I just got my first AR a Stag model 2. I have ordered dies & shellplate for my Hornady L-n-L press. Now I’m looking for practice load. Any suggestions for new guy.
Thanks.
One of the board favorites is 24.5 grains of TAC and 55 gr hornady FMJ bullets.
Cheap, accurate, and runs on all gas systems I’ve tried.
Asking that question, you are going to get a bunch of different answers. You’ll probably end up not knowing which way to turn. I suggest reloading manuals. You need to determine what bullet you want to load. You’ll need to select a powder(or two) that you can try. Start with recommended loads from your manuals, and go from there. Trying to duplicate military practice type 556 loads may not be the best thing to do when first starting out. Make up some moderate loads from your manuals. And shoot a bunch. There are many good powders available. I use H335 a lot. It is readily available to me locally. Varget is slightly more accurate in my guns. But 335 is very close. I have also used Benchmark. 335 meters very well and is cheaper for me. Good luck. Once you get started, if you have questions. Don’t hesitate to ask.
Since you have the same press that I have, I would suggest that you stay away from Hodgdon 4895 powder(I beleive this is called stick powder). It does meters good enough going in but on your down stroke some of the powder causes the mechanics of the powder dispencer to bind up and will cause improper loading of the powder in that round and the next if you are not watching it.
QC all your rounds as they come off the press to include its weight with powder. Trust me on this one.
+1 to what markm said
I have tried Hodgdon Benchmark, Varget, 4895, and 335, Accurate 2230, and Vihtavuori 135 but have not tried TAC yet.
The best accuracy in my target guns has been with 335 and V 135, the latter shoots the cleanest of all of them. For plinking 2230 is pretty cheap when bought in bulk and works just fine for my needs.
I’ll second the TAC & 55 Hornady FMJ (/w Cannelure) load mentioned above. It proved to shoots good in a 1x7 middy that happens to not like IMI M193.
TAC is also my powder of choice for 77 grain precision loads; giving very good long range accuracy in my SPR. Check the Sierra manual. TAC is a ball powder and meters well through my Dillon progressive.
Any 55gr FMFBT projectile (I use prvi.partizan) and 24.0 gr of H-335. Great load for plinking, you can get right around 3oo loads out of 1 pound (I buy 8 pound containers of H-335) The prvi.partizans are very cheap bulk projectiles. Use a wolf small rifle magnum primer. It has a harder cup which helps prevent slam fires, if you can get CCI41 primers, use those. As for cases, I like Winn-NT 5.56, but Lake City cases are good. You can find all of these materials here…www.wideners.com
+1 im running 24g H335 and 55g bulk IMI bullets shoots great in my LMT piston and my Light weight DD rifle
I second the TAC load. It’s the rifle power I use the most. Works for 5.56,308 and 30/30.
I wish it would work for 6.8 spc and 50 beowulf, but alas it won’t…
-dave
Bulk 55gr projectiles. I have been using Montana gold. They are cannelured and accurate and don’t vary much in length.
H335 powder 24 - 24.5 grains is perfect
wolf small rifle magnum.
For what it’s worth the Speer manual range is 24-26 grains.
I believe my load closley emulates a 5.56mm m193 round with the exception of the actual powder load. But I get good groups with my ar15 1:9 twist and an eotech at 100yds
I actively avoid a round that approaches 5.56mm pressures since 99 percent of my shooting is inside of 200 yards. I find no need to put the extra wear and tear on my weapons.