24.4 gr AA2200, 55 gr Win FMJBT, LC, WSR, COL 2.250"

Objective:  Produce an economical hand load that will replicate commercially available M193 equivalent  ammunition, e.g. Winchester Q3131A or Federal XM193 for use in 3-gun competition and defense practice. 

The best and easiest method I have determined to prepare .223 brass  is to outsource it.  Part of the reason for this preference is the time I already spend preparing .308 Winchester brass.  Skipping all the brass preparation steps makes the .223 hand loading process most enjoyable, mainly because I am able to use the Dillon 550B in its purest mode of operation.  Insert a case, pull the handle and index equals one well produced round.  The resource I use for processed brass is River Valley Ordnance, in fact they will also ship you processed brass that is already primed with WSR's.   An interesting twist is primed brass can be shipped without a HazMat fee!  In addition, RVO will accept a customer's used brass for reprocessing at an even lower cost, although I have not taken advantage of that service, yet.  Acquiring brass this way is consistent with the Maryland AR15 Shooters recommendation too.

With the brass preparation steps out of the way loading on the Dillon 550B is very straight-forward.  Simply pickup a case inspect it's insides for any debris, (e.g. tumbling media) then place it in station #1 on the press.  Station #1 has mounted in it a Lee Collet Die that is there mainly to round out any necks that may have gotten dinged up along the way.  The next station drops the powder charge using the Dillon powder measure.  Since I use a ball powder, AA2200 the charge is a very consistent 24.4 grains.  Next the bullet is seated with a plain 'ole Lee bullet seating die.  This is where I am considering an upgrade to a Forster Bench Rest bullet seating, but the Lee seems to be doing OK so far.  I just have to be a bit more careful with placing the bullet in position.  The last station has a Lee Factory Crimp Die setup there.  I crimp my .223 rounds for two reasons first, because I think I handle my ammo pretty roughly given that I store rounds loose in .50 cal ammo cans and secondly, for peace of mind with regards to potential bullet setback.  Yeah, I know recoil is not that big an issue with the AR, but like I said its a peace of mind thing.  

I do a quality check when the bullet bin fills up, every hundred rounds or so, before I dump its contents into the ammo can.  That way if I find a problem its isolated to the bullet bin for sorting or reworking.  I check the powder charge weight, OAL and ogive to head dimensions with my calipers, Stoney Points and chamber gauge.

That's it.  That's all there is to loading M193 equivalent .223 ammo.  Obviously there would be more to the process if I wanted more accurate ammo for something like NRA Highpower but for now that's not necessary for my needs.  Another point, government surplus ammo can be purchased for nearly the same cost as I am spending for reloading components - but not, in my experience, with the same quality or reliability.  

Back to 3-Gun Main Page