Thinking of starting to load for .223, advice

Slash0311

I have been loading for handguns for several years. I recently bought me an AR and was thinking of starting to reload for it. I have a single stage Lee press. I have never done any loading for rifle carts and was wondering if there was any special considerations before getting the dies. My main concern with handgun loads is not accuracy where it would be more important with the .223 round.

temblor

Do you know what rate of twist your bbl has ( 1-8", 1-9", 1-12", etc.)? It will help determine what weight/type of bullets will perform best in your gun.
It would also be good to know what the barrel is chambered for. Is it 223 Remington, 5.56 NATO or something like 223 Wylde, etc.?

Slash0311

It's a 1 in 9 5.56 Nato. Thanks for any insight you can give me.

BHAVIN

If this is a Semi Auto use a Factory Crimp Die. It will help your ammo to be more uniform and helps accuracy. If you are shooting a bolt action where you can load to the length of the chamber then you don't need a factory crimp die.

juddroy

You're either going to spend a great deal of time at a single stage press,or not planning on a lot of shooting.Try 748 it's a great .223 powder,and it throws quite well.

B17-P51

I like Accurate Arms 2230 powder. It is relatively inexpensive (to use)and throws like a dream. You may want to consider Small Base dies as autos generally do not have the camming power of a bolt. Sometimes military brass will size inconsistantly and small base dies return the case to SAMMI dimensions. Plinking loads with 55 gr FMJ's are cheap and fun to shoot and accuracy may surprise you. A 1-9 twist will be OK for bullets up to 70 grs.