gunfun 3,931 Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Obviously .224 bullets are hard to come by at the moment, so please spare me the comments to that effect. Links to good supplies would be appreciated. The point of this thread is mostly to know what I should be looking for so that I can pounce when a deal on large volume of bullets comes up. Right now about the cheapest volume deals I can find are $0.10/ bullet which works out to $0.19/round even based on the current cost of other components. From what I can tell, things are making their way back to the shelves, but anything related to .223 is slowest and scarcest. I've got some primers and varget, so bullets are all I need to get started. Best case scenario would be to find one or two bullets and buy a huge quantity so that I don't have to develop several different recipes. Practical accuracy out to 300 yards or so is the focus of this particular application. lead core 55 grn M193 sounds convenient for being standard and common. I don't mind pulled bullets or surplus if they work well. I have been gearing up to do a bunch of reloading, and sometime this summer I will likely be doing a bit of mass reloading with friends for various .223 weapons. There are a couple of ARs, and there is plenty of info out there about how to find a bullet weight that runs well in different barrels. My cousin "Salt" and a local friend have Zastava M85 Pap 556 AK pistols. I can't seem to find anything out there which tells me what ammo these things are the least inaccurate with. The easy answer would be to buy 6k 55grn boat tails and call it done, but if I am going to buy 6K of anything it should be an optimal round or super cheap or both... Another .224" cartridge I am likely to be making with Salt is 5.7x28 which seems to like light bullets made for .223 such as the 34 grain varmint bombs. I'd need to refresh my memory before buying projectiles for this, but if I were to buy a large quantity of bullets for Salt that would work for both of his guns that would be convenient. Heavy for caliber would be good in this particular gun because he runs a gemtech suppressor and we want to develop a reliable subsonic load that doesn't need a spring change. Most of the info says that 5.7 is a tricky caliber to load for, so this might be too much to ask for. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brad cole 65 Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 just bought a 85 pap myself. I have a lot of 65 grain tracer rounds. am going to load a few and see the results. they will be LC cases and tracer rounds. will see if they work good I will let you know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Have you found anything that says what the barrel twist rate is? Or even length for that matter? I know the general rule of thumb in full length barrels is that heavier bullets need faster twist rate... i.e. 1 in 9 or more for 60 grain or less, one in seven for 65 grain or heavier. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IndyArms 10,186 Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 take a cleaning rod with a brush on it... make a mark on one SIDE of the rod ... after its completely through the barrel... then make a mark at the bore... ( on the rod...) pull out ... counting revolutions of the first mark, and then measure to the point it comes out of the bore... do the math... and calculate number of turns it made per length... It may not be PERFECT but it will be REALLY close!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrance@iacwds.com 716 Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 just bought a 85 pap myself. I have a lot of 65 grain tracer rounds. am going to load a few and see the results. they will be LC cases and tracer rounds. will see if they work good I will let you know. http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2013/02/fire-at-dallas-gun-range-forces-road-closures-near-dallas-love-field-airport.html/ Be careful with those tracers! DFW Gun Range burned down yesterday when some moron shot tracers. DFW Gun Range is an indoor range. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gunfun 3,931 Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 They made their backstop of kindling? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
protected static 19 Posted February 25, 2013 Report Share Posted February 25, 2013 Lotsa places use shredded tires for backstop material. I could see that being... problematic with tracers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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