just put together 19 rounds of ammo to try out my new lee press.
used full length resizing die, factory crimper, cases are trimmed to correct length, and i followed the sierra reloading manual’s recommended case size.
this is with hornady/midway 55 grain fmjbt cheapo bullets. i went by the recommended OAL of 2.250. mine ended up more like 2.247. seems like the crimp lies on the very edge of the knurled region (probably a proper term for that…)
this is going in a 5.56 chamber AR15.
Congrats!
If you want, you could seat them a tad deeper so more of the cannelure is buried. It won’t hurt anything.
Just make sure you FL resize your cases, lube them so you don’t stick them in the die, trim cases to length and you are GTG.
Just watch out and stay safe. I crimped some ammo in and it went to 2.14 I need to pull them and reseat em but I am in the middle of doing 1K. If they get too short like mine make sure you keep them away from your other rounds. Mine are in my bedroom just because its a floor away from the reloading room.
I would keep it around where you have it. Maybe a little farther down if you want but seems like a good round.
What is the minimum OAL for .223/5.56 ammunition? Reloading manuals only state max OAL.
I trim my cases to 1.755 and seat the 69 grain SMK to 2.258
If you’re using a “Taper Crimp Die” (preferred) versus a “Roll Crimp” (which is standard is a traditional die set, you will experience shrinking of length. Always use a “Taper Crimp Die” for any Semi-auto cartridges. It should not shorten in the crimp stage!
The bullet you are using BTW is a very accurate bullet, regardless of the price. Have shot 10,000 of them with sub MOA accuracy. Loading at the cannelure is the preferred length given that your brass is trimmed to spec.
For anything up to 75 gns., the rule of thumb is to seat the bullet to where it clears the inside of the Mag and you’re GTG. There are no benefits of seating it shorter. Actually, the longer the seating depth, the more reliable your feeding will be. as the nose will contact the feed ramp sooner in the forward cycle heading off a “Nose Dive” into the barrel extension.
Seat them to where you can just see the front edge of the cannelure on a properly trimmed case.
Not necessarily good advice. Cannalure position varies widely from bullet to bullet, and even within the same make of bullet (WIN FMJBT W/Cs for a good example)
I have Hornady, Priv, and WIN 55 gr FMJBT W/C right now, and all of them have the canalure in different locations. On the Privs, you can’t see any of the cannalure when the bullet is seated. On the Hornadys you can see almost ALL of the cannalure. All of them feed and run just fine.
Honestly never noticed this wih the 10,000 or so rounds of Hornady 55 Gn. FMJBT w/c I’ve loaded. It’s all been within a few thousandths.
I gues it’s always best to go with the manuals, or the max seating depth to fit it into the Mag.
so as long as you can see the canalure, and it clears a mag you’re good go to?
Yeah…I need to clarify…
Ideally, your cases should be trimmed to proper length, and when you seat to the factory depth on 55 Gn. FMJBT w/c, you will see a portion of the cannelure.
If you don’t have a cannelure (Match Type Bullets) I think it’s best to seat as long as possible…as long as they fit in the Mag. This will assure better accuracy, as the bullet will have less “Jump” to get to the lands in the barrel.
Seating profectiles deeper that what is stated in your loading data can cause increases in pressure.
Don’t vary more than a few thousanths from what your book says regardless of where your casemouth is in relation to the cannalure.