.223 Remington – The ExhaustNotes Blog

Does Weighing Each Charge Matter?

By Joe Berk

All right, all you Mini 14 and other rifle reloaders, the question du jour is this: Does it make a difference if you weigh each powder charge versus simply dropping them from the powder dispenser?

I always suspected the answer was no, but I want to answer the question more rigorously. I also want to try IMR 3031 in the Mini 14. I have an 8-lb bottle and I have not loaded .223 ammo with it.

An 8-lb bottle of IMR 3031. That’s good for about 2240 .223 rounds.

Powder prices have gone through the roof in the last couple of years. I can’t believe I actually shelled out $426 (plus tax!) for a bottle of powder. It is what it is.

For this experiment, I used my trusty RCBS Rockchucker (a tool I’ve been using for more than 50 years now), RCBS dies (with a neck size only die for the depriming and resizing step), an old RCBS balance beam scale (another tool I’ve been using for more than 50 years), my RCBS powder dispenser (ditto on the time in service), and an RCBS powder dribbler (yep, I’ve been using that one since I was in the Army, too).

I’ve been using my RCBS Rockchucker and powder dispenser since 1974. RCBS makes good gear. It lasts forever.

Hornady 55-grain full metal jacket boattail bullets: Good stuff in the Mini 14.

The IMR 3031 load data came right out of the online Speer reloading page. For 55-grain bullets in the .223 Remington, Speer showed an IMR 3031 load ranging from 24.0 grains to 26.0 grains (a compressed load). I went with Lake City brass and Winchester small rifle primers. Cartridge overall length was set at 2.213 inches. I loaded one group of cartridges with 24.0 grains of IMR 3031 (dispensed directly from the powder dispenser to the cartridge, without weighing each charge), another group of cartridges with 25.5 grains of IMR 3031 (similarly dispensed from the powder dispenser), and a final group of cartridges with (again) 25.5 grains of IMR 3031, but this time I trickled the charge in to have exactly 25.5 grains.

25.5 grains of IMR 3031 in my old RCBS balance beam scale. It’s another RCBS tool I’ve been using for 50+ years.

IMR 3031 is a stick powder, and the individual sticks are relatively large. The powder dispenser was showing a variation of about 0.3 grains in the charges it threw. I didn’t know what that would do to accuracy and how it would affect velocity variation. I made that last batch weighing each charge to see if doing so (i.e., to get exactly 25.5 grains, with no variation in charge weight) would improve accuracy and reduce velocity variation. That’s what this experiment and this blog post are all about.

The RCBS powder trickler. The drill is to set the dispenser for just under the desired throw weight, and then trickle in the last 0.1-0.2 grains to get exactly 25.5 grains.

Another long-lived RCBS tool: My powder funnel. Yep, that plastic part has been working well for me for the same 5+ decades.

I use an RCBS neck sizing die and an RCBS bullet sizing die when loading .223 ammo for the Mini 14.

On that neck size only business, in the past while developing Mini 14 loads I found that the rifle groups much better if I don’t full length resize the cases, but instead neck size only. A guy on an internet forum wanted to go to war with me over that, responding angrily with NO NO NO!!! His comments emphasized the unsuitability of neck sized cartridges in a semi-automatic rifle, my stupidity, and my questionable ancestry. I told him I appreciated his inputs, but when I read them to my rifle, it ignored them completely and continued to function with 100% reliability. That ratcheted the guy up even more. I’ll tell you: The Internet brings out the worst in some people. Boorish behavior, the dumbing down of the human race, and online disinhibition have changed us, and not for the better. Anyway, I digress…back to the main topic.

IMR 3031. Big sticks. We’ll see how it shoots.

As mentioned above, IMR 3031 is a stick powder, and the sticks are big enough to interfere with cycling the RCBS powder dispenser. Ball powders fall smoothly; stick powders want to catch in the rotary mechanism’s cavity. When I dispensed powder directly into each case, I saw significant variations in case fill.

Case fill when filling cases straight from the powder dispenser. Note the variations in fill level.

