Just_Me

12glocks - Thanks for your post, and I agree with your sentiments. In my other AR rifle with a high powered scope, I shoot groups like yours using Federal Gold Match 77 grain SMK. I am pretty sure that being new at reloading is the leading factor here, and for my eyes, the 3X scope is just not going to group like my high powered scope at 12+ magnification. I appreciate the link as well, and hope to get better with my new reloading machine.

OK, boy you guys are quick, I think this is the problem. I looked at a few of the "off spec" bullets, and it the very tip of the hollow point is sometimes slanted pretty hard (maybe 30 or 45 degrees), and this appears to be my measurement problem. I just googled the term Ogive, and now that I know what it is, I dont know how to measure to it. The SMK 77 grain ogive seems to begin below the crimp, its a long bullet, and I dont see anything that delineates where the ogive begins until the tip of the bullet. Should I not worry about the OAL variance, and maybe try switching to Varget? I was wanting something that meters well in the 650

I am very new, I have been reloading for about two weeks, (150 rounds in total). When I did my first 50 rounds with a 55 grain bullet, I was very consistent with OAL, (but terrible results in accuracy) I did chamfer and debur all of my bullets, and have found that my measurement does not change between the seating die, and the crimp die. I have 2 calipers, so both of them are measuring the same. I am usuing the Dillon 650 powder die to measure the H335, to make sure its working right, I was removing them from the shell plate, dumping them into a manual scale, and then returning the powder, I did this until I was sure I had my powder set right. I also tightend up my shell plate as much as I could to make sure that it was right. I was having problems seating my primers, and suspect that some of the long measurements were because my primer was protruding a bit. (I think I fixed that problem now). My "stroke" was very inconsistent, sometimes I would push real hard, and sometimes just enough. But I didn't think that had an impact. The 22.5 grains is the max load out of the Sierra manual for H335, I will go back and look again, but I could have sworn I saw a flat primer. I am very much a newbie, so hard for me to really know what's normal and what isn't. I'm thinking I broke a reloading rule, by not doing the ladder test on this one, its just that the velocity was already pretty low at 2500 ft/sec for that load.

Hi Guys - Newbie here, I have a brand new Dillon 650, with all the trimmings, and I am having trouble with reloading for accuracy on my first few attempts of reloading. I am not pleased with the results of my first reloads after investing close to 3 grand in all of my accessories and press. I am pretty sure I am doing something wrong. One obvious potential problem area, is that my OAL is inconsistent, it ranges from 2.240 to 2.267. Before I get to that, let me share my results. Constants: AR15- Faxon Gunner Barrel, 18" 1:8 twist, AIM Surplus Black nitride BCG, Timney3.5lb trigger - Sandbag bench shooting. 100 yard range - mild weather/wind Vortex Spitfire 3x Prism Scope Benchmark:. Federal Gold Medal Match 223 77 Grain BTHP - Result 0.45" average Mean Center Radius - 10 rounds group Reload: Sierra Match King 77 Grain BTHP Lake City Brass - mixed Once Fired - trimmed to 1.750 (range of 1.740 to 1.752) (flash holes not trimmed) Powder H335 22.5 grains CCI 400 primers Press: Dillon 650 OAL - Set to 2.25 but having inconsistency problems of 2.240 to 2.267 Result: 0.96" Mean Center Radius - 16 round group - Why is that my reloads are twice as inaccurate as my commercial stuff? I was hoping to get at least the same level of accuracy with the same bullets as the commercial stuff. The vortex spitfire reticle is not well suited for sub-moa shooting, its hard to see on this target, and when I turn on the illumination, it expands the size of the reticle. I could probably improve both groups with a scope that has more zoom to it. What am I doing wrong with my reload process, and is it normal to have that big of a difference in OAL on my bullet seating die? How can I fix that? Could that really cause such a difference in an AR? Thanks, Just_Me

That's what I should have done before I suspected the barrel. Will try that next week.

Wolf Gold is definitely 5 MOA ammo, I bought a ton of it, and that's how it shoots in all of my AR rifles (Including ones that shoot ridiculously accurate with other ammo). I was hoping that my handloads of 55 grain SMK's would do better (I am a total NEWB at reloading, but followed best practices). It WAS better, but I dont think I found my load yet for the Gunner barrel, will try some heavier bullets next.

Nathan, I doubt the barrel is the problem, I am brand new to reloading, so that could be a huge wild card right there. I appreciate the offer to help. Thanks, Just_Me

Old thread, but I tried out my new 18" Faxon Gunner with 1-8 Twist, was shooting 5-7 inch groups at 100 yards with Wolf 55 Grain ammo, and maybe 3 inches with hand loaded 55 Grain SMK with light loaded H335 powder. Im not very impressed, as I was hoping to find something that would shoot junk ammo, and the light bullets well. I will try again with 62 grain ammo, and maybe 69 grain. I dont have any 1:10 or slower twist AR's right now.

Thanks for the tips Bill. I was worried about using Nu-finish because I thought it would gum up the media, but it sounds like most folks don't see a problem with it. I was manually depriming with a handheld tool, so I wasn't going to lube until it's ready to go to the progressive press.

Hi guys, This is my first post, I am a longtime member of other collector forums under the same user name. Im a 100% newbie that just bought a Dillon XL 650 and am getting ready to reload my first few cartridges. I am reloading for accuracy, not plinking. After researching and reading, I am pretty confused about what the "best practices" are in this field for prepping 223 case. I have the following equipment: 1. Large rock tumblers (Lortone brand from my rock hobby) 2. Hornady Sonic Cleaner 3. Franklin Vibratory cleaner 4. Walnut Media (fine) 5. Manual deprimer, case trimmers, flash hole cleaners, etc 6. Dillon Super Swage Before I toss my cartridges in the case feeder, I was going to do the folllowing: 1. Run brass through the sonic cleaner (so that i dont foul up the walnut media as much) 2. Sun Dry for 3-4 hours 3. Run brass for 3-4 hours through the rotary tumblers dry (no wax, or additives) 4. Deprime the brass, and clean the flash holes. 5. Trim the brass (chamfer and debur) 6. Separate and swage the brass. 7. Ready for reloading What has been making me hesitate is that I am unsure about doing the cleaning, before I clean the flash hole, swage the primer pocket, and trim the brass. I worry about brass shavings and dirt that will surface as a result of all of the case prepping after the cleaning. Thanks for your help, and I'm looking forward to learning more from this group.