Anyone here reload??

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I bought a Savage 12 Long Range Precision Varminter .223 rifle a few weeks ago and just got the scope and I've about got it ready to shoot. But I want to get some really good target/match ammo. The barrel is a 1in7" twist so I can shoot heavy grain bullets. I'd like to shoot about80 grain.

Is there anyone on here that can reload .223 that has GOOD precision reloading equipment that can produce CONSISTENT rounds? I'm in the Petersburg area but don't mind driving an hour to pick up the bullets.



THANKS !!

And don't forget my site. There's almost 200 members and a bunch of guns for sale. www.VaGunTrader.com

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Are you interested in doing it yourself?

I just picked up a brand new Dillon 550B off eBay using the live.com 30% off for less than $300.

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I considered buying everything to reload, maybe later. Would just like to get some quality loads to shoot my new toy.

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I don't have anything for 223, and my stuff probably would not be considered "good" equipment - bought the only one I could afford (at the time) up at Green Top. However, from what I've seen, it isn't as much the equipment as the operator. My "cheap" reloading equipment produces 0.25" groups with my 308 at 100yd.

Of course I hand measure each load, including the empty cases and individual bullets. And as of yet I haven't even gotten into case trimming or even making sure the hollow points are all the same on the cheap Sierra Match Kings I've been shooting.

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maybe you could find someone and borrow their equipment (or ask for time to use their equipment) and you supply the other components (powder, brass, bullets, primers), and be able to call upon their experience if you need to.

That's what I'd like to do--I want to get into reloading, but I'd like to make a bunch of rounds on someone else's equipment first, to figure it all out without needing to lay out the money for equipment of my own. Eventually I'd get my own equipment, though.

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Yep, I reload whenever the slide locks back

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only when the first 14 didnt get 'em!

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trx680 wrote:

Is there anyone on here that can reload .223 that has GOOD precision reloading equipment that can produce CONSISTENT rounds? I'm in the Petersburg area but don't mind driving an hour to pick up the bullets.

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My Dad and I reload .223 ammo. You can't go wrong with Dillion equipment. They have the everything you'll need and the customer service is great. Start with a couple of books. Read, read, read. You're going to need a good scale for things like checking powder measurements, calipers to double check cartridge lengths, etc. Get good equipment and you won't have to invest in it again.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/

I normally get components like primers and powder at a gun show to avoid the HAZMAT fees applied to shipping them.

When you start reloading, don't do dozens of rounds before firing them. When trying something new, we typically take what the book says are the range from the lowest to the highest safe load and make 5 samples at the bottom, go up a notch and make 5 more, up another notch and make 5 more, untilwe're close the high end. Then I set up my rifle and test them. I normally use ~50Yds from a bipod with an Armalite M15A4C.

As I shoot the 5 test rounds,we measure everything we can: grouping on the target, felt recoil, how far away and where the brass lands, how hard the bolt is coming back and is it going completely back into place as the next round is loading, etc. Starting at the low end I move up through the samples. If I reach a point where I think the samples are too hot, I stop and we use a bullet puller to disassemble those samples later.

Using that method I can pretty quickly identify the combination(s) of primer, powder, and bullet in each configuration that suites me and my rifle(s) the best. After a while, you'll be able to go back to your notes and assemble your rounds to meet your specific needs.