I know that the case fill variations are more due to how the propellant falls in the case than anything else. I didn’t think they were driven by propellant weight variations. When I weighed each powder charge and added those to the cases, I observed the same kind of case fill variations (which I think supports my “let the sticks fall where they may” hypothesis).

Case fills when precisely trickling in 25.5 grains of IMR 3031. The variations in fill level are similarly random to variations that occur when filling the cases directly from the powder dispenser. Note that these are compressed loads; the propellant will be compressed during the bullet seating operation.

Finished .223 ammunition, loaded into three different test sample groups: Loads with 24.0 grains with powder dispensed directly into the case, 25.5 grains with powder dispensed directly into the case, and 25.5 grains with powder trickled and weighed before loading into the case.

With my ammo groups complete, I was ready to head to the West End Gun Club to test for accuracy and velocity. A few thoughts up front:

- My accuracy tests should be taken with a very large grain of salt. My Mini 14 has iron sights and my vision is not what it used to be. Instead of shooting 5-shot groups at 100 yards, I’m going to shoot a single 20-shot group with each load at 50 yards. I’m an old guy and that’s my approach. If you don’t like it, start your own blog.
- The chrono results will be much more rigorous. I trust my Garmin chrono big time. It’s one of the best bits of gear I own.
- My Mini 14 is the same one you’ve seen before here on the ExNotes blog. It’s my least accurate rifle, and it is one of the most fun to shoot.

Well, this blog is getting a bit long, so I’ll call it a day and say that’s enough for now. I’m off to the range. Watch for the results in another day or two.

A .223 Browning Micro Medallion A-Bolt

By Joe Berk

I recently posted a blog about a couple of accuracy loads for the 6.5 Creedmoor Browning X-Bolt. This blog focuses on a different Browning: A .223 Browning Micro Medallion A-Bolt. It’s the rifle you see here.

I bought the A-Bolt new from a local gun shop in southern California about 35 years ago. I paid $339 for it. It doesn’t have fancy walnut but when I saw it on the rack I asked to see it. I soon as I held it I wanted it. It just felt right. I fancied it as a walking around varmint rifle suitable for rabbits and coyotes, although I’ve never taken this rifle anywhere but the West End Gun Club 100-yard rifle range. I still make gun purchase decisions based on the kind of hunting and shooting I did 50 years ago in Texas. Someday I may get out and chase jack rabbits and coyotes with this rifle again. I can dream.

Browning offered their A-Bolt Medallion series, which were full-sized rifles, and their A-Bolt Micro Medallions, which have a shorter barrel and a shorter stock. The Browning Medallions and Micro Medallions were discontinued a few years ago when Browning shifted to the X-Bolt rifle, but you can still find the Micro Medallion A-Bolt rifle on the used gun racks and on the gun auction boards. A recent check showed that they go for around $650.

The rifle you see here is Browning’s Micro Medallion. I like the smaller size. It’s a lighter rifle and the shorter stock fits me well. I don’t like the gloss finish, but at the time it was all Browning offered (they later offered a satin finished rifle). What’s nice about the gloss finish, though, is that it has held up well. It and the deep bluing make this firearm look brand new. I like the rifle’s cut checkering and the darker fore end pistol grip tips, too. Browning made a big deal about their rifle’s short bolt angle in their advertising back in the 1980s and 1990s (bolt angle is the angle the bolt turns through to allow extraction, ejection, and loading). I like it, but if the rifle had a c0nventional bolt throw it wouldn’t have bothered me. It’s something different, but it’s not necessary. It is cool.

Fairly plain, gloss finished walnut. The Browning’s bolt throw is a short 60 degrees, much less than a conventional bolt action rifle’s 90 degrees. The rifle’s bluing is amazing.

A nice rifle. I use the notepad to keep track of which load I fire at which target.

Cut checkering on the Browning. These rifles were manufactured in Japan. They did a nice job.

The fore end tip and the pistol grip have rosewood caps. They look good.

