Whats wrong 223 load

[wkent]

First 223 Load. 21 Grain H-322, Hornady 55 Grain FMJBT, Remington Primer, Once fired brass, OAL 2.190 (load recipe indicated OAL of 2.180}

Load shoots and groups well, ejects spent case but not chambering next round. So AR 15 is a bolt gun.

What am I doing wrong.

Rifle may have dirty chamber and BCG but cycles Fiocchi and Remington factory ammo just fine.

[dossauce]

Is it trying to feed the next round but not fully locking up the bolt? Is the carrier locking back even with a round in the magazine? Is bolt closing but not stripping the next round off the magazine? Explain more what's happening.

Is the rifle a home build?

[dossauce]

Also are you using an adjustable gas block? I will tell you I use sub minimum load data for my 223 loads and it cycles fine in my rifle length and carbine.

[Steve RA]

I'd hazard a guess that the load might be a little light.

[p3fe(ret)]

Sounds like you are a little lite on powder there. I load 21.5 grains H-322 OAL 2.225 and have no problems out of two rifles, both with 16".

Book loads are a good starting point but you have to see what your gun likes.

[RiggerJJ]

Crono data is needed to make a proper determination.

jj

[Steve RA]

55 GR. SPR SP

Starting Loads

Maximum Loads

Manufacturer

Powder

Bullet Diam.

C.O.L.

Grs.

Vel. (ft/s)

Pressure

Grs.

Vel. (ft/s)

Pressure

Hodgdon

H322

.224"

2.200"

21.0

2,841

38,600 CUP

23.0

3,106

48,900 CUP

[wkent]

Thanks for the responses.

Bushmaster XM-15 16 inch barrel, standard gas block.

The bolt closes without stripping the next round of the magazine.

I will up the load some.

[Boxerglocker]

If you load a single round in the magazine and fire it, does the bolt lock back? If not your definitely too light.

[dossauce]

If you load a single round in the magazine and fire it, does the bolt lock back? If not your definitely too light.

+1

Sounds like bolt isn't fully cycling to the rear. Or you have a problem with the magazine. Not very likely though.

[wkent]

I did drop a single round in the chamber but cant remember if the bolt locked back. I'm old and forgetful.

Thanks to all that contributed

[dauntedfuture]

Not enough powder. And remember just because its a starting load does not always mean it will cycle the rifle. And because the rifle cycles with factory ammo this further indicates ammo load error. We also don't know what kind of barrel is used and if its a small gas port barrel then once again we need standard pressure ammunition.

[Kaldor]

Not enough powder. Hodgdon says start at 21gr for SP's with H322. Granted your loading FMJBT's, but at the lower end, you can start with the SP data. Out of an AR15, you need to account for the rifle having enough gas to drive the gas system.

Always check a new load with 3 mags.

First mag has a single round. Does the bolt close on round properly? Fire. Does the bolt lock back?

Second mag has 2 rounds. Fire the first round. Does it cycle and pick up the next round? Fire. Does the bolt lock back?

Third mag has 5 rounds in it. Shoot these to determine group size and if the load is accurate and worth chasing.

If you have a chronograph, you could load 10 on the 3rd mag, 5 over the chrono, 5 on target to check accuracy. Or if you want, shoot chrono and accuracy shots with the same 5 rounds, but thats how guys end up shooting their chrono, which I happen to think is fricking hillarious.

Another wrinkle with AR15's are the ejection pattern. If you are shooting really light loads, your likely ejecting at somewhere between 4 and 6 oclock. Ideal is about 2:30 to 4

Every AR15 is different. Mine happens to shoot loads that could be classified as extremely light with no issues. Mine ejects at about 3:30 and will also drop 50-60% of the brass I eject into a 5 gallon bucket.

[Dannybot]

Does the gun work with factory ammo?

[mele]

IMHO All Hodgdon's load data is lawyered down.

[MustangGreg66]

IMHO All Hodgdon's load data is lawyered down.

Agreed. And I think I figured that part out. If you look at their loads, they list them as .223 Remington. Some other manufacturers list loads for 5.56 which have a higher pressure, up around 62k, whereas 223 is around 55k psi, don't quote me on those numbers. If you have a 5.56 or Wylde chamber then you can shoot those higher pressure reloads, if you have a .223 chamber, you'll see pressure signs earlier. Many reloading manuals only list 223 Remington and top out around the 55k PSI mark.