.223 H335/55 FMJ loads

[Wayne Dobbs]

The title says it: what are your favorite practice/training loads using the M193 FMJ bullet and H-335? This will be loaded on my Dillon 550 and I'm looking for your primer preferences and OALs if you can.

[UVvis]

Don't really know about my OAL, I seat to the cannelure and call it good. I think with my brass at 1.755" my OAL with 55gr hornady FMJ's bullets was about 2.230 or so if I remember right.

I have used CCI 400 primers with 24 grs of H335 as a general blasting load. You can go hotter, but this load seemed to shoot better and functioned well in all my blaster grade guns.

I've also used CCI 450 mag primers, CCI #41, and WSR primers as well with the same powder charge. This isn't smoking hot, and my velocities weren't all that hot so I wasn't to worried about changing around primer types.

[fourrobert13]

My blasting load is 23 gr of H335, Hornady 55 gr FMJBT, Winchester SR primer, COAL of 2.20. My Stag shoots 1" groups at 100 yards and my Bushy will 1" to 1 1/2". I trim my brass to 1.752. I use the same load regardless if it's military or commercial brass, but I seperate the brass by head stamp before loading.

[Wayne Dobbs]

I noted from Hodgdon's data that they take H335 to just over 25 grains with a 55 FMJ bullet. Anybody run theirs this hard and if so how does it shoot?

[UVvis]

I noted from Hodgdon's data that they take H335 to just over 25 grains with a 55 FMJ bullet. Anybody run theirs this hard and if so how does it shoot?

I've loaded them up to 26 grains or so. The load was noticeably hotter and the velocities were fast. But they also shot worse for me in both 1:9 and 1:7 guns. I ended up around 24 to 24.5 grains as it seemed to be a good compromise between keeping the velocity and gun function up and accuracy.

[PALADIN-hgwt]

Using a 1/12 twist low round count (~500) 20 inch chromed lined Colt M16 barrel and 24.5 H335 lit by WSR primers with the chrony 9 feet from the muzzle:

Sierra 52 Matchking averaged 2954 fps, es 106
Sierra 55 Gameking ave. 2953 fps, es 95
Hornady 55 Vmax ave. 2970 fps, es 73
Win 55 fmj ave. 2985 fps, es 96

Factory loaded IMI 55 fmj averaged 3083 fps, es 67

I was loading 24.5 H335 to insure no pressure issues when used in a variety of rifle chambers. Later bumped the load back to 25.0 H335 without any pressure signs, and velocity should be closer to the factory IMI loading (it's 223, not 5.56). All averages were for 10 rounds. HTH.

Paladin

btw, the Sierra 55 Gameking expands quite well and penetrates about 10 inches when encountering water filled jugs at 200 yards, an estimated 2100 fps impact velocity which might interest short barrel fans.

[Wayne Dobbs]

Thanks for your help on this guys!

WD