first load in 223

[del]

hi all

so to start totally new to reloading got a tikka t3x 223 with 1:8 twist , the first bullet am going to try to reload is a tipped sierra matchking 69gn and swiss RS40 powder going with the swiss book i got with the powder my min charge is 21.3gn and max charge 23.9gn , so am going to start at the low end first but what increments do i move up is .1 or .2 increments big enough to see a difference ?

also c.o.a.l

tell me if am doing this right or wrong probably , i made up a dummy round on purpose to long put in to rifle and tried the bolt wouldn't close moved the seating depth in very small touches an 8th to 16th of a turn on the seating die each time until my bolt would close smoothly . the measurement i got was 2.275 this was to long for my mag so i continued to seat deeper to fit my mag this measurement is now 2.250 do i go with this measurement ? being a bit of a will i won't i person i checked some measurements on some shop bought ammo and they all range from 2.149 to 2.197 and the lee reloading book tells me my c.o.a.l is 2.260 so am i good to go at 2.250 or should i bring it deeper???

sorry if its a bit long winded

all the best del

[Randy Bohannon]

Hi Del, congratulations on your new purchase and well done for getting into reloading.

The very best thing you can do, what you must do in my humble opinion, is to get hold of a copy of Modern Reloading by Richard Lee.

The questions you as are good ones but ones that a basic grounding in home loading would answer for you. The issue is that there are all manner of other small factors and caveats that a new home-loader needs to know more than charge increments and OAL.

There have been a few questions on this forum lately that would benefit from a sticky or something on basic reloading.

In short however; try 0.2 grain increments, shoot five round groups, start at the OAL given in the load manual and full length resize and trim your brass.

[loiner1965]

as amir said.....if its used for hunting then you are restricted to mag size

[del]

Hi Del, congratulations on your new purchase and well done for getting into reloading.

The very best thing you can do, what you must do in my humble opinion, is to get hold of a copy of Modern Reloading by Richard Lee.

thanks randy yep av got the above reloading book and slowly making my way through it

cheers del

[Randy Bohannon]

Good stuff Del.

aim to have one calibre’s worth of bullet shank in the neck the neck and go from there.

[bullbarrel]

I have the older T3 in .223 and 1:8

I've found it seems to shoot everything I load for it sub 1". The first load I tried to just run it in shot 1/2" groups so didn't bother doing any more development. I shoot the 77s for longer ranges and forgot to reset the seating die when going back to 69s for bench. Still shot 2/3" groups.

I normally load to 2.265, which sounds in the same ballpark you are looking at.

In the three years I've had it I must have shot 300+ rounds at 100 yards at a target and probably only 1 outside of that inch group, and that was probably me.

I have replaced the trigger spring with the £10 one sold online, to lighten it further. And I've got a plastic sledge to allow singe loads, the bullets fit but for long range target I like to load one at a time. Is it still needed on the T3X as a mate with a .308 could just top load his?

I've always found as long as the powder is in the ball park its col that gives you accuracy. I will eventually be doing some load development for mine, but think I might shoot better than I can hold it!

Great rifle.

[phil384]

Hopefully not hijacking this thread......

I bought some brand new PPU cases and when I use the Lee hand cutting tool to cut the cases back down to size it seems to be taking LOTS off, and I mean a couple of mm of neck. I've checked and the stud is seated in the cutter properly.

Do PPU cases have silly long necks?

[bullbarrel]

Do PPU cases have silly long necks?

You can answer your own question. Once the 2mm is taken off, do they measure the right length or way too small?

[Randy Bohannon]

Hopefully not hijacking this thread......

I bought some brand new PPU cases and when I use the Lee hand cutting tool to cut the cases back down to size it seems to be taking LOTS off, and I mean a couple of mm of neck. I've checked and the stud is seated in the cutter properly.

Do PPU cases have silly long necks?

They can do Phil, measure and compare to the Saami “trim to” length.

they can also stretch a lot after the first firing and resizing.