Hi, I’ve been trying to research reloading 5.56 and I’ve become a little stuck. I done several searches on here, but it just brings up way too many topics to find what I’m looking for.
I’ve read a couple books on the subject, and still couldn’t find what I’m looking for.
I’m trying to figure out what is different in reloading 5.56 vs 2.23. When looking for reloading supplies: IE brass, bullets, and primers. I can’t find anything 5.56; everything is 2.23. Maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places; I don’t know.
Just use .223 Remington data and work up to maximum using a .1 or .2 increment in powder charge. Components are the same. It is the chamber leade specifications and the pressures of some military 5.56 loads that are the difference. The difference is explained in most reloading manuals. Specifically Sierra.
My advise, is just to use .223 data and stay away from the higher pressure 5.56 load data that is floating around on the intertubes.
ha ha… Well, no wonder I can’t find any specific 5.56 brass. I wasn’t aware that the only difference in the two were the loads. Thanks a lot that helps out quite a bit.
I thought there was a bigger difference, because of people on the boards here saying that if you fire .223 out of 5.56 barrel it will be less accurate. So me being gullible I have only been buying 5.56 ammunition thinking it was more accurate than .223 ammunition. And around here 5.56 ammunition is almost impossible to find. Only one place carries it, and that is Gander Mountain. And of course it is at a premium.
Although now that I know physically that there is not any differences, I might be venturing into the world of reloading after all. .223 supplies are quite plentiful.
If you pursue the 5.56 loads and the higher pressures that go with them, be sure to only use military brass. It is thicker for the higher pressures—this means it has less powder volume, which in itself can raise pressures to some extent. Work your way up slowly to the max loads and check for signs of excessive pressures. I saw that Natchez shooters supply (among others) has Lake City BRAND NEW military brass on sale for like $120/1000.
Now let me say that I have found absolutely no justification for these hotter loads for my purposes. The max and near-max .223 loads do quite well without unduly stressing my guns. I do, however make sure to never buy any AR that does not have a 5.56 chamber. That way I can fire any ammo that fits without pressure worries. The idea that a “looser” 5.56 chamber is less accurate is probably true, but the difference is so small that noticing the difference is way beyond my shooting abilities. I just leave that kind of talk to the benchrest shooters.
Thanks, that helps out a lot. I think I have just made up my mind to just shoot .223 from now on. I do have a 5.56 chamber, but why bother, since there is minimal difference between .223 and 5.56.
Now I just need to make the million dollar decision of which equipment to purchase.
Hornady 5th edition manual has 5.56x45 NATO and .223 load data .
TomMcC It’s my understanding that it’s very difficult to get 5.56 velocities, and pressures from off the shelf powders. And to do it safely.
Reloading can be dangerous , if you dont know , why bother telling the world what you THINK MIGHT be true , or what you have HEARD MIGHT be true . Please refrain form speculation .
Tom , your post is wrong . A load of BLC-2 and a 55 grn fmj can be pushed to over 3200 fps , thats MAX and very hot .
Not my table (from 6mmbr). I am convinced that this myth is busted. In 30 Cal and 7.62, the case capacities are smaller and WILL produce higher pressures. Sorry I cannot figure out how to make the numbers align in a table. ?? Always work up your loads*
You will notice that LC has the HIGHEST capacity and thus not the thickest brass. Looking at the internal capacity does not tell you where the brass is thickest or thinest.
Case Manufacturer H20 Capacity**
Lake City 06 30.6
WCC99 30.5
Sellier & Belloit 30.5
Remington 30.4
PMC 30.4
Hirtenberger 30.4
Lake City 04 30.4
Federal 30.2
Hornady 30.1
IMG (Guatemalan) 30.1
Lapua (new lot) 30.1
Winchester 30.1
Olympic 30.0
Radway Arsenal 30.0
PMP 29.9
FNM 93-1 29.8
Lapua (old lot) 28.0 ( this is the odd ball)
I shot many hundreds of XM193 through my 223 SS bull barrel without any problems and it was one of my most accurate ammo except my reloads. I now only shoot 223 through my AR but use the XM193 for my mini-14 …
Using Lake City primed and crimped brass, the only mystery to the equation is the powder type and amount behind a specific bullet. Primed brass is easy enough to find on places like gunbroker, Id like to use it to propel a 62 gr Barnes TSX at M855 velocity. All I have on the bench is TAC right now, any other powder suggestions?
