New to reloading, questions about 556/223

[CoreyH]

Good evening everyone, hope y'all are doing well and thanks for popping in to help.

As the title suggests I'm just starting my learning process into reloading and I'm having a difficult time of trying to figure out the differences between the two cartridges. As far as I can tell, 556 is loaded with higher pressures and has a 0.125 longer ....neck?....
What id like to know is there any consideration when reloading them all for my 556 chambered rifle? Will I need to separate the 223 and 556 and treat them differently or......?

I'm trying to pay attention to all the details and so far I've gotten as far as the "full size and primer removal" stage. I just spent alot of time adjusting the die so that my case-to-shoulder length is within .002-.004 of a factory made 556 round. My round was 1.520 and my casings after resizing were generally 1.5180. Is this acceptable?

Thanks again for the time an help

 

[atscott]

Get yourself a good current reloading manual and follow it closely at first. I like the Lyman manual but have several that I update and cross reference. It has things like Overall case length and trim to length references. Be wary of internet advise until you get some experience. I've been reloading 20 years and still refer back to the manuals for measurements and safe max loads when using an unfamiliar powder. Every so often manufacturers change the formula for an older powder hence the need to stay somewhat current with your references.

 

[CoreyH]

Get yourself a good current reloading manual and follow it closely at first. I like the Lyman manual but have several that I update and cross reference. It has things like Overall case length and trim to length references. Be wary of internet advise until you get some experience. I've been reloading 20 years and still refer back to the manuals for measurements and safe max loads when using an unfamiliar powder. Every so often manufacturers change the formula for an older powder hence the need to stay somewhat current with your references.

I have Lyman one, 49th edition I've been using it thus far for what powder an primer to use. But I've not gotten that far naturally. I used a comparator to get the above numbers. It doesn't tell me how much tolerance it has with that though.

 

[Freshly Minted Georgian!]

Speer manual has been my primary since the 80’s, although I probably have a dozen or so different reference books I’ve picked up over the years. I also do a fair amount of casting so I rely on the Lyman Cast Bullet manual frequently

 

[Freshly Minted Georgian!]

My book is showing trim to length of 1.750” with variance of +/- 3 thou normal and acceptable. 1.5180“ case length, something sounds wonky. The guys are right, be wary of internet advice and trust your book. PM if you want to talk about what you are seeing.

 

[palmettomoon]

Read a damned book, not the innernet. Too many idiots spewing "advice" on topics they've read about "online." Edited to say ALL the advice given by the members above is GOOD ADVICE!

If you read manuals, there was never a separate section for .223 Rem and 5.56 mm NATO until recently, very recently. They are the same damned cartridge!

I have fired tens of thousands of rounds of 5.56mm NATO from very expensive rifles and machine guns CLEARLY marked on the receiver ".223 Remington." I have never had, seen, witnessed, been consulted on, or even heard of a 5.56mm NATO round "Kabooming" a .223 Rem receiver/rifle. It's pure bullshyte.

With a heavier (longer ogive) bullet you may, may have earlier contact with the lands in your barrel at the chamber leade. Maybe. Will it lead to higher pressures? Maybe, slightly. Are you in danger? Hell no.

Years ago, some idiot "gun writer" didn't understand the measurement of chamber pressures in "C.U.P." or copper units of pressure and "P.S.I." or pounds per square inch and they declared, much to the delight of Billy Bob Gun Counter guys and self proclaimed "Expurts on firearms" that the 5.56mm NATO round was much more powerful than the .223 Rem.

It's the single biggest FUDD separator I've ever encountered. Anyone that tells you that it's dangerous to load to 5.56 data or shoot 5.56mm NATO rounds from a .223 Rem marked rifle is a super Fudd. I've lost my temper now so I'll go away for a bit.

 

[BHPSteel]

Just be really wary of people who offer you 'favorite recipes' until you have some solid experience that will help you avoid making potentially damaging mistakes.

As has been noted, rely on that loading manual you have, and by all means verify the data you receive across multiple sources if you have access to them. If you're in need of extra confirmation, Hodgdon the powder manufacturer has a useful online resource HERE. The closer you can get to the specs as provided, (case length, OAL, seating depths, powder loads for given bullets etc) the safer you'll be while you're learning the ropes.

