load advice needed .223

Winchester-1897

Winchester-1897

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I have been reloading for about 8-9 months now and have had some good success. I load primary for my .223 Remington Tactical with a 1-9 twist. Up till now I have been experimenting with reloading from 55 up to 80 gr bullets. My use of 55,68,70, & 75 have had results I am happy with up to 200 yds but the 80's were a right off for my rifle.

I bought outside my comfort zone with some very expensive Berger Match grade bullets at 73 grs. My question is this, I like the CFE 223 and the H4895 both from Hodgson and I'd like to stay in my comfort zone, has anyone out there some experience on loads for this bullet in the Rem. .223 Tac they could pass on to me? I like to shoot at 200 yrds.
 
At 200 yards you don't need an 80 grain bullet. They will be a little long (heavy) for a 9 twist barrel as well.
75 grain is plenty for 200 yards and if you are getting good results then stick with it. There is no point having 6 different bullet loads built up for one rifle at one range. It never hurts to have the data though in case your favorite bullet becomes hard to find though.
Keep in mind that some powders are good in a caliber with light bullets but don't work well with heavy bullets and some powders that work well with heavy bullets don't work well with light bullets. This is why your powders of choice work well with 55-75 but not so well with 80gr. The 75's are probably a little heavy for the powders you use as well but the effects aren't very noticeable at such a short range.
I don't have my books or logs with me (at work) but you may want to look through the manuals for other powder options.
I look for powders that are listed with light bullets that aren't listed with the heavier bullets and also the powders listed for heavy bullets that aren't listed with the light bullets. Compare your notes to the burn rate charts and you start so see which powders you should be trying with certain bullets.
My 36 grain Varmint Grenade loads use IMR4198 but that powder probably wouldn't work well with a 75gr match bullet (I'd have to look it up and/or do some testing to be sure). I don't worry about it much though as my rifle has a 12 twist and therefore is not well suited to long range shooting so being able to shoot 70-80 grain pills isn't a concern to me. I won't be shooting that rifle past 300 yards. My buddy has a 7 twist target rifle and he shoots 80 grain pills and I've seen him make hits at 1100 yards with that rifle (don't remember what powder he is using).

Stick to what's working for you now. Sounds like you're pretty much done development for that rifle and now it's time to enjoy it and make some tiny groups.
What size are your average groups at 200 yards with your best loads?
 
My best groupings seem to be with 75gr Hornady FMJ bullets and 23.5 gr CFE 223 for about 1". I think I can do better with my new Weaver 3-15 X50 30MM tactical I just installed. I have to use my left eye as the right eye substained damage caused by shingles. A word to the wise, once you are getting close to 50 get the shot to prevent them. I wish I had done so 10 years ago. Thanks for the advice.
 
I use 24.3 gr cfe223 with hornady match 68gr with very good results in a 26in factory rem700 xcr tlr. Loaded to .010 jump off the lands.
 
Hmm, my 5R (also 1:9) seems to really like the HDY 52gr match bthp with 25.0 gr of IMR 4320. I tried some CFE223 a couple of weeks ago and just did not get much consustency.I have tried many other bullet weights up to 75 gr bthp and the 52s always seem to end up working better.
 
I have the same rifle you do. I've been using hornady 75 grain BTHPs over 23.0 grains of varget for .75" groups. I tried 75gr amax bullets but the group turned into a pattern about 8 inches wide. I tack my targets to a large cardboard box and you could see the holes they left when they exited the box sideways. Too long to stabilize I guess. I've got a pound of cfe223 I'm going to try but haven't gotten around to it yet.
 
To shoot the Berger match bullets, use the same load as for your 75 gr Hornady. Experiment with various OALs. For a length that touches the rifling, your would probably have to single load, since it might be too long for the mag.
 
Camaroguy said:
I have the same rifle you do. I've been using hornady 75 grain BTHPs over 23.0 grains of varget for .75" groups. I tried 75gr amax bullets but the group turned into a pattern about 8 inches wide. I tack my targets to a large cardboard box and you could see the holes they left when they exited the box sideways. Too long to stabilize I guess. I've got a pound of cfe223 I'm going to try but haven't gotten around to it yet.
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I had been using the 75 gr BTHPs over 23.5 CFE 223 and my friend was saying that the load was just as good as he has ever seen. Trouble was the bullets dried up and I didn't want to wait so I tried the 80 gr Amax. You are right terrible. I like loading with the H4895 also.
 
Winchester-1897 said:
I had been using the 75 gr BTHPs over 23.5 CFE 223 and my friend was saying that the load was just as good as he has ever seen. Trouble was the bullets dried up and I didn't want to wait so I tried the 80 gr Amax. You are right terrible. I like loading with the H4895 also.
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I managed to get a few hundred transferred into my local wholesale sports from somewhere out west. Hoping to find more before what I have dries up. My load of varget is down from the max, so depending on what my chronograph tells me next week, I might try 4895 to see if I can match the accuracy and up the speed a little. I only bought the cfe223 back when nothing else was available so I won't pursue it too much. Just to have a spare recipe.
 
Winchester-1897 said:
I'll let you know how the loads I made today work out tomorrow at the range, 73gr berger match with 23.7 gr CFE223 COL 2.37
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This afternoon 200 yrds 3 shot group

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Im shooting 70gr Berger VLD's out of the same gun, 22gr Varget, fed 205M primers, Winchester Brass. good brass prep and it shoots under 1/2 inch at 100yrds if im doing my part.
 
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