Shortly after I bought the rifle, I mounted an inexpensive 4X Tasco scope on it. That worked okay for a couple of years and then the scope called it quits, so I bought another inexpensive 4X scope (a Nikko this time). The Nikko has held up well.

You might wonder: Why a nonvariable 4X scope? Why not the more popular 3-9X you see on most rifles? In my opinion, the 4X is a lot more useable in the field. I don’t get dramatically better groups with higher magnification scopes, and I like the lightness and the much larger field of view a 4X offers. Unfortunately, not too many companies offer fixed power 4X scopes these days. The scope companies’ marketing has convinced everyone they need variable scopes with high magnification.

The Nikko 4X scope was inexpensive. It has parallax and focus adjustments. Not the roll engraving on the receiver.

In my recent blog about the Browning maple Medallion 6.5 Creedmoor X-Bolt, I described a couple of accuracy loads I developed for that rifle. This time, my objectives were different. I wasn’t shooting the .223 Micro Medallion for accuracy. I was harvesting brass.

Bulk Remington .223 ammunition. It comes in a big plastic bag. I counted out 100 rounds for this range session.

A macro shot of the bulk Remington .223 ammo. Note the crimp applied to each round. I generally find that uncrimped ammo is more accurate with this cartridge. I think the crimping induces a bit of tilt in the bullet.

Several years ago I scoured the Internet looking for Remington brass. I’ve always had good luck with Remington brass (it lasts longer and it provides better accuracy, in my opinion). At that time and to my surprise, loaded Remington bulk ammo was cheaper than unprimed brass. For me it was a no brainer: I ordered a thousand rounds of loaded .223 Remington bulk ammo. When I need .223 brass, I’ll shoot up a bunch of the bulk ammo to get the brass.

The bulk Remington ammo was notoriously inaccurate in my Ruger Mini 14, which is the only rifle I had previously used with this ammunition. I wanted to see how the ammo would shoot in the Browning. I knew the Browning was accurate based on previous range testing at 100 yards (some of my reloads would shoot into a quarter of an inch in the Browning; I’ll give you those loads at the end of this blog).

The Remington ammo did well enough in the Browning. It held loads right around a minute and a half of angle at 100 yards, and it printed about where the scope was zeroed. Take a look:

Cheap ammo, but results that weren’t too shabby. I could hunt with this load.

This accuracy is good enough for minute of jackrabbit or coyote. The Browning Micro Medallion rifle is fun to shoot, too. It has negligible recoil, the shorter Micro Medallion barrel helps to keep the weight down, and it connects well at 100 yards.

About the accuracy loads I mentioned above: In a previous load development effort I tested .223 loads in several rifles, including two Remington 700 varmint guns with bull barrels and big scopes. To my surprise, the Micro Medallion and its 4X scope had no problem running with the big guns and their much heavier barrels and much higher magnifications. Here’s how the Micro Medallion and three other .223 rifles grouped a few years ago at 100 yards:

The Browning Micro Medallion shot half-inch groups with ARComp propellant (and it was basically a minute-of-angle rifle with nearly all other loads). I’ll reload the brass harvested from this range session with the Hornady V-Max bullet and ARComp propellant. This is great performance, especially considering the lightweight barrel and the 4X scope. It’s a great rifle.

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Mini 14 Bench Cleanup

When you’re a reloader you get a bunch of odds and ends components and you go on a jag to load them all just to get the stuff off the bench. Oddball bullet dribs and drabs, brass you don’t want to bother cleaning, trimming, or sorting, that sort of thing. I had a bunch of the above laying around crying out to become .223 ammo, I hadn’t been to the range with my Mini 14, and it was time to shoot up the leftovers.

First, a bit about the rifle. It’s what Davidson’s called the Mini 14 Tactical, and it was a limited run they had Ruger make with Circassian walnut stocks. I looked at a bunch of them on Gunbroker before I spotted the one you see here and I pounced (most had very plain walnut).

An unusual Mini 14 with a Circassian stock. I get a lot of compliments on this rifle. It’s not for sale.

