Axis II Precision. 223 seating depth question

[CFJunkie]

I too have gotten 20 or more reloads out of Lapua brass in .223, .22-250, 6.5mm CM and .308 over the years - since 2010. I have reloaded more than 56,000 rounds with them during that time.
Like charlie b, I have never annealed either. And I full sized ever round.

Light bullets, even with a 1:9 to 1:7 twist still shoot great in a .223, especially if you are using a faster powder.
Like charlie b, I find that most 55 gr bullets just don't shoot well. The 52s and 53 (Sierra SMKs, ELD-Ms and Bergers) shoot way better. The only 55 gr bullet I have gotten good results with is the Berger 55 gr FB # 22410.

I have found that the heavier bullets shoot better (69, 73 and 77 gr), if you find out how to load them - use a .308 type powder.
Forget the 2.260 recommendations for OAL since you are not shooting an AR.
Load the heavier bullets out so you leave enough room in the case to reduce pressure.
The heavier the bullet, the more pressure build up anyway, so you need to watch out for PMax when you are loading for them.
No reason not to shoot 80 and even maybe 90 gr bullets with a 1:7 twist.

Unless you are hunting or shooting really long distances, velocity only matters to control the harmonics of the barrel. When trying for accuracy under 300 yards, the target doesn't care how fast the bullet is travelling when it goes through the paper. It only matters how close to your aim point the bullets consistently strike.

One of my older .308s, a Savage 10 FCP-K with 4900 rounds down the barrel, managed to average 0.308 for eight 5-round groups yesterday. The 168 SMKs were loaded out at 2.835 using N540 powder and 2.840 using Varget powder - 1 group under 0.2 inches.
Monday a week ago, my 12 FV .223 with an Oryx chassis with 4000 rounds down the barrel, averaged 0.248 for 8 5-round groups. The 69 SMKs were loaded out at 2.356 and 2.364 using N540 powder. 2 groups under 0.2 inches.

[charlie b]

I would neck size only (Lee collet die) 4 times and then FL size the fifth, just to prevent sticky cases. I think I trimmed them once in the 20 reloads. Almost all the loads were 23.5gn of Varget under the 77gn SMK running 2850fps at the muzzle.

FWIW, the 'weak' spot on most .223 brass I have tried is the primer pockets. Most will fail to hold a primer after 4 or 5 reloads. Never split a case. The cheap Federal ammo I started with only went three reloads. Fourth time the primers would not stay in place.

PS CFJunkie, have you tried Peterson brass yet? I got some for my .308 (small rifle primers) and 6BR. They seem to do well, but haven't reloaded them very many times yet.

[StephenBachiler]

Great info. Thank you. I know each rifle has different chamber dimentions..but when you say...seat them out long (past 2.26) give me some number associated with that...2.27? 2.28?

[CFJunkie]

You have a new barrel, so your OALs won't approach what I posted in #9 above for a barrel with over 4,000 rounds through it, but your OAL will be longer than 2.260 recommended by the manufacturers who use the recommended OAL based upon an AR Mag limit.
Your OAL will change for each bullet type.
The bullet length from base to tip and where the ogive is relative to the base is different for each bullet type and weight.
That difference determines how much of the tip is sitting out into the lands and not touching so the ogive determines where the bullet needs to be seated.
The OAL that provides the jump that performs best for each bullet type in your particular barrel will give you the answer.
are
SMKs and Nosler CCs are relatively short in the tip compared to TMKs or ELD-Ms so the SMK/CC OALs will be shorter than the longer tipped bullets like TMKs/ELD-Ms to get the same jump.
By the way, all four set for the OAL that works best for each bullet have about the same group sizes for me at 100 yards over very large group samples.
On one of my good days, one might produce slightly smaller groups, but for the long-term average with large group samples they perform about the same - within 0.010 difference in average at 100 yards for both 69 and 77 grain bullets for the SMKs/CCs and 73 gr for the ELD-Ms.
For my barrel, the 75 ELD-Ms don't seem to perform as well, but that is for a smaller sample so it could have just been a bad day.
Or maybe I haven't figured out that particular bullet seating depth yet.

You will have to figure out where each bullet type performs best for your particular barrel and chamber, but I don't think you will even notice a 0.010 difference in seating depth with a particular bullet unless your 5-round groups are consistently under 0.300 at 100 yds.

charlie b, I haven't tried Peterson brass.
I guess I am stuck in the Lapua brass rut, but since Lapua has performed so consistently for so many years, I probably won't, unless Lapua starts messing up what has worked great for me.

[charlie b]

Mine were all at 2.80" oal for the 77 and 69 SMK's. Just barely fit in the magazine. I liked the 75ELDM's but when seated where they did well they were too long for the magazine.

CF, yeah, I would not have tried them but Lapua brass has been difficult to find lately, at least the 6BR and Palma .308

[CFJunkie]

charlie b,

Wow! 2.800 OAL for a .223. You do have a very deep chamber. You must be single loading those rounds.
The MDT AICS mag on my Oryx chassis lets me load .223 rounds out to 2.500, but I haven't had the need to load them out that far yet.
I'm not sure the 69gr bullets would be still in the neck or at least maintain consistent neck tension at 2.500.
For 80s and 90s maybe, and I'm not even sure 77s would still have consistent neck tension.
Fortunately, I never had to load out that far.

I replaced the barrel in my first .308 when I had to load out past 2.970 because I started to see loss of accuracy - I believe because of inconsistent neck tension loading that far out.
The Savage mag let me load out almost that far, but when I passed 2.950 OAL, I had to single round load.

As for Lapua brass, fortunately, I reload calibers that still seem to be available - .223, 6.5mm CM, .308 .22-250.
Sorry to hear that you're not able to find 'the good stuff' for your two calibers.

I will have to look to replenish my supply of .223 since I just opened a new box of 100.

[charlie b]

Sorry, 2.280 lol