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<blockquote data-quote="Jcelt" data-source="post: 3410560" data-attributes="member: 45313"><p>I have reloaded for many years but always straight wall pistol cases. I have been working on getting everything together to reload 223 .I have a lot of range brass and I have cleaned, deprimed, swaged where necessary and trimmed where necessary. I have read this and other forums as well as load data for this round and still have questions.</p><p></p><p>1. I have been shooting factory Federal rounds with a 55 Grain FMJ in a ruger 556 and they have performed well. Their OAL is 1.90 and the brass is 1.45 in length. A lot of what I am reading states to load to an OAL of 2.20-2.25. My Lee load data shows a minimum OAL of 2.20. All there measurements are longer than the factory loads I am shooting which leads to question #2.</p><p></p><p>2. I trimmed with my Lee trimmer to 1.54 and am loading 55 grain FMJBT bullet into dummy rounds with no primer or powder to see how they perform in my rifle ( see photos). I am crimping on the cannelure and my OAL is coming out to 2-2.10 which is longer than the factory rounds but shorter than the 2.20-2.25 everyone seems to recommend.These fit my magazine and have ran through my rifle with the exception of 3 rounds (out of 15) that caused a failure to feed and 2 of them actually had bullet setback where the bullet slipped back into the case. (See photo). This was probably my fault because I was using these to adjust my dies and probably seated them too deep.</p><p></p><p>3. I have read that it is necessary to seat the bullets at least one diameter deep which would be .224. Where I am crimping gives that approximate depth but still shorter than 2.25 OAL. I have some range brass that measures as short as 2.35 so someone has shot those and that leads to next question.</p><p></p><p>4. I am just loading plinking rounds and wonder how critical the brass length is. As mentioned, I have a lot of range brass and they vary from the mentioned 2.35 to long enough that needs trimming. I have had a hard time finding a minimum OAL and wonder about that. I know it is probably best to load in batches with similar brass lengths to make sure the bullet seats correctly but is there really a minimum OAL?</p><p></p><p>I am loading on a Lee Turret Press with their 3 die set. I haven’t purchased any powder yet but considering Varget.</p><p></p><p>I know these are a lot of questions and I am overthinking and over analyzing this but I would rather ask dumb questions than get in trouble on a reload. Thanks for any help.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jcelt, post: 3410560, member: 45313"] I have reloaded for many years but always straight wall pistol cases. I have been working on getting everything together to reload 223 .I have a lot of range brass and I have cleaned, deprimed, swaged where necessary and trimmed where necessary. I have read this and other forums as well as load data for this round and still have questions. 1. I have been shooting factory Federal rounds with a 55 Grain FMJ in a ruger 556 and they have performed well. Their OAL is 1.90 and the brass is 1.45 in length. A lot of what I am reading states to load to an OAL of 2.20-2.25. My Lee load data shows a minimum OAL of 2.20. All there measurements are longer than the factory loads I am shooting which leads to question #2. 2. I trimmed with my Lee trimmer to 1.54 and am loading 55 grain FMJBT bullet into dummy rounds with no primer or powder to see how they perform in my rifle ( see photos). I am crimping on the cannelure and my OAL is coming out to 2-2.10 which is longer than the factory rounds but shorter than the 2.20-2.25 everyone seems to recommend.These fit my magazine and have ran through my rifle with the exception of 3 rounds (out of 15) that caused a failure to feed and 2 of them actually had bullet setback where the bullet slipped back into the case. (See photo). This was probably my fault because I was using these to adjust my dies and probably seated them too deep. 3. I have read that it is necessary to seat the bullets at least one diameter deep which would be .224. Where I am crimping gives that approximate depth but still shorter than 2.25 OAL. I have some range brass that measures as short as 2.35 so someone has shot those and that leads to next question. 4. I am just loading plinking rounds and wonder how critical the brass length is. As mentioned, I have a lot of range brass and they vary from the mentioned 2.35 to long enough that needs trimming. I have had a hard time finding a minimum OAL and wonder about that. I know it is probably best to load in batches with similar brass lengths to make sure the bullet seats correctly but is there really a minimum OAL? I am loading on a Lee Turret Press with their 3 die set. I haven’t purchased any powder yet but considering Varget. I know these are a lot of questions and I am overthinking and over analyzing this but I would rather ask dumb questions than get in trouble on a reload. Thanks for any help. [/QUOTE]
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