This is a rifle that gets compliments every time I bring it to the range. I’ve written about my Mini 14 before here on the ExNotes blog and I know what it takes to make this puppy group. This wasn’t going to be one of those days; like I said, I was just using up remnants from reloading sessions for other rifles.

The left side of the Mini 14’s Circassian walnut stock.

The right side. This sure is a nice-looking Mini 14.

The Davidson’s Mini 14s came with 30-round mags and a flush suppressor, both of which are apparently favored by folks who rob gas stations and convenience stores (our legislators have their heads so far up their fourth points of contact they haven’t seen daylight in decades). I replaced the flash suppressor with a muzzle brake to make the rifle much less intimidating.

You might laugh at a muzzle brake on a Mini 14. It works, though. Fire a Mini 14 with a muzzle brake and then fire one without and you’ll feel the difference.

I also installed the Tech Sights Mini 14 rear aperture sight, which I like a lot better than the standard Mini 14 rear sight.

The Tech Sights rear aperture sight. If you have a Mini 14 and you don’t have one of these, you’re missing the boat.

I loaded three configurations of ammo. The first was a new load I had developed using XBR 8208 propellant. For reasons I can’t remember, I had a bunch of Hornady 55-grain full metal jacket bullets I had pulled from another load. If you look closely at the photo below, you’ll see the circumferential ring where the collet puller grabbed the bullets. My thought was that pulled bullets would degrade accuracy, which is why they were tucked away and ignored for a long time. The load was 25.3 grains of XBR 8208, mixed brass previously fired in the Mini 14 (neck sized only for this load), and Winchester small rifle primers. I seated the bullets about midway in the cannelure, but I didn’t crimp. For this load, I didn’t tumble or trim the brass, either.

55-grain bullets loaded in .223 Remington brass for the Mini 14. Note the circumferential bullet puller collet marks just above the cannelure.

Surprisingly, the above load shot relatively well. If the marks on the bullets affected accuracy I couldn’t see it. I shot a few 10-shot groups at 50 yards just to get into the swing of things, and then I fired a 10-shot group at 100 yards (which I’ll get to at the end of this blog). The 10-shot group at 100 yards wasn’t too shabby. The rifle shot low left (my aim point was at 6:00), but I hadn’t adjusted the sights for this load.

50-yard groups with the above load. The flyers are do to operator error. The groups showed promise at 50 yards, and I knew I would test them at 100 yards.

For the next load, I had a few 35-grain Hornady V-Max bullets I normally use for my .22 Hornet. This is a bullet I guessed would not do well in the much-higher-velocity .223 Remington cartridge, and I was right. Some of them grouped okay at 50 yards, but they were right on the edge of instability. A few tumbled and went wide. I didn’t bother firing these at 100 yards; if they were flaky at 50 yards, they would be positively flaky at 100.

.223 Remington cartrdiges loaded with 35-grain Hornady VMax Hornet bullets. The ammo looks good, but it was not a good load for the Mini 14.

The 35-grain VMax loads at 50 yards. The bullets were right on the stability threshold.

The last group was one I put together using another set of leftover Hornet bullets, the 46-grain Winchester jacketed hollow point bullet. They shot poorly when I tested them in my Ruger No. 3 Hornet, and they were really terrible in the .223 Mini 14. I suspect they were breaking up in flight. Several went wide or through the target sideways.

46-grain Winchester hollowpoint jacketed bullets loaded in .223 brass. This didn’t work out at all.

A huge hollowpoint. It might work well on prairie dogs in the .22 Hornet, but these bullets weren’t stable and didn’t group well in the .223 Remington cartridge.

The 46-grain Winchester groups were huge at 50 yards and I could see on the target that they were unstable. At least one tumbled. Some never even made it to the target.

The above load’s poor performance was predictable, but I’m one of those guys who has to pee on the electric fence. You know, just to make sure. The arrow points to a spot where a bullet went through the target sideways.

After testing the above bullets at 50 yards, I knew that the Hornet bullets were a no go. Actually, I kind of knew that before I tested the load. But I had the bullets and I thought I would give it a try.

