223 powder charge PMC going from 55gr to 62gr bullets

[chadwickz71]

Edited out first bullet as i killed out the 78gr bullet idea.. Looking at a 62gr right now as thats all i an find.

We have some thermal scopes on our AR10's and 15's and hunt hogs our our property and for the fun of it since i reload our deer rifles i thought i'd pull the FMJ bullets out of our shells and drop in a better hunting bullet. No issue with my 308 ammo im running 150gr TSX bullets in those. for the 5.56 i wanted to go a hunting bullet for better knockdown since we have close shots and my 7twist barrel can handle it. Problem is i'm running into a little vague area on powder charge. These rounds are PMC 5.56 with 26gr of something in them.

Trying to see if i can seat the 62gr tsx in the powder charge they are using for the 55gr fmj.

Looking for info on type of powder pmc is using

 

[K22]

I don't hunt hogs and never shot one but I understand they can be tough to bring down.

However you ever considered a Nosler Partition bullet in 60 grains for the 223? I think they still make them but I'm not sure how well they would shoot in a 7" twist. But you can obtain some decent velocity with them and they penetrate very well. Seating depth would not be a issue with this bullet.

 

[D-4297]

Don't think it would be a very good idea , from a pressure stand-point . And you're definitely reducing your load capacity .

 

[chadwickz71]

FYI im not reloading these, they are just factory winchester 5.56 rounds loaded with whatever powder used, i assume loaded on the lighter side of things as its just factory ammo. all i did was pull the FMJ and replace with the TSX 78gr.

 

[Doom]

That bullet is NOT suitable for 223 Rem. You will not have enough powder capacity to achieve a suitable velocity. Barnes specifically list it as a Valkyrie bullet.

 

[Doom]

Replacing a 55gr bullet with a 78gr with the same powder charge, compressed, is dangerous!

Your assumption that a 55gr 5.56 round is lightly loaded is most probably not valid.

Don’t shoot those rounds.

 

[chadwickz71]

LOL yeah i jumped the gun, i just opened up my berger book to look around and hmm, yep this ain't gonna work. No worries guys, i knew it looked like a bad idea soon as i looked at the bullet, thought i'd ask but answered my own question just then.. Thanks for the help.

 

[chadwickz71]

Still like to reload some hunting bullets though, but i'll stay around that 55gr weight to match the weight thats already in there just like i did with the 308 replacing the 150 for a 150.

cheers.

 

[Doom]

If I were to use a 223 to hunt hogs, I would stay with the FMJ. Second would be 60gr Nosler Partition.

 

[chadwickz71]

Well dang all i can get is a 62gr TTSX in this world of shortages we live in. I checked my book there is around a .5gr powder difference across the spectrum of powder charges when comparing a 55 to a 62gr the 62 being about .5gr less obviously.

You guys think i could shoot the 62gr in these factory powder shells?

 

[Twicepop]

Well dang all i can get is a 62gr TTSX in this world of shortages we live in. I checked my book there is around a .5gr powder difference across the spectrum of powder charges when comparing a 55 to a 62gr the 62 being about .5gr less obviously.

You guys think i could shoot the 62gr in these factory powder shells?

I would not shoot them, if I understood your posts you're wanting to substitute a Barnes TTSX bullet for a FMJ bullet with the same powder charge that came from the factory, is that correct? The TTSX bullet is solid copper, and these bullets cannot be used with conventional load data. Solid copper bullets do not behave like bullets with a gilding metal jacket. On top of starting with a longer bearing surface that solid copper bullets have, it's also heavier those two issues alone will raise pressures to a probable unsafe point. Then comes the solid copper issue, copper bullets do not have the same lubricity as a gilding metal jacketed bullet and will raise pressures again over and above the issue of already using a heavier bullet than what the original load was. At best you may only crater and/or pop primers, at worst you could damage your gun, yourself or someone nearby. If want to use these bullets, go to the Barnes web site or get a Barnes loading manual and get the proper load data for these bullets.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Is this a joke? OK. I'll play. You might be OK if you dump out approximately 1/3 of the powder in every case before re-seating the [ridiculously] longer bullet. On the other hand, you might lose an eye and/or a finger. Don't ask for a definitive assessment of the odds on either possibility.

If you want to do this with at least some consideration for safety, dump the powder out of several cases, weight it, and determine the average original powder charge weight per case. Then do a charge weight test starting with a reasonable and safe amount of the dumped powder, working up incrementally. Once you have identified a reasonable and safe charge weight with the much longer bullet (it will definitely be a lower value than the original charge weight with the shorter lighter bullet), subtract that identified charge weight from the original average charge weight. The difference is how much to dump out of each case onto your balance pan prior to seating the new bullet. I don't personally view even this approach as the greatest idea of all time (there are several caveats), but it's better than simply jamming a telephone pole long bullet halfway down into a case that was originally occupied by short stub without somehow reducing the charge weight first.

 

[chadwickz71]

Ned, no you probably needed to read down a little further before posting, I killed that idea of the 78gr about as fast as I posted the thread. dumb idea LOL i know better actually. But hey ain't afraid to admit it either.

At this point all i can find these days is a 62gr TSX.

Not sure what kind of powder is in these PMC shells but but it is 26gr as i checked a few.

Load data for barnes is showing the difference in powder charges from 55gr to 62gr are about .5gr at most.

If i can figure out what kind of powder they used which i bet i can't I could see where im at. I highly doubt they are loaded anywhere close to max out of safefty but i'll try to dig around a bit to see about what kind of powder they use. If one of you know that would help a lot.

 

[Ned Ludd]

If you're going to replace bullets in existing commercial ammo, you're stuck with whatever powder they used. Chances are that whatever it is will work OK with a bullet that is close in size to the original, even if it might not be the powder you'd choose if starting from scratch. Identifying powder from loaded rounds with any certainty can problematic at best.

As has been noted, the problem with using a heavier (longer) bullet and loading to mag length is that you can markedly reduce the internal case volume and generate excessive pressure in a hurry. Determining an average charge weight for the original loaded ammo, then determining an optimal charge weight for the new bullet, starting low and working up, so that you can just dump a specified weight of powder out of each case prior to re-seating bullets is one approach to solve that issue that shouldn't be too painful. Nonetheless, .223 ammo currently seems to become available at various online vendors from time to time. My feeling that spending some time online and finding some ammo that is suitable for your purposes as loaded is the better choice. I'n not suggesting that you can't safely do what you're trying to do. However, there are so many caveats involved in that process including optimizing charge weight, charge weight variance, sub-optimal neck tension after re-seating bullets, etc., that what you end up with might well give questionable precision no matter how you do it. That seems like as much, if not more, work than finding a decent factory ammo to shoot as is, or working up your own load from scratch.

 

[divingin]

Problem is i'm running into a little vague area on powder charge. These rounds are PMC 5.56 with 26gr of something in them.

Looking for info on type of powder pmc is using

May not be possible to find. Commercial (factory) ammo manufacturers typically buy powder in bulk, and may adjust amount and burn rate to get the performance they're looking for. The powder may or may not be what is sold commercially to reloaders, and is often adjusted with respect to burn characteristics even if it is.