Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles AR 15 Load Questions

I was browsing the Hornady 9th edition load manual. They list many loads for the .223 round and the 53 grain V-Max.

I have a little powder to work with, and several types of primers.

Here is my powder selection...

IMR 3031
BL-C(2)
W-748
H-335

I plan to try the book loads for an AR 15 i am loading for. I would like the input of any of you who may have used any of these powders. I need to know about crimping and what types of crimp you used. What sort of accuracy did you get in your AR and what was your scope mount/scope combo?

Thanks guys.

Any of the powders, NO crimp and use RP 71/2 or WSR primers only also LC or Win cases only. Hard brass and hard cup primers.-Muddy

My Les Baer. Super Varmint Master Heavy Barrel AR will put 5 of those bullets in one ragged hole at 100 yards using H-335. I'll have to look up my load.

My Rem R-15 will put 5 rounds of that same load into 1/2" at a 100 yards.

How hard are TULA primer cups? I can get any of the mentioned primers, but i am curious.

CHL, are you using a crimp or not? And what kind of optics setup are you using? I was going to recommend a Burris PEPR mount and a 3-9 for 200 yard coyote hunting and jump shooting bunnies.

No crimp. Both of my Heavy Barrel AR-15's have Leupold VXR 4x12's on them. All of my other AR's have Eotech's.

Any experience with the PEPR mount? I hear good things. I want to try one myself someday.

Forgot to mention. That's the mount I'm using on my Remington R-15. I lover the PERP
Just have extra high Warne QD Rings on my Les Baer.

If you want a hard primer cup, skip the Winchesters and use CCI's. As for Tula primers, you have to ask yourself how many billions if not trillions of AK bullets have been sent down range with a Tula primer.

3 of your 4 powders are ball powders, use magnum primers with them but stick to standard primers with the H3031.

Ok, i have lots of the CCI primers. But, what the heck do AK rounds have to do with whether or not TULA primers have hard cups or not? I assume you mean that they DO? And doesnt the 7.62x39 have a large primer?

Ok, i loaded 50 rounds to play with. 5 rounds of three different powders and at least three powder charges. 5 shot groups for accuracy to be shot after i get a PEPR mount to put on the rifle. I hope to see good results.

My Redding seater die is set as far down as it will go without a crimp, and the seater plug is as far down as it will go. I hope i dont need to get another die to change the seating depth. one without a crimp.

IE, I'm saying Tula's have a 60 year history in semi-auto rifles, so I wouldn't be too worried about their safety in an AR. I've tried the the Tula small pistol primers and they were harder the Winchester but not as hard as CCI's.

For AR 15 loads I prefer CCI 450 primers. I am going to try some Tula .223 primers since I can't find the CCIs now. I looked for some Tula small rifle magnum primers, but only found Tula .223s. And this was at Academy of all places.

Antelope Sniper, I hear ya. I was just wondering.

Leon, is the 450 the small rifle magnum?

Yes it is.

Gotcha. I have some of the TULA primers, and some Remington primers and some CCI primers. Thought i would test for basic accuracy, and then change the powder charge. If that works well, i will look into primer changes as well. I started with the CCI small rifle primers.

Rem mag primers also have a good reputation with w748 in the .222 Rem. Should be worth a try in the .223 as well.

335.

Whichever primer you want.

No crimp.

Yes on the PEPR.



Travis

25.0 H335, CCI-450, and your 53gr. V-Max. I use that powder/primer combination over 52/53gr MK's at mag length and have yet to see an AR that didn't shoot it well.

FWIW I have been using Wolf (Tula) primers for my AR ammo without any problems.

Ernie