Reloading/Recycling Lake City M855 to Subsonic ss109 Q

[Kusarigama]

I would like to reload some subsonic ss109 (some of the squirrels here in metro Detroit have upgraded to fussion-powered battle 'mechs; on loan from the possums no doubt!) and I have a bunch of Lake City m855 purchased from Cheaper than Dirt. I plan on pulling the bullets and would like sage advice on how to procede from there.

From the information I've gathered M855 is loaded with 26 grns. (or as much as 27.5 grns.) of Winchester 844 powder.

Not knowing much about reloading I have some questions:

can I pull a bullet and put a lesser amount of the WC844 back in the case and reload it for 1k fps? Should I use a different powder (if so please advise for 62 grn.)

Should I get new materials even if the cases are in good condition?

Has anyone else ever loaded subsonic ss109 (search turned up almost no mention)?

Thanks

[jonblack]

If you really want to make subsonic .223 then yes, you can pull the projectile, empty powder, and work up a load that is 1000 FPS from your firearm. There are plenty of "recipes" out there for subsonics with 62 grain projectiles.

However, if you really want to discretely shoot squirrels, you could use a .22LR with 60gr Aguila SSS.

Subsonic 22 and Subsonic 22 are more or less the same thing. However, subsonic 223 with not cycle the action, but subsonic 22 with.

Hope this helps
jonblack

[amafrank]

As JonBlack noted you are much better off with a 60gr Aquila subsonic .22LR and here are some reasons why:
You can work up a load to get your 62gr .223 down to 1000fps but at that speed you will find the bullets are not stabilized and may tumble. This is because the twist rate is usually not what you need for subsonic shooting. Another issue is the loading itself, you can pull bullets and remove powder or dump powder and reload with the same powder but in the volume needed for subsonic shooting you may be approaching the dreaded detonation at worst or inconsistancy at best. Unless you get into some heavier bullets all you end up with a poor but expensive version of the .22LR. If you do get into the heavy bullets you just get more problems with stabilizing them subsonic in standard rifling twists.

So to summarize, your best bet is to buy the Aquila SSS 60gr subsonics for dealing with armored squirrels. You get the same power that you would with the .223 subsonic and no where near the headache.

Frank

[Kusarigama]

I am well versed in Aguila's cartridges and champion Super Colibri. The reason I want to reload ss109 is to have a subsonic round with armor-piercing capablility for the occasion when such a need may arrive, and a .223 is at hand.

Is the consensus to use a higher volume of powder to make sure the case is full?

Might I get better results if I reload ss109 in a 5.7x28 case due to it's lower volume and just get the appropriate upper?

[amafrank]

I guess the basic answer is that subsonic means its not armor piercing anymore. Once you drop the speed than you lose the capability you are looking for. If you want subsonics you'll have to deal with the lack of high penetration. The hardness of the projectile has little to do with penetration, its much more related to the speed. You can see this by shooting lead cored copper jacketed projos at high velocity against a steel plate, then try the same with a hard cored penetrator at low speed. We've tried this by decreasing the velocity of the projo in steps to find where the penetration drops off. Once you drop below about 1800fps the penetrator seems to help very little. If you could get the weight up a bit the values improve a lot but with the 62gr slug you won't do much better than the lead Aquila bullet for penetration.

In any case, if you are determined to go the subsonic route with the .223 than yes, you need to find a powder that will fill the case as much as possible to insure even and consistant ignition and burning. Not sure which to suggest as I've not dealt with cartridges using such light projos and so much capacity. A faster burning powder might do the job though guys I know who've tried trailboss haven't had much luck. I have heard of others trying to reload the 5.7 FN cases with heavier bullets and not having good results. The word is that the 5.7 is pretty tricky to reload well. Its worth a try though....

Good luck in your search

Frank