Reloading Stuph
A COMPILED EMPIRICAL REFERENCE


HOLLIGER ON .223/5.56 CHAMBERS
Here are just a few of the chamber reamers that I have prints for. There are hundreds of .223/5.56 chamber dimensions and I always get a kick out of people arguing over whether a rifle has a .223 or a 5.56 chamber. Just because it has a .223 chamber, does not mean it's the same as another rifle with a .223 chamber. Both reamers may say .223 on them, but they may be very much different. Also, everyone just knows the .223 is smaller than the 5.56, well the 5.56 Target chamber is smaller in about every dimension than the .223 Wylde.

The COAL for the 80 grain SMK is an ESTIMATE based on bullet empirical data and from chamber prints. The actual COAL in your rifle may be different, even though it has that specified chamber. The number is supplied to help identify a chamber if it is unknown or as an aid in selecting the proper chamber reamer (bullet seated further out means you can get more powder in the case).

Chamber Freebore Lead Angle 80SMK OAL Comments
5.56
Target		 .0566 1 deg,
13 min		 2.465 This was designed by a C. Hildebrandt at Savage. I believe it is used in the savage .223 rifles. I do not have this reamer, but it should work well for HP.
.223
JGS#514		 .025 3 deg,
10 min		 2.435 I believe this is used by Krieger and Mike Bykowski. I use it for slow twist varmint uppers but I think it is a little short, and too steep of a lead for HP.
.223
Wylde		 .0619 1 deg,
15 min		 2.475 Designed by Bill Wylde. Shoots everything good, and has slightly generous body dimensions for reliability. Eats anything you put in it.
.223
Holliger		 .106 1 deg,
15 min		 2.530 Designed for the 90 JLK. The longer throat allows a little more velocity.
5.56
CLE		 .025 1 deg,
30 min		 2.450 Of course we all know Frank's rifles shoot just fine!
5.56
Bushmaster		 .0250 1 deg,
30 min		 2.450-
2.475		 Info from Bushmaster (thanks!). These are one of the best out-of-the box barrels, and handle up to 80 gr bullets no problemo.




PRIMER CUP DIMENSIONS
Manufacturer Number A B C
Cup Cup Cup
Thickness Diameter Height
Small Rifle
CCI 400 .020" .1753" .109"
450 .025" .1750" .113"
BR4 .025" .1755" .109"
Federal 200 .019" .1757" .111"
205M .0225" .1744" .1075"
Remington 6 1/2 .020" .1753" .109"
7 1/2 .025" .1752" .110"
Winchester SR .021" .1750" .109"
Large Rifle
CCI 200 .027" .2112" .118"
250 .027" .2113" .118"
Federal 210 .027" .2120" .117"
215 -- -- --
Remington 9 1/2 .027" .2100" .119"
Winchester LR .027" .2114" .121"
Mag .027" .2114" .121"
from Calhoon




CASE WEIGHT
Below is the result of a random sampling of 25 cases with a scale of .0001g sensitivity. I do not vouche for the accuracy of this data for current production cases from the commercial manufacturers, since this is a bit dated. It is presented here to show the variablity of case weights - and case volume - for several common headstamps, and the care that must be taken when loading newly sourced brass.

CASE MAN. HEAVY LIGHT MEAN E.S. Sd
Lapua 104.10 100.42 102.21 3.68 1.14
PMC 94.80 93.40 93.89 1.41 .58
LC 70 95.77 91.90 93.30 3.88 .86
LC 81 94.00 91.73 92.98 2.27 .56
WCC 85 93.3 91.2 92.31 2.1 .54
R-P 93.55 90.01 91.55 3.54 .97
TW 72 92.68 89.09 91.12 3.44 .66
Federal 92.62 87.71 90.25 4.90 1.23
Winchester 89.34 88.12 88.78 1.21 .39
from American Rifleman




THE DATA IN THE FOLLOWING TABLES ARE FOR REFERENCE USE ONLY. THESE ARE THE LOADS BEING USED BY THE BEST SR SHOOTERS IN THE COUNTRY, AND ARE ACCURATE, 'SAFE' LOADS IN THEIR RIFLES. BY NO MEANS USE THIS DATA AS A STARTING POINT WITHOUT REDUCING THE LOADS AT LEAST 10% AND WORK UP, BEING OBSERVANT OF PRESSURE SIGNS.

