Frustrating Search For Th Perfect .223 Load

Tailhunter

Tailhunter

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77 gr. for .223 1/8 16"

Have tried: cfe223 h322 rel15 varget imr 4895

Best I seem to be able to do is 1" @ 100yds.

Anybody have a secret potion?
 
May want to look at the twist rate in your barrel and see if it's compatible with the heavier bullets your using. I think mine is also 1:8. With 55 and 62 grain bullets and H335 powder my AR is way better than I am. With a 2x7x30 Nikon and bench rested I can put a 3 shot group in a quarter on a good day(for me, the rifle always has a good day). For better I need to go to a drop in aftermarket trigger.
 
Bolt action?

As mentioned above... barrel twist rate is important to stabilize bullet weight.

Whenever I work up a load I find the safe powder charge to start with and work up (or down) .2 grains at a time (not exceeding safe charge) to find what works best. I usually load 5 at a time with each load. I'll set up my chronograph too for velocity checks. When I find a load that has promise I'll adjust powder by .1 grains then .05 grains until I'm happy.
 
Tailhunter;n24849 said:
AR ... 1.8 twist.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think most are now and that's supposed to be good with the heavier bullets. Are you trying to overdrive them with big velocity? Noticed with the 55 and 62 grain that accuracy improved as I stepped up charge weight till approaching max, then it went to crap real quick.
Also, I hate to say it but I've owned guns that no matter what you did just didn't shoot worth a damn.
 
Muddy;n25138 said:
I always thought a 1:7 was optimal twist rate for anything over 70gr?
Click to expand...

Very well might be. I think 1:8 is common because it works well across the weight range of bullets used in AR style rifles.
 
I had great luck with this load but am using far lighter projectiles. This is in a 1/8 twist RRA with 24" barrel.

H322 powder
Remington 7&1/2 Benchrest Primers
52gr. AMAX
Winchester brass
 
What's your RE15 load, what case, what primer and what bullet?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Muddy said:
I always thought a 1:7 was optimal twist rate for anything over 70gr?
Click to expand...
1:8 is fine for 52-77gr; if I was shooting 80+gr I'd want a 1:7
 
Muddy said:
I always thought a 1:7 was optimal twist rate for anything over 70gr?
Click to expand...
I know 1:9 is limited to 70gr and below I just never knew what the range of weights were on a 1:8
 
I have since gotten rid of my 16"
barrel. I have an 18" coming next week.
I have a 14.5 at the moment that shoots 62 grainers like magic.

Confusing I know.
 
25gr is a little high. I use 23.6gr and I have seen others use 24.1gr with 77gr SMKs with success
 
IF you want to try a different powder I've got a partial pound of BLC-2. I got it to try 30-30 and it does OK but I've moved on to CFE.
 
spittinfire said:
IF you want to try a different powder I've got a partial pound of BLC-2. I got it to try 30-30 and it does OK but I've moved on to CFE.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the kind offer.
I'm pretty much sticking with CFE and RL15 but on the outside chance I do invest in another powder, like I need another one, it might be TAC.
 
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