Loading for an ar15

[impalaSS]

I am getting back in to reloading. Picked up a Hornady LNL AP. I have loaded lots of pistol calibers in the past with my lee turret press then life and my kids caught up with me. I am looking to reload for my .223 ar-15 its a DPMS 20" bull barrel with a 1-9 twist. Having never loaded rifle rounds it is a little more involved than straight wall pistol rounds i'm discovering as i research. My main goal is an accurate target round that is somewhat cheap to relaod I like to shoot out to 415yds so as little drop as possible. I picked up a pound of hogdon BL-2C to try and some winchester WSR primers I would like to hear what powder, bullet type and weight, and primers are working good in your similarly setup AR's. Thanks in advance Daniel.

 

[Osage48]

I think you gotten off to a good start with the BL-C2 as your powder. I would probably try a boattail bullet in the 55 to 62 gr range like a V-max or Nosler BT and see what shoots best for you. Cheapest bullets maybe the Win FMJ boattails. These might shoot well for you, but they don't do as well on varmints as the soft nose.

 

[Old Fart]

I have little input for AR's.
But welcome back to the dark side.

 

[technetium-99m]

For fantastic accuracy I use Lapua brass, CCI BR4's, TAC, and Hornady 75gr BTHP's.

For very good accuracy I load LC brass, Wolf SR, AA2230 or TAC, and Nosler 55gr Ballistic tips, with the Hornady FMJ's a close second (they are darn good FMJ's and cheap in bulk).

I like AA2230 over BL-C(2) for 55gr bullets, with a 20" barrel you will be able to chase 3200 fps with 2230.

Get a comparator and make sure you get at least 2 thou. setback on the shoulder of your cases for reliable function. Dillon's case lube is the best stuff around.

Thus sums up my 223 loading thoughts.

 

[grwd]

Prepping range brass is a chore.
If reloading for cheap plinking ammo is the goal, you gotta do all the steps to prep brass. Gotta trim them.

 

[impalaSS]

I already have the BL-2 so im gonna use what i have. I have been reading alot of good things about varget powder the only down side that i have heard is it dosent meter well in all powder drops. also I will look into the AA2230 havent looked into accurate powders much. I am going to try some of the 55 grain FMJBT bulk hornady ammo. There really isnt any selection in the heavier bullets when looking to buy in bulk. This may be an ignorant question but why are the heavier 68 and 75 grain BTHP bullets always considered the match bullets? I would think that a 52-55 grain BTHP would have a flatter flight pattern given less weight and more velocity.

 

[philipxhuff]

I think the heavier bullets have less effect from wind. I just ordered my bcg and jars trigger yesterday to finish my bull barrel ar so I don't have any experience loading for it yet but I do load for bolt rifles. I finally decided to spend the extra time to trim and weigh every brass and in my opinion eliminated mysterious flyers. I write the weight of each trimmed brass on the side with a sharpie and lay them in order from lightest to heaviest and shoot them in that order so there isn't any drastic change in case volume. The first time I did it I shot 15 3shot groups without any flyers and feel like I'm waisting bullets if I don't weigh my brass now. With 1 in 9 twist I'd go with 55-65 gn bullet. With my 308 1 in12 twist I tried to get a load with 175gn bullets and couldn't get them under an inch so that made me a believer in shooting bullet weights that are recomended for your twist rate.

Anyways idk what I'm gonna load for my ar yet but I'm thinking a bowtail vmax or nosler ballistic tip. There cheap. You can hunt with them too. And they sell them at bass pro.

 

[technetium-99m]

I never got good results with Varget and 223. I quit wasting it and just use it for 308 now.

The Hornady bullets will make you a happy person, give the Nosler's a try though. With both of them 25gr of AA2230 always did well for me.

Hornady sells the 75gr bullets by the 600, and nosler sells a 77gr bullet by the 1000 for $140.

 

[technetium-99m]

This may be an ignorant question but why are the heavier 68 and 75 grain BTHP bullets always considered the match bullets? I would think that a 52-55 grain BTHP would have a flatter flight pattern given less weight and more velocity.

Several offerings in the 50gr range for match bullets, I remember Sierra making a 52gr match bullet at least.

You can really crank up the speed on the heavies but the little bullets will be "flatter" due to their velocity and will give you everything the heavies will inside of 300 yards, I know of at least one iron's shooter who uses 55gr bullets for everything and has the utmost in confidence with them out to beyond 400 yards.

 

[impalaSS]

Can you get the Dillon case lube locally or is that an online only purchase?