Looking for good loads.
Also do you feel crimping is necessary for the AR??

55-grain FMJBT, 27.0/W748. I have never crimped my loads, no problem. It 'might' be a problem if your expander ball or sizing die are not on the minimum side.



.

Nosler 77-grain or Hornady 75 grain over 24.0 grains of Win748. That's the max load for both so approach with caution.

LWD

55-SP - Sierra: 24" barrel

RL-7...- 20.5 - 3028fps - 44421
Varget.- 26.5 - 3244fps - 54767
748....- 27.0 - 3350fps - 55911
H322...- 22.0 - 3001fps - 39771

All fps and pressure is Quickload. My AR likes RL7

24 grns of WC844 under a Hornady 55 FMJBT and no crimp

SMK 52 or 53, 55 FMJ 25 grains of H335.

If you have a 7 or 8 twist barrel, 77 SMK and 24 grains Varget. Hornady 75 was a little slower with same load.

Edit to add: No crimp, if your bullets move undr recoil you should look at eithe the expander ball or how many times your brass has been loaded. I have heard that TAC works better with a slight crimp though.

for years my standard load was 26.5 gr H335 and a nosler BT. but i found all my ar's prefered the 60 -63 graid bullets anth a grain less h335. - nice to find out when i've got 50m loade3d with 55 gr noslers

My first loads I had bullet movement on the un-fired rounds in the magazine. I removed the expander from my die set and polished it in my drill press with 320 grit paper. No more movement.

My go to for my comando ar copy is .55 grain fmj and 26.5 grains of 748 with any small rifle primer. I shoot this load in both the comando and my mini-14.

Any one using 64gr or 69gr? What powders have you tried?

55 gr FMJ or 55 gr NBT 23.2 gr AA2200

60 gr NPT 24.4 gr RL-15

69 gr SMK 24.0 gr RL-15

77 gr SMK 23.6 gr RL-15 (cautions but very accurate)

In my rifles group size WW 748 > BL(C)-2 > H335 > AA2200 > RL-15

I have also had the best results with RL15 and the 69 and 77 Sierras.

I worked this load up for an AR with a 1:7 twist barrel. Surprisingly, it's the load my 1:10 twist bolt gun likes best.

You also don't need a crimp even if the cartridges are to be shot in a semiauto.

Depending on your barrel twist rate:
40 gr Z-Max 27.5 gr TAC
50 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip 26.0 gr TAC
55 gr Nosler Varmageddon 26.0 gr Varget
These all work very well in my 1 in 8" S&W M&P-15 Sport, as well as in my bolt action rifles. No crimp used, although I have a Lee Factory Crimp die. Haven't seemed to need it.

My best groups to date are with IMR4895, level full to the top of a Winchester case, 60gr Nosler partition, and CCI BR-4 primers. Out of my 1/9 5.56 chamber it consistantly shoots 5/8" groups.

Has anyone tried H322 in the AR??

Since it's a fine stick powder, similar to 4895, I was thinking it might produce similar groups, with less fuss.

Crimping, yes.

From Sierra.

Neck Tension

When we stop to consider the vigorous (read, downright violent) chambering cycle a loaded round endures in a Service Rifle, it becomes pretty clear it suffers abuse that would never happen in a bolt-action. This is simply the nature of the beast. It needs to be dealt with since there is no way around it.

There are two distinctly different forces that need to be considered: those that force the bullet deeper into the case, and those that pull it out of the case. When the round is stripped from the magazine and launched up the feed ramp, any resistance encountered by the bullet risks having it set back deeper into the case. Due to the abrupt stop the cartridge makes when the shoulder slams to a halt against the chamber, inertia dictates that the bullet will continue to move forward. This is exactly the same principle a kinetic bullet puller operates on, and it works within a chamber as well. Some years ago, we decided to examine this phenomenon more closely. During tests here at Sierra’s range, we chambered a variety of factory Match ammunition in an AR-15 rifle. This ammunition was from one of the most popular brands in use today, loaded with Sierra’s 69 grain MatchKing bullet. To conduct the test, we chambered individual rounds by inserting them into the magazines and manually releasing the bolt. We then repeated the tests by loading two rounds into the magazine, chambering and firing the first, and then extracting and measuring the second round. This eliminated any potential variation caused by the difference between a bolt that had been released from an open position (first round in the magazine) and those subsequent rounds that were chambered by the normal semi-automatic operation of the rifle. Measuring the rounds before chambering and then re-measuring after they were carefully extracted resulted in an average increase of three thousandths (0.003") of forward bullet movement. Some individual rounds showed up to seven thousandths (0.007") movement. Please bear in mind that these results were with factory ammunition, normally having a higher bullet pull than handloaded ammunition.


Link.

http://www.exteriorballistics....ics/gasgunreload.cfm

I crimp all my semi-auto ammo with the Lee Factory Crimp die.
Not only does it secure the bullet it improves accuracy.

10 rounds each target.

Nice shooting there steve4102, I have wanted to buy a lee factory crimp die and after seeing your groups I will order one...............

Thanks for posting the photos.

burgie

I don't crimp for one reason.....I feel it reduces case life

I'd like to thank you all for the great info!!
And a Happy Thanksgiving.

I would trade case life for improved accuracy.

lee factory crimp .. on nearly everything that i own and they make it for ... and then some

I have not been (crimping) but after seeing those result I may have to reconsider.

How does the Lee crimp die work on bullets with no canellure?

quote:

Originally posted by JoeDemocko:
I would trade case life for improved accuracy.

So would I but in various tests I've done, I've only found it to improve accuracy in some 45 Colt loads and possibly in a couple of rifle loads with Barnes TSX bullets.

quote:

Originally posted by BigNate:
I have not been (crimping) but after seeing those result I may have to reconsider.

How does the Lee crimp die work on bullets with no canellure?

The test I ran was with cheap MidSouth Varmint Nightmare HP bullets, No Cannelure.

Don't forget this test done by Accurate Reloading.

http://www.accuratereloading.com/crimping.html

The LFCD can also screw up your accuracy. There is another little test using the LFCD.

When I purchase a Lee Factory Crimp die for .223 do I need their Shellholder or will a universel shellholder from Hornady work with this crimper? Midway suggests that you must purchase a shellholder along with the Crimp die.
Thanks, Stockdoc

quote:

Originally posted by stockdoc:
When I purchase a Lee Factory Crimp die for .223 do I need their Shellholder or will a universel shellholder from Hornady work with this crimper? Midway suggests that you must purchase a shellholder along with the Crimp die.
Thanks, Stockdoc

The shell holder that works in your press will be fine. The only reason Midway says "shell holder sold separately" is because most Lee die sets come with shell holder. Their individual dies do not.

http://www.midwayusa.com/produ...mp-die-223-remington

Thanks Steve.
Stockdoc