As palmettomoon says, there's a lot of bull**** wisdom floated around on the Internet, and it's worthwhile being skeptical of any hard and fast advice you get from random guys.

Except using case lube on rifle cases. Don't forget case lube. if you do, you'll probably learn to regret it. It's great advice. Don't ask me how I know.

I'll just add to Freshly Minted Georgian! 's comment that your case length looks very different from what my reloading handbook says, so I advise you to go look in your handbook and maybe verify against another reliable source. In general, the handbooks will be more reliable than comparison with an existing round. SAAMI specs for case dimensions are 'out there' too, if you want further confirmation.

Indeed, what you might do when you've got some work-ups of your own under your belt is to have dummy 'model rounds' that you'll be able to use to do some practical tests like ensuring rounds will chamber, plunk properly, feed from mags etc.

 

[CoreyH]

Just be really wary of people who offer you 'favorite recipes' until you have some solid experience that will help you avoid making potentially damaging mistakes.

As has been noted, rely on that loading manual you have, and by all means verify the data you receive across multiple sources if you have access to them. If you're in need of extra confirmation, Hodgdon the powder manufacturer has a useful online resource HERE. The closer you can get to the specs as provided, (case length, OAL, seating depths, powder loads for given bullets etc) the safer you'll be while you're learning the ropes.

As palmettomoon says, there's a lot of bull**** wisdom floated around on the Internet, and it's worthwhile being skeptical of any hard and fast advice you get from random guys.

Except using case lube on rifle cases. Don't forget case lube. if you do, you'll probably learn to regret it. It's great advice. Don't ask me how I know.

I'll just add to Freshly Minted Georgian! 's comment that your case length looks very different from what my reloading handbook says, so I advise you to go look in your handbook and maybe verify against another reliable source. In general, the handbooks will be more reliable than comparison with an existing round. SAAMI specs for case dimensions are 'out there' too, if you want further confirmation.

Indeed, what you might do when you've got some work-ups of your own under your belt is to have dummy 'model rounds' that you'll be able to use to do some practical tests like ensuring rounds will chamber, plunk properly, feed from mags etc.

That number wasn't the overall case length, I'll snap a picture here before work so you get an idea of what I was measuring.

I appreciate all the sound help, I'm certainly not looking for any recipes simply because each person's gear and setup is different and what works for you may not necessarily work for me. I'm mostly just trying to ensure I'm doin stuff correctly before I get too far along and learn I've somehow ruined a good bit of my brass or stressed the cases too much and made em dangerous to reload.

 

[CoreyH]

Read a damned book, not the innernet. Too many idiots spewing "advice" on topics they've read about "online." Edited to say ALL the advice given by the members above is GOOD ADVICE!

If you read manuals, there was never a separate section for .223 Rem and 5.56 mm NATO until recently, very recently. They are the same damned cartridge!

I have fired tens of thousands of rounds of 5.56mm NATO from very expensive rifles and machine guns CLEARLY marked on the receiver ".223 Remington." I have never had, seen, witnessed, been consulted on, or even heard of a 5.56mm NATO round "Kabooming" a .223 Rem receiver/rifle. It's pure bullshyte.

With a heavier (longer ogive) bullet you may, may have earlier contact with the lands in your barrel at the chamber leade. Maybe. Will it lead to higher pressures? Maybe, slightly. Are you in danger? Hell no.

Years ago, some idiot "gun writer" didn't understand the measurement of chamber pressures in "C.U.P." or copper units of pressure and "P.S.I." or pounds per square inch and they declared, much to the delight of Billy Bob Gun Counter guys and self proclaimed "Expurts on firearms" that the 5.56mm NATO round was much more powerful than the .223 Rem.

It's the single biggest FUDD separator I've ever encountered. Anyone that tells you that it's dangerous to load to 5.56 data or shoot 5.56mm NATO rounds from a .223 Rem marked rifle is a super Fudd. I've lost my temper now so I'll go away for a bit.

That explains why I was unable to find a 5.56 section in my book, it was all a bit confusing if I'm being honest. Appreciate the info, was concerned there was some minor differences in the cases or something and I might have been messing something up without knowing it

 

[CoreyH]

The measurement here matches exactly with what I get from measuring a factory made 556 LAP round. Though in my book I don't have a number to compare it to