KJD Firearms Training

Reloading .223 Remington

AR15s are popular and their popularity is increasing.  AR15 shoot .223 Remington caliber ammo and some shoot 5.56 MM. These two rounds are different. Information on the differences can be found by doing a simple search on the internet. This post is focused on some considerations for reloading .223 Remington. 

If you are considering reloading, please obtain the proper training. Money spent on training may save your life and probably many dollars down the road.

The price of the .223 Remington, some say, is relatively cheap ($7 to $8 for 20 rounds and cheaper if you buy 500 or 1000 rounds) so why bother reloading?  True now but given the anti-gun enviornment we live in, perhaps this may not be true for long. 

The .223 Remington shell is thin and a bit longer (appox 1.760") than a 357 Magnum shell (appox 1.282"). Diameter of a .223 is appox .253" and the 357 is appox .378". When the .223 shells hit the ground they get nicked and dented a bit. So if you retrieve shells from the range be sure the shells are suitable for reloading. 

Reloading allows you to try different combinations of smokeless powder and bullets. Reloading data books identify how to determine a good combination. Based on my research, I decided on Hodgdon's Varget smokeless powder and Hornady's Varmint .22 cal. 55 gr. bullets. These were good initial choices. However, the Varget powder is stick powder and it sticks at times in the powder drop. So it takes some patience and persistence to work through the loading of the powder.

As it is for all rifle rounds, the shells have to be trimmed and deburred (inside and out). This is the most time consumming part but also the most important. The primer pockets should be cleaned and trimmed if needed -- ensure they are round. 

I use Redding dies for the De-capper / Sizer, Seater and crimp. Crimp isn't necessary but it gives a nice finished feel to the round. Redding dies are well made and reliable. The company, located in Cortland, NY., is very customer focused.  My experience has been that the better quality dies perform better and last longer.

My website (kjd-firearmstrainingllc.com) contains more details on reloading as well as a link to the NRA Training website to sign up for a reloading class.

The 2nd Amendment -- a right threatened with misinterpretation

Professor Joyce Lee Malcolm in 1996 wrote a very interesting book titled: "To Keep & Bear Arms:  The origins of an Anglo-American Right".  This book is a very interesting read and is available on Amazon.  I would like to quote a small section of her work as it has proven to be prophetic.

If the government and the people in their wisdom come to the conclusion that no need for the right of the people to be armed exists, or that such a right does more harm than good, the amendment is the course that should be followed. While it is unconstitutional to legislate a right out of existence, this particular right is threatened with misinterpretation to the point of meaninglessness. Granted, this is a far easier method of elimination than admendment, being much quicker and not requiring the same rigid consensus or forthright discussion of it's constitutional relevancy. But it is also the way of danger. For to ignore all evidence of the meaning and intent of one of those rights included in the Bill of Rights is to create the most dangerous sort of precedent, one whose consequences could flow far beyond this one issue and endanger the fabric of liberty.  (p.176-7).

She goes on to say that the forefathers worked and provided these rights for a reason. They were men of intellect and had all studied history and past civilizations. As such, we owe them considered attention before we disregard a right they felt imperative to bestow on us.

Society today has many individuals who violate the our rights and the rights of our country -- individuals who are insane. The problem is not the rights, it's the individuals. Eliminating our rights is not going to change individuals.  Our country, any country, has problems dealing with erratic and insane behaviour.  But we want solutions and the politicans are more than eager to be the heros and step in with their "solutions" so that they can bullhorn their achievements and win re-election. 

Guns do not kill, people do. Spoons do not make you fat, eating does. Automobiles do not kill, drunk drivers do. Simplistic solutions do not solve problems, they make them worse. And far worse, they threaten our constitutional rights.