SORRY, BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT 'PRESSURE SIGNS' ARE, GO AWAY, THIS IS NOT FOR YOU. THIS IS NOT BEGINNER'S STUPH.

AS ANY HP GUY WILL TELL YOU, THESE LOADS MAY BE NEAR THE PHYSICAL LIMITS OF THE COMPONENTS USED, INCLUDING THE RIFLE. IN THE WORDS OF PAT MC., "YOU CAN BUY YOURSELF ANOTHER RIFLE, BUT YOU CANNOT BUY YOURSELF ANOTHER HEAD." *PLEASE, NO DARWIN AWARD NOMINEES!



PRESSURE, EXTREMELY SIMPLIFIED
                   
Cases above left demonstrate too low and 'normal' pressures. The case at far left, the mouth did not obturate, so the case body is sooty. The case on the right shows that the mouth has sealed off the chamber from the burning powder's gas and ash, so the case is clean except for the neck. Sooty cases in AR15's may also result from the case being extracted while there is still pressurized soot laden gas in the bore. The extraction breaks the seal and allows the soot to be deposited. The amount of soot will vary between powders.
The primers at the right show increasing pressure as you go up. The bottom primer was fired with no projectile/powder. Notice the rounded firing pin impression and primer cup edges. Next one shows primer semi-flattened, still rounded corners, a very tiny crater. The third shows well cratered primer, more flat, less rounded cup - on the verge of piercing. The top shows a pierced primer. Depending upon the temperature sensitivity of your powder and differences between test and 'deployment' temps, stay within the lower two primer states. If you test in cool weather loads that are to be used in hot summer months, and you see serious cratering, you can count on pierced or blown primers (primers that unseat). Pierced primers will discharge gas thru the bolt, and cause firing pin damage.
There are devices made for the AR15 - carrier weights and some cycling rate reducers - that are designed to increase the dwell time - the time the bolt stays closed after ignition - that will alleviate some of the sooting and also help support the primers longer so they don't pierce or get unseated. There is also a redesigned AR15 carrier and bolt assembly that will do the same thing.




