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Thread: RFI - 223 and 300 BLK Reloading Tools

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by GyroF-16 View Post
    I was the one that posted a link to a .30 carbine load.
    My fist attempts were not successful… the COAL seems so much shorter than most 300 BLK loads (1.8-ish vs 2.05”) that it caused several misfeeds and resulted in several bullets pushed deep into the cases. I probably need to increase my crimp.
    But I’m going to try Hornady 125 gr and 110 gr now, even though they’re more expensive. I’m thinking that keeping the OAL in the 2” realm will help feeding a lot.
    I tried them years ago, and never got them to run well enough to be worth it. Also, when they had a malfunction it usually mangled the brass, rammed the bullet deep in the case, and generally caused issues. I will say I use them regularly in my Howa 300 blk bolt gun with a load of trail boss. It is really like a centerfire 22 at that point, but everyone that comes to the range with me loves to shoot it, so having a cheap bullet that gives both very low recoil and very low noise with a silencer is a big plus.

    I will also say I completely forgot about the excellent speer bullets. I have had great luck with both the 125 grain TNT and the 130 grain HP bullets. I used to find them for a good deal on Midway, and Sportsman's usually had a good price (<$20/100) when they were in stock. I got really lucky and picked up a couple 250 bulk packs from midway a year or two ago for under .15/each and have been slowly working my way through those.

  2. #22
    Site Supporter entropy's Avatar
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    Well I can tell you that I ended up with 20gr of H110 under those 125gr Hornady’s according to my old notes. Cloverleafs at 50yds, about an inch+ or so at 100yds. That’s where I stopped. The brass was also Hornady and the primers were CCI 400. I’m away from my notes, but the COAL was with the crimp centered in the cannelure. No pressure signs. Can’t recall the velocity. I’ll have it all next week for both the 8” (updated numbers) plus the 10.5”.

    Looking at several sources, the Hornady’s are about the cheapest FMJs around. That includes the 147gr bulk floating around.


    *Your mileage may vary, load at your own risk, professional driver on closed track, the emergency stop button is located at the rear of the pedestal....
    Working diligently to enlarge my group size.

  3. #23
    Processed a couple hundred rounds of brass so far. Here is what I went with.

    - Harbor Freight mini cut off saw
    - Upgraded the blade on the saw to an F&D Tool Company jewelers blade, cuts quicker and cleaner, good upgrade
    - Zep Reloading Jig - works well and is precise once you get it mounted but takes a bit of force to add another case which slows down the process. Holds 2 cases at a time and the case you are chopping is held in place by a tight ball detent which is what is causing the force to get the next case in which then ejects the chopped case fairly forcefully. Not sure I would go with this one again but I don't have anything other than YouTube vids to compare it with.
    - Trim-It II Case Trimmer - total PITA, setup was a headache, works pretty good once you have it dialed in but something seems to always be going wrong to have it "not dialed in" once you think it is. Plus whoever works at Black Widow Shooters Supply refuses to answer any communication - phone or Internet. Debating selling and going to WFT but then I would need to get tools to chamfer and debur so I may keep going with this thing for awhile to make sure it just isn't my inexperience making it harder than it needs to be.

    Was able to make some primer trades locally to get a couple thousand CCI small rifle military primers. Grabbed some H110 along with the Barnes 110 Tac TX, Hornady 110 VMAX, and just discovered the Speer 125 TNT JHPs that will be for the majority of the loads. Got a Competition Electronics ProChrono. 300 BLK Pmags. RCBS dies with Lee FCD.

    Now for the fun load development and testing.

    Is it worth chopping 223 brass rather than buying? Probably not if you value your time and all the tools involved if you don't shoot that much. However, it is kind of fun and I like not having to be dependent on shortages and price fluctuations.

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by RevolverRob View Post
    Our maybe we should do a P-F group buy from NOE Moulds - maybe have them do a 115-grain type mold in this vein: https://noebulletmolds.com/site/309-129-pt-exp/
    I could be tempted to buy into that for my 308. A splash of Unique or 2400 and that bullet would be a fun plinker. Trail Boss would also be fun.

    FWIW, I have a NOE mould for my 35Whelen (copy of the venerable 358009). He makes good moulds and the price is right.

    Chris

  5. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by FPS View Post
    Debating selling and going to WFT but then I would need to get tools to chamfer and debur
    I have two of the WFTs (300BO and 223) and what I have been doing is sizing before trimming, but NOT expanding. I just use a decap pin in the sizing die or in another station on a progressive. Then I use the Squirrell Daddy expander, pushing it INTO the case on the station prior to charging. I have not done any accuracy testing but I figure that is going to knock the edge off of the trimmed case. As far as debur, I do not seem to get enough of a burr to worry about when I trim. Some of this can be how fast you have the drill running and how hard you push the case in.

