Hi All,
First off, I'm extremely new to reloading - just started this week, so maybe this is a dumb question, but here goes:
I loaded up a bunch of .223 in different powder charges using H335 for some and Benchmark for others. All of these had the same COL, same bullet, same brass (give or take).
I noticed that no matter the load, I couldn't get H335 to deliver more than 3/4 of an inch for me at 100 yards. On the other hand, 23.5 of Benchmark put five shots through the same hole, which I was amazed by - hand loading is definitely the way to go.
My question is - is there anything I can try to get H335 to perform better? I read on a couple of sites that when loading flake or ball powder like H335 it's a good idea to clean the flash holes on the cases, which I did NOT do for any of the brass that I used on this last run... is it worth trying that as well or will that really make a difference?
I know I can just stick with Benchmark now that I have a known-good load that works perfectly, but I have to hand-weigh each load since the stick powder doesn't measure consistently through the powder measure on my LNL press - I would love to work up something using a flake powder so I could crank rounds out for my winter coyote hunting trips.
Also, is there another flake powder that is popular with the SH crowd for loading .223?
Thanks,
Russ
First off, I'm extremely new to reloading - just started this week, so maybe this is a dumb question, but here goes:
I loaded up a bunch of .223 in different powder charges using H335 for some and Benchmark for others. All of these had the same COL, same bullet, same brass (give or take).
I noticed that no matter the load, I couldn't get H335 to deliver more than 3/4 of an inch for me at 100 yards. On the other hand, 23.5 of Benchmark put five shots through the same hole, which I was amazed by - hand loading is definitely the way to go.
My question is - is there anything I can try to get H335 to perform better? I read on a couple of sites that when loading flake or ball powder like H335 it's a good idea to clean the flash holes on the cases, which I did NOT do for any of the brass that I used on this last run... is it worth trying that as well or will that really make a difference?
I know I can just stick with Benchmark now that I have a known-good load that works perfectly, but I have to hand-weigh each load since the stick powder doesn't measure consistently through the powder measure on my LNL press - I would love to work up something using a flake powder so I could crank rounds out for my winter coyote hunting trips.
Also, is there another flake powder that is popular with the SH crowd for loading .223?
Thanks,
Russ