Reloading 223 rounds

[Guest Matthew]

Most of my stuff is off backorder and on the way. I have been told that srp are coming in the latest they expect to wait for my order to be filled is the middle of next month. It has been a long wait on those but when I spoke to the person on the phone they said the supply is still there but demand has outpaced supply. That's encouraging because things might go back to normal someday.

I do have some scrounged brass that I am going to use after full length resizing. I have been reading that people are suggesting backing off 10% on the powder charge because of the reduced volume of some of the mil-spec cases.

Is that 10% off the recommended minimum and starting from there. Or 10% overall throughout the recommended minimum and maximum charges of powder?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions on this round.

[Rightwinger]

I usually refer to both my Lyman and Lee reloading books, get the average of the two "middle" loads and start there. Always well below max load.

[leroy]

Matt:_________

Two things to watch out for in military 223 brass. The first is crimped primers. Make sure when you deprime the case, you check to see that the primer wasn't crimped in. If it was; just take your case chamfering tool and ream the primer pocket.

The second is in regard to your concern for the 10% reduction for military cases. If you have a load you like or one that a friend uses; say for an AR; either reduce the load 10% and try it (a chronograph helps here); or simply weigh the 223 cases. Weigh the mil-spec case and a case of the same brand as the load you like and check the difference. If it's close -- say within 10%; I wouldnt worry about loading to the values they use. If the mil-spec case is heavier; I would do the reduction in powder charge and work back up. The weight of the case will give you some indication of internal volume (the "correct" way to measure internal case volume is to fill each case with water, with the water, and convert it to a volume -- it's messy and lots of work for a little bit of info). If you havent bought a sizer die as yet; make sure you buy a small base sizer if you shoot in an AR. The small base sizer sizes the brass to the minimum size for the round and will ensure proper chambering.

Hope this helps,

LEROY