    ETA the picture I forgot:
    Name:  SD pin.jpg
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    Quote Originally Posted by FPS View Post
    Is it worth chopping 223 brass rather than buying? Probably not if you value your time and all the tools involved if you don't shoot that much. However, it is kind of fun and I like not having to be dependent on shortages and price fluctuations.
    Hmmmm, I dunno, since the only reason I got into shooting 300BO was because I had a bunch of cases I botched up to the point that they were good donors...

  6. #26
    The R in F.A.R.T RevolverRob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FPS View Post
    Debating selling and going to WFT but then I would need to get tools to chamfer and debur so I may keep going with this thing for awhile to make sure it just isn't my inexperience making it harder than it needs to be.
    To be honest, I hand trim, with a Forster trimmer. And it takes me maybe 5-min to do 100-pieces of brass, if that.

    I decap the 5.56 brass, cut it, form it with a sizing die without the expander, trim, run the previously mentioned expander with Squirrel Daddy expander and don't have to deburr.

    Is it worth chopping 223 brass rather than buying? Probably not if you value your time and all the tools involved if you don't shoot that much. However, it is kind of fun and I like not having to be dependent on shortages and price fluctuations.
    Pre-Pandemic Panic, I bought 2,000 pieces of once-fired Lake City 5.56 brass for $120 delivered. I couldn't come close to that price for .300BO brass. If you anneal the necks of the newly formed brass figure ~6+ loadings before you crack necks.

    Even not annealing necks, no big deal. I have a 150 pieces I'm on the third loading of without annealing.

  7. #27
    I was messing around with decapping first but it seems like an extra step. Why do you prefer to decap first instead of decapping during resizing?

  8. #28
    The R in F.A.R.T RevolverRob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FPS View Post
    I was messing around with decapping first but it seems like an extra step. Why do you prefer to decap first instead of decapping during resizing?
    I had to check my notes. This is my protocol. Bear in mind, I do all of my work in batches on a Lee APP.

    Once-Fired 5.56 Lake City Brass
    Batch Decap
    Batch Swage primer pockets
    Wash brass (I am a cheapo and don't tumble, I use a bit of dish soap and a plastic tray I put holes in to act as an agitator and shake it by hand)
    Dry brass
    Cut 5.56 to .300BO length
    Lube
    Size
    Trim to length
    Prime
    Expand
    Charge (batch check charge weights)
    Load
    Crimp
    Check LOAL

    So, the big thing is, I only want to lube the cases once. I use the Lee Universal Decapping Die where the cases don't need to be lubed or even clean to use. And then the primer pocket swager on the APP is the same story. No primers makes cleaning the brass a bit easier and similarly reduces the junk in the water I use for cleaning, by not having as many of the toxic primer chemicals in it. I'm just a tree hugger that way, I guess.

  9. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by FPS View Post
    I was messing around with decapping first but it seems like an extra step. Why do you prefer to decap first instead of decapping during resizing?
    Quote Originally Posted by RevolverRob View Post
    I had to check my notes. This is my protocol. Bear in mind, I do all of my work in batches on a Lee APP.
    What you have for press can be an issue. I typically decap separately, but that is on a 650 where I have plenty of stations, I think this is what I did (been a little while...):

    • Lube with lanolin potion
    • Toolhead 1/Station1: Decap (maybe with a Squirel Daddy 223 expander, just in case the case might be bent)
    • Station 2: 300BO Size Die (This leaves me with funky looking brass that still feeds through the APP that is setup for 223)
    • Wash off lube, dry at least overnight (no primers, dries fast)
    • Swage in APP
    • Cutoff in saw with Squirrel Daddy jig
    • Trim with WFT (if I have the speed right not a bad external burr)
    • Optional wash (I like the stuff to be shiny, gets all the fingerprints off and dries overnight without primers)
    • Toolhead 2/Station1: Expand with Squirrel Daddy expander (this shoves the pin in, knocking the corner off instead of deburr, also makes it perfectly round right before it gets a bullet)
    • Station 2: Charge (With Hornady measure, I just like it better)
    • Station 3: Dillon Powder Check probe
    • Station 4: Seat Bullet
    • Station 5: Lee FCD


    This is just what I did, but I am a big nerd.

  10. #30
    Site Supporter entropy's Avatar
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    Not sure if I’m going to be able to shoot the .300 test. Neighbors wife of 62 years passed this week. The kids and friends are cycling thru. We’re going to stop by again tomorrow, but I don’t want to be the guy causing a ruckus at such a somber time. It may have to wait.
    Working diligently to enlarge my group size.

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