I wanted to see how the pulled 55-grain Hornady bullets would do at 100 yards, so I moved a target out to 100 yards they did relatively. The group centroid shifted from my usual Mini 14 load, but it was fairly tight for iron sights with junk/untrimmed mixed brass.

55-grain full metal jacket boattail pulled Hornady bullets, 25.3 grains of XBR 8208 propellant, Winchester small rifle primers, and mixed brass provided a 3.65-inch 10-shot group at 100 yards. The black bullseye is 5.50 inches in diameter. I was pleased with these results.

Well, you live and you learn. I cleaned off the reloading bench, I had a little fun, and I now know from personal experience that 35-grain and 46-grain Hornet bullets won’t do very well in the .223. Sometimes it’s good to learn what doesn’t work as well as what does.

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A Model 700 Varmint Rifle

A Remington Model 700 BDL Varmint gun in .223. I spotted this at the Gunrunner in Duarte, and it followed me home.

There’s gun stores, and then there’s gun stores. I can’t pass a gun store without stopping in. The issue is that most gun shops today are soulless retail outlets with black plastic. Glocks, ARs, you get the idea. Guns with no soul and gun shop owners with even less. But there are exceptions. One that comes to mind is the Gunrunner in Duarte. It’s a favorite, partly because the team working there consists of older guys a lot like myself (crusty, maybe carrying a few pounds more than they should be, and a sense of humor). But it’s mostly because they get it. “It” being, of course, blue steel and walnut. And military surplus rifles. I can’t drive by Gunrunner’s without stopping in. You never know what they might have in stock, and even if I don’t buy anything, it’s always fun looking.

One day a few years ago on just such a stop, I noticed an older Remington Model 700. It was the varmint model and it had a price that was just too good to walk away from. And the photos don’t do it justice. It had a real contrasty bit of walnut with horizontal dark stripes that were unusually nice on a production gun. As the saying goes, I pulled the trigger. I bought the rifle for a scant $400, which I thought was a hell of a deal (I think new ones are about a thousand bucks now).

The Remington was pretty well gummed up with old oil (so much so the firing pin and trigger were stuck), and the standard M-700 BDL high gloss urethane finish was going south in a big way. I took the barreled action out of the stock and gave it a thorough cleaning. Then I spent hours on the stock with 0000 steel wool.

When I was finished, I was pleased with the results. The rifle looked way better than it did with the original high gloss finish (which never really appealed to me…it was too Hollywood for my tastes). The stock had a few nicks and scratches before; after the refinish, those completely disappeared. It became a thing of great beauty with a nice, subdued, European look. I grabbed a few shots, and then I played with them a bit in Photoshop to subdue the background and highlight the rifle. I like how the rifle and this photo in particular turned out…

The results of 0000 steel wool and a bit of work on my Model 700 Varmint rifle.

I mounted an inexpensive Tasco 6×24 scope on the Model 700. I wasn’t wild about the scope, as it didn’t seem to be able to focus the reticle and the target simultaneously (or maybe it was just my old eyes). A new Weaver or a Leupold might have been in order, but the results with this resurrected old warhorse were still outstanding. The rifle shot into an inch at 100 yards before I did any load development (which wasn’t too shabby) with what I regarded as junk .223 ammo.

More photos of the Model 700 after refinishing and with the new Tasco mounted.

I went to work on developing a load to get the rifle to shoot into a half-inch, and I succeeded: I broke the half-minute-of-angle barrier with a 0.498-inch three-shot group almost immediately!

That was with IMR 4320 propellant, and it prompted me to try several different propellants and charge weights:

Load results for the Model 700 .223 Remington. All of the above loads used the Hornady VMax 55 grain bullet. You should always start at the low end of the charge range and work up; do not simply take my accuracy loads and try them in your rifle!

You might think that with the above results the rifle was a keeper. It was, but not for me. A couple of my shooting buddies wanted it, and I transferred it to a good friend for what I had into it.

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