AR15 SERVICE RIFLE PET LOADS w/ SPECIFIC DATA
Bullet      Moly Powder Wt. Primer Case Chamber OAL Vel. es/sd
77 SMK na A2520 24.5 WSR Win CLE 2.260 2675 na
80 SMK na R-15 24.5 WSR LC CLE .010 off 2630 na
80 SMK na A2520 24.5 WSR LC CLE .010 off 2645 na
68 H Y TAC 25.5 R7.5 WIN na 2.260 2924 sd=8
75 AMAX Y TAC 24.5 205M WIN na .020 off 2747 sd=15
69 SMK na N140 24.8 R7.5 LC na 2.260 na na
77 SMK na N140 24.3 R7.5 LC na 2.260 na na
80 SMK na N140 24.3 R7.5 LC na na 2750+ na
69 SMK N R-15 25.0 R7.5 LC Wylde 2.260 2800 na
77 SMK N R-15 24.0 R7.5 LC Wylde 2.260 2715 na
80 SMK N R-15 24.5 R7.5 WIN Wylde .015 off 2730 na
80 JLK N R-15 25.0 R7.5 WIN Wylde .020 in na na
80 SMK N IMR4064 24.0 na na CLE na na na
77 SMK N IMR4064 23.7 na na CLE na na na
77 SMK na TAC 23.0 na na Wylde 2.225 na na
80 SMK na N135 23.0 na na Wylde 2.480 na na
80 SMK na 4895 23.0-.3 na na Wylde 2.480 na na
69 SMK na 4895PD 24.5 WSR LC na 2.260 na na
80 SMK na 4895PD 23.5 WSR LC na 2.450 na na
80 SMK Y N550 25.3 BR4 LC na .015 off na na
80 SMK Y N150 25.5 BR4 LC na .015 off na na
69 SMK Y CMR100 23.0 R7.5 Rem BM 2.260 2800 na
75 AMAX Y CMR100 23.0 R7.5 Rem BM .020 off 2735 na
80 SMK Y CMR100 23.0 R7.5 Rem BM .020 off 2700 na
69 SMK na H322 23.0 R7.5 Rem na 2.260 na na
80 SMK na H322 23.0 R7.5 Rem na na na na
80 SMK N Varget 25.0 BR4 LC CLE .010 off na na
77 SMK N Varget 24.5 BR4 LC CLE 2.260 na na
75 H N Varget 24.4 BR4 LC CLE 2.260 na na
80 SMK Y Varget 25.0 450 LC CLE .010 off 2710 na
69 SMK Y N540 26.2 450 LC Wylde 2.260 na na
80 BRGR Y N540 26.1 450 LC Wylde .020 in na na
52 SMK Y N540 29.0 450 LC H6.5 2.280 na na
69 SMK Y N540 25.9 450 LC H6.5 2.250 na na
77 SMK Y N540 25.9 450 LC H6.5 2.250 na na
90 JLK Y N540 25.7 450 LC H6.5 2.615 @.025 in na na
77 SMK na H4895 23.0 WSR LC Wylde 2.260 2665 sd=23.8
80 SMK na H4895 23.0 WSR LC Wylde 2.425 2683 sd=23.9
52 SMK na N140 25.2 R7.5 RP Wylde <2.260 3050 na
52 SMK na R15 25.5 R7.5 RP Wylde <2.260 3000 na
69 SMK N N140 24.5 450 WIN ? ? ? ?
80 SMK N N140 24.5 BR4 WIN ? .015 off 2775 ?
69 SMK Y N135 23.5 450 LC CLE 2.245 2757 ?
69 SMK Y N133 22.9 450 LC CLE 2.245 2830 ?
80 SMK Y N140 25.0 450 LC CLE .015 off ? ?
69 SMK na 2520 26.8 400 LC ? <2.260 3100 ?
68 H na 2520 26.8 400 LC ? <2.260 3100 ?
75 H na 2520 24.8 400 LC ? <2.260 2785 ?
75 AMAX na 2520 24.8 400 LC ? >2.260 2785 ?
68 H na Varget 25 WSR LC Wylde <2.260 ? ?
75 H na Varget 24.6 WSR LC Wylde <2.260 ? ?
75 AMAX na Varget 24.6 WSR LC Wylde >2.260 ? ?
75 H Y R-15 24.0 WSR WIN ? <2.260 ? ?
                   
                   
If you have a favorite load that is not here or listed incompletely, please email it to me. There's plenty of room for more! Some people have submitted incomplete data, so here are a few guidelines. Molyed bullet powder charges in comparison to nekkid ones may run a little heavier to achieve the same velocity. If the moly factor is 'na' (not available), assume nekkid bullet and therefore higher pressures, just to err on the safe side when beginning a work-up. 600 yard 80 SMK loads (and other heavyweights) are usually jumped .010 to .020 to the lands. VLD bullets (JLK, et al) are typically seated at .005 to .020 INTO the rifling. Chambering, throat erosion, how you size your cases (eg neck tension) and barrel harmonics will determine the sweet spot for best accuracy. Highest velocity isn't the goal - accuracy is. If the two are coincidental, though, great!!