What you will eventually find is that while high in velocity a load may not also be accurate. It’s a balance you will discover with individual firearms you own.
For instance, 24.0 gr of Reloader 15 under a Sierra 77 gr Matchking in a 223 Remington load will not produce “mk262” velocities, but it will produce much better accuracy granted other variables can be ruled out through precision work of your own.
Something that makes 5.56 NATO ammunition what it’s known for is sealed primers, sealed case necks, military purposed bullet constructions, military quality brass, cannelured and crimped bullets, non-canister grade military powders, etc. What makes handloading great is the ability for you to look at military rounds not in ways to imitate them, but in ways to improve them while retaining certain characteristics.
Most 5.56 loads will include a factory primer crimp, for reloading you’ll need to either ream it away or swage it away.
Cartrdige OAL will be limited by mag length, notionally 2.250" - 2.260" max.
5.56 chambers have more generous throat diameters and shallower leade angles than .223 SAAMI chambers, so they are more pressure forgiving. A max pressure load, that’s still safe to fire in a 5.56 chamber, will generate excessive pressure when fired in a SAAMI chamber.
Case life will be longer when just trying to duplicate SAAMI velocities and pressures. I mean you can chase the 5.56 holy grail, but for what reason?
Not looking to chase anything, just want to produce quality ammo to blast away with.
I’m planning on loading for it in a month or two. Is Lake City military brass different than 223 new brass? Is it good for loading with standard 223 dies? Does it have less case capacity and you need to use different load data?
LC is good stuff. You’ll need to ream/swage the primer pocket to remove the factory crimp so you can seat a new primer w/o crushing it.
LC is light, so it has good case capacity. But th brass is decent quality – hard in the head (primer pockets hold tighter longer) and softer/annealed in the shoulder. The best of both worlds.
Dies don’t matter. Just use any whatever brand suits your fancy in .223 – Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Forster, Redding. they all produce good dies.
Resizing dimensions and seating OALs are the same; the difference is in the chamber’s throat/leade where dies don’t have any impact.
Just use published load data, honestly. Just don’t sweat the last 100-150 fps between SAAMI spec and NATO spec. I just don’t think it’s worth worrying about. You can produce high quality, accurate, full SAAMI-spec powered ammo that will run fine in your gun. If you really need the NATO velocity performance for SD, just buy good factory NATO-spec and reload to SAAMI spec for practice/training/plinking.
If you are set on trying to produce NATO-spec loads, then get a chrono. Use published data, and if loading for a NATO-chambered carbine using SAAMI-spec charges, note you can probably get away with going a couple of tenths over book, but proceed at your own risk. That’s where the chrono comes in. You have to pay attention to all indicators – primer condition, case head separation rings, case head expansion, primer pocket expansion and velocity. that’s the biggee – if you get velocity over NATO book you are over NATO pressue and need to back off right away. You’ll be pushing the envelope to reach this level of performance, it’s one of those things that you can say is a bit rewarding going through the process, but I predict once you get there, you’ll be abit underwhelmed. My unsolicited advise – Just stick to full power (not weak mind you) SAAMI loads and you’ll be fine. JMHO.
Ramshot just published military pressure loads for 5.56 62 gr-80gr using Tac and xterminator powder. loaded some 69 gr nosler match over 25.4 gr of Tac (max load) , test fired from my rifle, 16" midlength w/ A5 buffer std weight , no case head smear, no ding from deflector , 3 o’clock ejection pattern about 7-8 feet from firing position, quite accurate
