I'm curious as to why there is so little reloading info in the reloading books on the 55 and 62 grn FMJ bullets, especially the 62's

So many people shoot them and most books don't even mention the 62's so you have to look at the 60"s and 63 grn loadings, look at the length of the bearing surface of the bullet as that has a big effect on pressure, then work up your own loads from there.

it would be really nice to see more info, especially on the 62's.

I've been reloading for 35 years, so I can hit it fairly close without getting into overpressure loads just from experience, but for the guy just starting out, it sure would be nice to have a good refernce.

Anybody got some good loads for the .5.56 with the SS109 62"s???
They have a longer bearing surface than most 62's and are never all that accurate due to their construction anyway.

John K

There shouldn't be a problem finding the info.
I use IMR4895 / 24.5 gr / 62 gr bullet with good results.
I also use H335 but I'm at work and can't remember the exact load.
IMR4895 is one of my favorite powders. Been using it 20+ years.
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Don't Bogart

Thanks, I've had good luck with the 4895. My gun seems to hate the H335.
I have not found a good load with it yet for my rifle. Every rifle is different.
I want to experiment with the AA2230 more, it's shot very well in my rifle as have the IMR 8208 XBR. The X Terminator has been so so, but I'm not giving up on it yet. Tac is decent with heavier bullets.

I'm really looking to see what others have loaded the SS109's at. They do have a long bearing area compared to other 62's, so they will generate higher pressure with a similar load in a standard FMJ.
They are not known for being real accurate due to the insert anyway.
Thank you for your reply, anybody else have any good loads?

Thanks, John K

I think you will like the 2230 powder, I've been using it now for awhile, and for reloading data I use the Lee Modern Reloading Manual,(there are 22 loads just for 55 gr alone) . It has one of the biggest and best compulations of data out there, not limited to one or two powders or projectiles. I use it to reload all of my rounds, but I also use some of the others manuals out there as well

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What other 62gr bullets do you have in mind?
I ran some numbers on QL with the SS109 and Speer 62gr 1050 and a Max load of Tac. As you can see the Speer 62gr generated more PSI than the SS109.

Cartridge : .223 Rem.
Bullet : .224, 62, IMI FMJBT SS109
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.260 inch or 57.40 mm
Barrel Length : 18.5 inch or 469.9 mm
Powder : Ramshot TAC
Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 2.0% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !
Step Fill. Charge Vel. Energy Pmax Pmuz Prop.Burnt B_Time
% % Grains fps ft.lbs psi psi % ms
-20.0 79 19.60 2314 737 27854 7054 82.6 1.189
-18.0 81 20.09 2373 775 29726 7305 84.0 1.157
-16.0 83 20.58 2431 814 31723 7553 85.4 1.126
-14.0 85 21.07 2490 854 33862 7796 86.8 1.096
-12.0 87 21.56 2550 895 36150 8035 88.1 1.067
-10.0 89 22.05 2609 937 38602 8267 89.4 1.036
-08.0 90 22.54 2669 981 41229 8492 90.6 1.005
-06.0 92 23.03 2729 1025 44047 8709 91.7 0.975
-04.0 94 23.52 2789 1071 47075 8917 92.8 0.947
-02.0 96 24.01 2850 1118 50315 9116 93.8 0.919
+00.0 98 24.50 2910 1166 53768 9305 94.7 0.892 ! Near Maximum !
+02.0 100 24.99 2970 1215 57471 9482 95.6 0.866 ! Near Maximum !
+04.0 102 25.48 3031 1265 61452 9648 96.4 0.841 ! Near Maximum !
+06.0 104 25.97 3091 1316 65738 9800 97.1 0.817 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+08.0 106 26.46 3152 1368 70358 9938 97.8 0.793 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+10.0 108 26.95 3213 1421 75344 10062 98.3 0.770 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!


