friend who also loads even a local gunsmith and ask him to show you about uniforming primer pockets, deburing flash holes, and more importantls neck trimming and neck turning. Gotta go! Yeah and ignore people who call you rookie,we are all rookies at something! |
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Those are great bullets for your mission. They are impressively accurate for a FMJ. head and heels above the winchester version.
Also the magnum primer is a great choice for the AR. You'll avoid pierced primers with them because they're thicker. FL size your brass. You can follow the manufacturer die setup directions and you will be ok but your brass will likely be overworked due to seating the shoulder back to factory spec which is more than needed and tough on the brass. If you use special headspace tools you can set up your dies to push the shoulder back to the ideal loacation for your specific rifle and not overwork the brass. read the stickies above, read a real manual to include the how to section not just the data parts. Several books are better than 1 book. if you only get one book for now, get an up to date modern one preferably of the brand of bullets you like. I'd suggest another powder; ball powders are pretty simple; W748, BLC2, H335 are good candidates for that bullet weight. You can use an extruded powder for sometimes better accuracy but they're slower to measure and use. For your purpose ball powder would be the way to go. Good luck, go slow, ask questions and have fun. |
| My favorite load with that powder is 20.6 grains of H-4198 w/Sierra 52 grain MK's which is also my rifle's maximum load. My 26" Winchester Model 70 gets 3177 fps on that charge of powder. I found I reached maximum in my rifle a whole grain lower than published maximums, so be careful. Accuracy is fantastic. It's also a good bullet/powder combination for carbine gas systems. It's easier on the cycling. |
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Quoted:
Not EVEN close. Have you looked up your C.O.L. ? What about your powder charge ? ROOKIE. We all have to start someplace and Rookie is where we launched from. Welcome to the platform. IMR is made by Hodgdons and they have a website. Your loading rifle with Hornady bullets so having Hornady's book is a plus. Always reference powder manufcturers website for charge weights and buy Richard Lee's 2nd Edition loading manual. It's the one book that will get just get you by. Reading from page 155 in the Hornady 7th edition manual. Your C.O.L. is 2.200. 17.4 grains of IMR4198 will get you 2800fps, 18.2 gr 2900, 19.1 gr 3000, 20.0 gr is max for 3100fps. Start low and work your way up. Good Luck, Don't blow your gun up. Careful here. Sure, Hogdton and IMR had some kind of merger but that doesn't mean you should ever interchange their powder weights charge per charge. Get any manual and read it. It will tell you the same thing. Be careful of advice given over the intranez, no matter what the website is. IMR 4198 is not H4198 |
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