223 reloading - worth it?

[sandgroperbill]

...

I'm gobsmacked

[Oldbloke]

Bentaz, they should go well for the foxes.

[Oldbloke]

I grabbed a box of those 55g sierra's too.
I have been using Hornady 55g soft points in my 223, so I thought I would do the basic comparison. Had an old pic of a sectioned Hornady 55g and a Sellier Bellot 55g (with minor damage) so I just added the Sierra 55g 1365k is on the right. Result, they all look much the same to me. My guess is performance for all 3 will be similar

Hornady Sellier Bellot Sierra 55g.JPG (330.07 KiB) Viewed 5287 times

[Oldbloke]

Is it worth it.?
I think it is just for the gain in accuracy, consistancy, & eventually you save a few quid. Not to forget the enjoyment and pleasure af assembling a great load.

[happyhunter]

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[Oldbloke]

The sierra is boat tail, but the others are not. I was thinking more along the lines of terminal performance on foxes. All 55g and the jackets are all about the same thickness.

[bigtone]

i reload for my 223 because its heaps cheaper and i go through so many rounds. accuracy is awesome (1/2 inch group at 100) with factory or reloaded ammo but i think the mossy has about a 23 inch barrel. I can't believe it shoots so straight considering it has just over 200 thou free jump to the lands and has done about 4000 rounds in the 6 months i have had it. The biggest reason for reloading 223 though is price. Its a fiddly little projectile and the primers are tiny and powdering the cases is totally mind numbing, so if you don't commit suicide after reloading 1000 at a time then it was worth the dollar saving!

[happyhunter]

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[happyhunter]

The sierra is boat tail, but the others are not. I was thinking more along the lines of terminal performance on foxes. All 55g and the jackets are all about the same thickness.

If you're concern is wound ballistics the Hornady vmax or sierra SBKs are a better choice for 223 or 222. The gameking is meant to be used at higher velocities, like 22-250 or 220 swift velocities and is heavily constructed so it won't disintegrate mid flight.

Saying that, even a 22LR is terminal on foxes

That will work better for me then i think as I'd been using the hornadys or rabbits and it was absolutely destroying them, not even worth picking up for the dogs, at the slower rate of my very mild 222 load the game kings should be sweet.

What powder are you using in your 222 Rem loads? I'm about to start load development for mine using 50 vmax and the powders are AR2207 and AR2206H. I'll be using once fired PPU brass I saved from the last few nights. The rifle has a 19.5 inch barrel and 1:14 twist.

[happyhunter]

You're not kidding about mild. Sounds like a fun load to shoot. There's no data on traill boss in the ADI manual for 222 but now I know somebody is using it safely I might have a play with it. Thanks for the info

[brett1868]

i reload for my 223 because its heaps cheaper and i go through so many rounds. accuracy is awesome (1/2 inch group at 100) with factory or reloaded ammo but i think the mossy has about a 23 inch barrel. I can't believe it shoots so straight considering it has just over 200 thou free jump to the lands and has done about 4000 rounds in the 6 months i have had it. The biggest reason for reloading 223 though is price. Its a fiddly little projectile and the primers are tiny and powdering the cases is totally mind numbing, so if you don't commit suicide after reloading 1000 at a time then it was worth the dollar saving!

You my friend desperately need a Dillon XL650 progressive press
Once you get a rhythm going you can smash out around 300+ rounds per hour with the same level of precision as doing it by hand. I put 200 rounds of 44Mag through last night in under an hour not counting the time it took to unlock the powder, primers and load the press then cleanup and case gauge afterwards. I have a backlog of almost 2000 .223 cases at the moment pending the arrival of a carbide die cause I stuffed my Hornady one due to poor lubrication (I stuffed up). When I get the workshop a bit tidier I'll post some videos of the Dillon in action on .223

[ebr love]

Reloading means a bit better ammo for a bit less coin.

If you got the time/inclination it's worth it

[colinbentley]

I bought a 222 about six months ago and had no intention of reloading. .Like you I thought it wasn't worth it, but I found my rifle didn't like factory loads too much so I began reloading. It's not the cost but now shooting half inch groups at 100 meters. (the new scope helps too)