Help Choosing the grains for my load

[s-works]

55Gr 556
I am shooting 55 grain milspec bullets and am using H335 powder.
I was thinking of going 25.3 Grains on my non-military brass and going 26.5 grains on my military brass? Thoughts?

 

[Cat-Herder]

25.3gr under a 55gr bullet is listed as a max load according to their manual. I'd start 10% less and slowly work it up, checking for signs of overpressure.

With thicker military brass, i dunno, I'd probably go much lower than that....just my .02.


www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Hodgdon%20Basic%20Manual.pdf

 

[sloughfoot]

My advice is to develop a load that you can use in either military or commercial brass. Having two different loads based on the internet myth that military 223 brass is thicker walled might get you into trouble if the loaded rounds get mixed up.

It is nice to look at a 5 gallon bucket of ammo and know that you can safely shoot all of it out of any rifle.

 

[kludge]

http://accurateshooter.net/Downloads/sierra223ar.pdf

 

[Cat-Herder]

From the Sierra manual (5th) in the Gas Gun Reloading section (page 176):

"The conventional wisdom to reduce loads with military brass is familiar to most reloaders and is generally good advice. The rationale here is that the military cases tend to be somewhat thicker and heavier than their civilian counterparts, which in turn reduces capacity and raises pressures. This additional pressure normally requires a one or two grain reduction from the loads shown in most manuals or other data developed with the commercial cases. While this is most often the situation with both 308 Winchester and 30-06 cases, it is less true with the 223 brass . . . . There may be no need for such a reduction with the 223."

I'm certain my Lake City LR brass in .308 is thicker than the Winchester brass I plink with. So, it's kind of a myth, and kinda not, I guess...

Still, the OP's idea of UPPING his loading for use in military brass is a bad idea, especially since the load he was suggesting for his commercial brass was at the max in the Hodgon manual at 25.3, and just under the max (25.7) in the Sierra manual.

I'm not one for trying to tell a man what he should do, but I'd like a few seconds warning on the firing line before you touch any of those off! <skedadle!>

 

[s-works]

all good points...the max in my lymans manual was 27.00 max grain and 24.3 on sugg starting.

I will look to load the mil the same as the other brass.I will do some experimenting. Thanks!

 

[sloughfoot]

My comment about military brass was limited to only the 223/5.56. And it is confirmed in the Sierra Manual that was referenced.

Just for reference, I prep all my match 223 brass every winter. After they are all ready to prime and reload, they are individually weighed and segregated in buckets in 1/2 grain increments. All of these several thousand pieces of brass weigh between 92 and 96 grains. Each bucket has several hundred military and commercial brass mixed in.

The largest majority of brass is in the 4 buckets between 93.5 and 95 grains

It is well known that miltary 30.06 and 7.62X51 brass is heavier than commercial brass like Winchester. That is one reason why Winchester is frequently used by 1000 yard competitors.

 

[Yeah]

Measure the water capacity of your various brass options if you want to run up to max pressure.

"Military" brass is all over the place. Even within a headstamp, some gets contracted out, some doesn't.

 

[sloughfoot]

The thing is, commercial brass is all over the place too as far as case capacity. Except for R-P brass. It is the most consistant I have ever seen.