60 gr. V-max + 25 gr Benchmark?

BohunterNY

BohunterNY

New member
My brother asked me to put this combo together to shoot in his Bushy Predator. He sez that it is way too hot and brought back to me virtually all cases with flat primers, and a few from which the primers fell right out and the hole was enlarged and new primers would fall right off...

Lyman lists 24.6 gr. of Benchmark as max for this load... Is 25 gr. really that hot??? (Oh yeah, the cases were at the third go 'round. should I discard the whole lot?)
 
Did you randomly load 25.0 grains for him, which is over max, or did you work up?

If you didn't, which I doubt or you would have/should have seen the obvious pressure signs, I'd reevaluate your technique and read a reloading manual.

If you did, have you ever read a reloading manual? If you haven't I suggest you do. If you have I suggest you read it again.

Sorry for the bluntness but this stuff isn't a game...
 
Dude, I've heard they sell those reloading manuals but never bought one.
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I'd rather buy another lb of Benchmark which I then stuff down the case with a tablespoon...
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LOL

I started at 23.8, and moved up in .2 gr increments. I loaded 20 in each weight. But about 50 in 25gr....

He went to the range by himself and started shooting from the low end. He brought back the targets and the groups tighten up gradually with 25 running 3/4". I write the powder weight on the cases with a Sharpie. There is no excessive pressure signs on anything but the cases that held 25 grains.
 
I'd try again with fresh brass to make a conclusion. My Hornady reloading book lists 60 grain vmax bullets with a max load of 25.0 grains of Benchmark. I run at 25.2 grains in my DPMS sweet 16 and my Remington R-15 18" barrel. They both shoot just over 1/2" @ 100 yards with the load and they do not show any signs of pressure or primer flatening.

Edit: Are you weighing out each charge? Just wondering if the powder drop you are using is possibly dumping out more than you expect.
 
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Thanks BB!

I weigh out each and every charge. I set the powder dump to throw less than my intended charge and then trickle each and every one up to its destination.

I am a stickler for consistency so I load on a single stage, at granny pace ;-)
Come to think about it: you're right that the brass might be a little tired. I'll open a fresh bag.
 
Sorry for the bluntness earlier. You caught me at a bad time...grin...

That and you NEVER know what kind of dude makes a post like you originally made. I can see you're not "one of those guys"...

Good luck with it...
 
Originally Posted By: Chad WalkWhat primer are you using?

Great question. I should have noted I'm using Rem 7-1/2 primers and Winchester Brass as well.

C.O.A.L = 2.236"
 
I run 25.0 gr. of Benchmark behind a both the 60 gr. VMax and the 60 gr. Sierra in Lake City brass with a 7 1/2 Rem. match primer in an Armalite 20" heavy barrel upper. No pressure issues with either one of them. The 60 gr. VMax shoots in the .6's consistently, the 60 gr. Sierra shoots in the .4's and .5's consistently.

That being said, all rifles are different. That is why we start low and work up. Standard disclaimers apply.

PaPa 260
 
What chamber reamer was used in the bushy? You are near a max load and
a smaller .223 match chamber is going to show pressure signs before one
of the larger 5.56 or wylde chambers will. Also how did you set the die up
that you sized them with? If you had a fair amount of headspace it can hammer
the primers worse than normal. They are not always a sign of overpressure
but shouldn't be ignored.
 
I too have used 25 grains of Benchmark, and it is a little hot...almost 2900 FPS out of my 16 inch AR. I would would seat them a little further out, I seat mine at 2.26 max mag length and that might help relieve some of the pressure signs he is getting. It is a very accurate load by the way, with my 3.5 power ACOG I can put 5 rounds under an inch at 100 yards pretty easily.
 
Originally Posted By: BBsteelOriginally Posted By: Chad WalkWhat primer are you using?

Great question. I should have noted I'm using Rem 7-1/2 primers and Winchester Brass as well.

C.O.A.L = 2.236"

Rem 7-1/2's and CCI 450's are good...If you are using CCI 400's or equivalent its probably not enough...You need a thick cup primer...
 
I've loaded 60 gr Vmax on top of 25 gr of Benchmark with no problems at all.
I worked up from 23 gr to 25. Using a Wolf .223 primer in LC cases. Some of the cases were on there 4th loading. No pressure signs,primers were nice and round and dead on at 300 yds using an Eotech 512 sighted at 50 yds. I've shot about 80 of them so far.

My barrel is a DPMS 5.56 16"

COL was Pmag length, 2.260
 
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My bushmaster predator loves 24.9 Benchmark in lake city brass with a 7 1/2. My T3 varmint likes 25.0 Benchmark in lake city brass with a 450. This load is at the top but is not overboard...I have loaded this up to 10 times in the same case before the primer pocket was to large.
 
Originally Posted By: GregWYou caught me at a bad time... Haha... no worries man. I'm having mostly bad times myself... It's all good...

I'm using CCI 400 and Winchester brass... I'll start again with some fresh brass... This charge has the tighter spread

Bigwheeler: it's a 5.56...


Also, many thanks to all who took the time to answer...

God bless,

BH
 
I am going to doubt the age of the brass has anything to due with the results if you properly trimmed and fully resized them all.

Hodgdon lists 24.6 as max. Becareful, it's the only face you have.
 
If your primer pockets were getting on the loose side, you could easily see this kind of results with a max load. The deep seating of the bullets doesn't help either. Excess headspace clearance can also be a factor. This is probably the most frequently missed adjustment that even experienced reloaders get wrong. If your reloading for more than one .223, you need to make sure your not pushing the shoulder back to far for the ammo that goes into a rifle with longer headspace.

I would back off to a max 24.6 grains of Benchmark with the 60 grain V-Max in the AR-15, as most of the published data suggests. I have my best results with a COAL of 2.260 and a CCI BR-4 primer. I have shot this load up to 22 times in Win and LC brass.
 
Well I finally got to the range and tried the 60 Vmax/Benchmark combo and it works well in my R-15 too. Worked up from 24, 24.5 and 25 gr and had NO pressure signs in my rifle. Shot best at 25 gr...3/4" not bad considering the trigger feels crap and the collapsible stock doesn't ride the bags for squat.

I'll take other's advice and start low and re-work my loads, maybe try something around 24.6-24.8 gr and see how it does after I get this abortion of a trigger fixed.
 
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