AR15 SERVICE RIFLE LOADS
Bullet Ideal
MV		 H4895 Varget R-15 748 N140 N150 N540 4895PD TAC 846
loads for 200-300-600, COAL at mag length or less
SMK 50 3100 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
SMK 52 3100 25.0 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
H 68 2650 ? 25 ? ? ? ? ? ? 25.5 ?
H 75 2650 22.5 24.4 24.0 ? ? ? ? ? 24.5 24.1
SMK 69 2900 24.0 24.8 24.5 ? 24.8 ? ? ? 25.5 25
SMK 77 2700 23.5 23.5 23.7 23.3 24.5 ? 25.0 24 23.0 24.1
loads for 600, COAL over mag length max
75 H 2650 ? 24.4 ? ? ? ? ? ? 24.1 24.1
80 SMK 2650 23.1 24.8 24.5 ? 24.3 25.5 ? 24.2 23.5 24.1
80 JLK ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
90 JLK ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Special loads for 6.5 twist bbls w/ Holliger chamber
52 SMK ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 29.0
@2.280		 ? ? ?
69 SMK ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 25.9 ? ? ?
77 SMK ? ? ? 23.8 ? ? ? 25.9 ? ? ?
80 SMK ? ? ? 24.4 ? ? ? 25.7
@.010 off		 ? ? ?
90 JLK ? ? ? 24.0(hot) ? ? ?

25.2
@.030 in

 ? 24.0
@.030 in		 ?
Special loads for 6.5 twist bbls w/ Wylde chamber
77 SMK ? ? 24.8 ? ? 23.0 ? ? ? ? ?
80 JLK ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 24.0 @.030 in ? ? ?
80 SMK ? ? 24.8 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
90 JLK ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 24.0 @030 in ? ? ?





M1A AND GARAND 308 SERVICE RIFLE LOADS
Bullet Ideal V H4895 Varget R-15 4064 2520 748 IMR4895 846
IMPORTANT NOTES!!
*bullets 147-173 gr seated to COAL 2.80-2.83. Others are longer. Advise use CCI 34 primers to prevent slamfires*
*care must be taken when choosing brass as mil spec and commercial cases have different volumes- work up loads.*
*190 grain bullet load data is for long range and are for bullets seated longer than mag length*
*use of a pressure bleed off gas plug is highly recommended for heavier bullet use and safety*
147 2750 44.0 45-47 ? ? ? ? ? 44.0
150 SMK 2750 44.0 45-47 ? ? ? ? 40.5 44.0
155 SMK 2750 43.5 45-47 ? ? ? ? ? 43.5
168 SMK 2600 42.0 43 ? 43.0 42.6 43.5 39.5-41.5 43.0
168 H 2600 42.0 43 ? 43.0 42.6 43.5 39.5-41.5 43.0
173 M118 2600 42.0 43 ? 43.0 42.0 43.5 39.5-41.5 43.0
190 SMK 2520 41 ? ? 42 ? 43 41 ?






M1 GARAND 30-06 SERVICE RIFLE LOADS
Bullet Ideal V H4895 Varget 4064 748 4350 3031 2520 IMR4895
*Use LC brass for these loads. Commercial brass volumes are different. COAL=3.30*
125 ? 48.0 44.5 48 ? ? 48 ? 48.0
147 2740 48.5 ? 49 49.0 ? ? ? 48.5
150 SMK 2740 49.0 ? 49 49.0 ? 48.1 ? 48.5
155 SMK 2740 49.0 48.0 ? ? ? ? ? 47.0
168 SMK 2650 46.0 42.5 47.5 47 ? ? 46.5 46.0
168 H 2650 46.0 42.5 47.5 ? ? ? 46.5 46.0
*bullets over 168 grains, use with caution - op rod damage may result*
173 M118 2620 46.0 42.5 47.5 ? ? ? ? 46.0
180 SMK 2600 47.5 ? 47.0 ? 53.0 ? ? 46.0
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