223 reduced loads

gcp · Post by **gcp** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 11:20 am

Gang, just for kicks and greens yesterday I reloaded five each of my Sierra 45gr SPs and Hornady 53gr Vmaxs with IMR 800X 4gr, 5gr, 8gr, & 10gr each. I’ve heard that these reduces loads, some of which are subsonic, can be very accurate, noiseless plinkers, plus they've proven effective on smaller game so I thought I'd give them a try. I plan to shoot them this weekend through my 20” bull barreled Savage so I'll report back with velocities and other such findings.

Seems like that 223 reduced loads may be a pragmatic alternative to the 22LR/22Mag ammo and cheaper to shoot cause the 22mag nowdays cost approx .25cents/round to shoot, an absurd price if you ask me!

Qualifier: PLEASE DO NOT USE my above recipes, this data is meant for information and discussion purposes only!!! Bullseye, if you think my post is out of line please remove.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 2:32 pm

If you get too low your primers will not seal and you will get flame cutting on your bolt. So examine your brass very closely after shooting each one. You will also have a problem of sealing off at the neck too. These very from gun to gun depending on high tight the chamber is. So if you get a lot of soot your too low, your pressures will not be consistent causing a larger velocity swing. Now this is not near as bad as primer leakage.

gcp · Post by **gcp** » Thu Aug 15, 2013 3:36 pm

blue68f100 wrote:If you get too low your primers will not seal and you will get flame cutting on your bolt. So examine your brass very closely after shooting each one. You will also have a problem of sealing off at the neck too. These very from gun to gun depending on high tight the chamber is. So if you get a lot of soot your too low, your pressures will not be consistent causing a larger velocity swing. Now this is not near as bad as primer leakage.

blue, to help clarify, are you saying that the primer may not seal its pocket in the 4gr range? I’ve not heard of this before, thank you for pointing it out but can you please explain? Also I’ve not heard of flame cutting on a bolt, and since I sure as heck don’t want to hurt my Savage would it be best to shoot these on a single action rifle? Problem is I don’t own one. BTW, I also crimped all of these reduced rounds.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Fri Aug 16, 2013 5:29 pm

Don't know if it will seal or not. Just alerting you to be aware a problem may show it's self. Faster burn powders seal better on lighter charges due to a quicker pressure spike. The reason they give you a snappier recoil, too. When you fire a round this is what happens. As the pressures start to build the casing is pushed back against the bolt as the bullet starts moving. If the primer is recessed as is should (0-0.004"), it will travel backwards till it hit the breach/bolt face. The pressure (internal) then expands the primer cup out against the primer pocket sealing off. On very tight pockets this is normally not a problem, it still will move back unless crimped. If the pressures are too low you will get leakage between the primer and pocket, which in turn will give you flame cutting. Just a small plasma cutter at work

When you test your loads start at the higher and work down. Examine the primers very closely. If your bolt comes out easily I would remove and clean after each firing to inspect to play it safe.

On my custom 1911 build I actually had the primer cup fail causing flame cutting. I had no leakage between the brass and primer. I don't know if can see in the photos that I posted that there were very very small holes on the primer cup edge. I had one that only left a very small black stain on the brass. I knew it failed but it was extremely hard to see the hole in the primer.

gcp · Post by **gcp** » Fri Aug 16, 2013 7:13 pm

Quick report after shooting; excellent results with 10gr, 8 gr, and even 5gr chargers of 800x on both the 45gr SRN & 53gr Vmax. Very accurate loads and mild recoil with no pressure signs whatsoever manifesting. The 4gr loads were ok with the Vmax keyholing at 100 yards, while the SRN holding its own with still more than acceptable accuracy. I am very happy with my first attempt at 223 reduced loads!

4gr&5gr

8gr & 10gr

gcp · Post by **gcp** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 9:39 am

blue, thank you for sharing this info, and unfortunately I read your post after I had finished shooting my reduced loads so I didn't follow your instructions but it all turned out well, anyway. I had no primer issues at all, nor were there signs of excessive pressure.

A sample of one is not statistical but it's a starting point.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:18 pm

Good to here. Looks like the 8-10 gr is better than the lighter ones.

Gas cutting can be a bad thing....

gcp · Post by **gcp** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 6:48 pm

blue, the 5/6/7gr recipes are effective as well (saw no problems on the bolt whatsoever), especially for varmint because they are pretty close to and a bit above the 22Mag. All in all I am happy with this experiment.