Cartridge : .223 Rem.
Bullet : .224, 62, Speer FMJ 1050
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 2.260 inch or 57.40 mm
Barrel Length : 18.5 inch or 469.9 mm
Powder : Ramshot TAC
Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 2.0% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !
Step Fill. Charge Vel. Energy Pmax Pmuz Prop.Burnt B_Time
% % Grains fps ft.lbs psi psi % ms
-20.0 81 19.60 2347 758 29243 7058 83.2 1.165
-18.0 83 20.09 2407 797 31258 7306 84.7 1.133
-16.0 85 20.58 2467 838 33419 7550 86.1 1.102
-14.0 87 21.07 2528 880 35735 7789 87.5 1.072
-12.0 89 21.56 2588 922 38222 8022 88.8 1.040
-10.0 91 22.05 2649 966 40894 8248 90.0 1.009
-08.0 93 22.54 2711 1012 43767 8466 91.2 0.978
-06.0 95 23.03 2772 1058 46858 8676 92.3 0.948
-04.0 97 23.52 2834 1106 50188 8877 93.4 0.920
-02.0 99 24.01 2896 1154 53772 9066 94.4 0.892 ! Near Maximum !
+00.0 101 24.50 2957 1204 57606 9245 95.3 0.866 ! Near Maximum !
+02.0 103 24.99 3019 1255 61736 9411 96.1 0.840 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+04.0 105 25.48 3081 1307 66197 9564 96.9 0.815 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+06.0 108 25.97 3144 1360 71021 9702 97.6 0.791 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+08.0 110 26.46 3206 1415 76248 9826 98.2 0.767 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+10.0 112 26.95 3268 1470 81922 9933 98.7 0.745 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!

Thank you Steve.
The one really neat thing about the Tac powder is that it has much lower pressure vs the FPS it produces than other powders do. For that reason, the higher to max loads of Tac don't worry me as much when it comes to high pressure.
It's a really neat powder if you find a load that shoots well in your rifle with it.

I have tried the Tac with the 69's, but not the 62's. I better get on the ball.

I just got a Crony with the printer, I'm really looking forward to the data that I get from it.
Having a cronograph is almost a necessity when working up loads and figuring bullet drop.
You can find out a lot about your loads shooting over the screens.

Very good info. I have not seen the BC numbers on the SS109's, they just look longer than most and I'm not sure if the bearing area is longer or just the ojive. I'm thinking it's just a longer ojive.

John K

As was suggested, the 24.5 IMR 4895 was the bomb. 5 shots went into 1.2", the fifth a called flier opened the group to 1.7", 5 shots at 100.

I was very impressed with that load with green tip SS109's

I only tried a couple of other powders, it was just too cold, the results are in my other post.

Gotta love the older powders, like us old guys, they still have the stuff.

Steve, I loaded some Tac also, just didn't get the chance to shoot it today. I'm going to wait for a nice balmy 35 degree day to try again and will try the Tac loads.

John K

Nobody around here uses Varget, huh?
After a couple of months "playing" we've finally nailed down the bullets for our .223's.
Oddly enough, mine seems to really like the 69 MK's- then nothing else down to 52 Nosler Competitions. The Noslers grouped pretty well, but POI was waaayyy left and low. Same promise showed with 82 gr. match Bergers (single loaded), but again POI way off.

Now it's time to play with powders I guess...

Seems though, that once you've got it down to the "best", that's all you're going to want to shoot because changing means re-zeroing the scope. Or, do you guys never stop- and constantly try something different in search of some magic combination?

Accrute 2200 is a good powder also and is a little cheaper!

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man that loves guns Big Little X NAVY 375 Dan 357 M 41 M 44 M Long guns 22 223 243 25.06 270 30.06 Black powder 45 cal 50 cal hand and longe guns. I load all that I shoot

Reloader 10X I use 24 grains with a 55 grain FMJ. A friend uses a similar load in a 24 inch bolt action and gets right at 3300 FPS with no signs of excess pressure. kwg

My heavy barrel AR shoots 69gr and 52gr MK's, nothing in-between. The 1/9 twist just doesn't group well with 55gr bullets. Powder was 4064, Varget or military pull down 4895 with a 4064 burn rate.
Guys with their match bolt rifles would see my targets and shake their heads in disbelief.

Use the 60gr loading. This will do you good or the 63-64

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man that loves guns Big Little X NAVY 375 Dan 357 M 41 M 44 M Long guns 22 223 243 25.06 270 30.06 Black powder 45 cal 50 cal hand and longe guns. I load all that I shoot

You can go to IMR Legendary Powers then go to IMR Hodgon reloading date center then look up 223 then look down the chart you will find a load data for the 63gr use it.

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man that loves guns Big Little X NAVY 375 Dan 357 M 41 M 44 M Long guns 22 223 243 25.06 270 30.06 Black powder 45 cal 50 cal hand and longe guns. I load all that I shoot

"Why so little loading info on 62 FMJ's "

Not many use them, few powders work well with them so there's not a lot to say about them.
IMHO.

All kinds of loads on Hodgdon Powder site.