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Posted: 2/8/2009 1:54:01 PM EDT
| Hello all, I've been a lurker on here for a while but i'm going to take the plunge into reloading. I'm still gather info on what direction I will end up(with presses and such) but i'm probalby going to get a single stage to start and then advance up to a progressive. I'm favoriting the Horndy LnL for progressive.. but thats another topic for another time. In the interm before I spend any money on any reloading equiptment I have been following the current cluster of trying to get primers and powder. I was at cabella this weekend but I didnt do enough homework to know if they even had anything of usefulness. So with that I have begain a quest to try to find the basic requirments before sinking money into the other equiptment. I havelooked at a few of those loadingUSA books but I have not looked indepth at the loading manuals set forth by the actual bullet companies. That being said I used the online data base here and started looking for some of the more common primers: CCI 400, FED205's and Rem 7.5's.Couple that with Powder and its impossible to make any type of load. My question is should I locate powder first and then worry about primers or just see what I can get and take it from there? My understanding is that primers are important(but the powder is what dicates). I'm looking to make plinking rounds initally.. and moving up to more percise ones as I require. |
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Welcome to the site and reloading! It is a very rewarding experience that will make you smile each time you fire a round.
Start collecting manuals and books like "The ABC's of reloading" and perusing the FAQ's here for more great info. If you are going to load .223, then CCI 400 or 450's (I like 450's) and Hodgdon h335 are good bets for powder and primers. Above all, be safe. Read until you fully understand whats going on and if you have questions, the guys here will guide you in the right direction. 
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A better way to look at component selection is this -
Choose the cartridge, select the bullet you want to shoot (type and weight), select a gunpowder appropriate for that bullet by consulting load data tables in handbooks (or the manufacturer's on-line data), then find a primer of the correct type to match the load data. You will likely need to substitute a primer of a different make than shown in the load data. Avoid Remington 6 1/2 primers as they are not suitable for .223 Remington loaded to maximum pressure. Since you're starting out, you might want to stick with a magnum small rifle primer such as the Remington 7 1/2 or CCI 41. There are plenty of links in the Reloading Resources to occupy your time with load data until you get a manual. Recommendations for that are in the FAQ's. |
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Welcome to Arfcom, your lurking days are over, and now you need to do some studying.
Read all posts in the Forum Resources, and you will get a general idea of the process of reloading. Get a reloading manual, they will have a "how to reload" section to get you started. If starting with 223, get the Hornaday or Sierra manuals. They both have a special section on loading for gas operated rifles. Begin with 55 gr FMJBT bullets and Ball powder. Don't overlook Wolf primers, the Wolf "223 rem", or Wolf SRM work well in the AR. Stay away from Wolf SR, they are not for the AR. |
| Just called a few local places for prirmers. They all seem to have half-decent prices. I can get FED205 for about 29 CCI 400/450 for 28.50/26.75 REM7.5 for 27.00-30.75 and some FED 205M's for 3.79/100. The rest are all thousand. I'm going to stop in and see what they have for Powder. Any quick recomendations? I was thinking Varget but I dont know any other powders outside of what people listed int he post. |
| Well I just bought 1K of CCI 400 primers and 1K of FED205's. They had 450's there and some REM 7.5's. I bought 1lb of Varget too. They seemed to have alot of IMR and Hodgdon.. some Accurate.. Some Winchester.. and A fair amount of Alliant Powder. Now its time to aquire some bullet books and start looking for a single press. |
| I was looking at some heavier loads cause I have a ne M4 commin and shes in a 1x7 Twist. I bought about 2K of "plinkin" ammo but I'm looking for more accurate loads. 77gr match kings are what i'm after so I can attempt to duplicate the magic MK262 round. However that is an fairly expensive round. And If i'm going to say a class where its more on technique rather than grouping things 200 yards away.. then I want something cheap(55gr). Since I'm brand new I want to expirment with everything just to see whats under the spectrum. Bullet wise I dont dislike any. I'm problay going to be sticking with a hornady single and then getting a progressive as I prove to my buddies I'm not a Cluster. Since I'm going that route I'll get 500 ish Hornday bullets for free but I'm open to anything. I'm working on getting prices for presses from online and local places.... but i leave in a few days for Ohio.... for a month for work. So there isnt any hurry for me to get a press... but rather I'll stock up on the reading end of things. |
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