Reloading for .223

Jacobpoirier

Jacobpoirier

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kitchener, ON
Hey everyone,
I'm getting into some longer distance shooting (2-500 yd target). My grandpa would like to show me/pass down his reloading equipment. I'm going to be trying 60-70g but not sure what people recommend for powder/bullets. I've been told bergers are very good. Any advice/supplier info would be appreciated.
Thanks!
 
bullet weight depends on the twist in your barrel- a little RESEARCH on the cartridge would tell you that- if it's a 1/12 or a 1/10 you're stuck with 55s or so- maybe 62s - i've got loads for 1/10-s that go up to 70 but you're better off with a 1/9 ,1/8 or 1/7 for the heavier bullets- anyway, I use ww 748 as it has a commonality with my 308s- 25 grains, magnum small rifle primers- and i've got a 1/7 twist
 
Typically a 1 in 8 twist is ideal for shooting up to 80gr bullets but no always. Best powder Ive used is Varget but some guys like H4895 and a number of other powders. Most accurate bullets Ive found are 80gr Sierra Match Kings, a cheaper alternative is Hornady 75 gr BTHP's or 75 gr AMAX which are very good for almost 1/2 the price of Sierra's or Bergers.
If you are looking for a good supplier, with decent stock I recently found X-Reload...they have a lot of stock and good pricing.
Just a side note if you plan on shooting the 80 grs make sure your mag is long enough to seat them, they are very long and like to be seated out quite far. Im by far an expert but Im sure other will give some solid advice here too.

Cheers!!
 
I am having great results with 75gr amax over imr4064. I have a 1:9 twist and am printing ragged holes with this combination. I will start playing with oal to try and get even tighter. Good luck
 
Thanks everyone. I've got a hv 1-9 barrel right now. Probably start off with lower 60's with that then work my way up a bit. I'll save the heavy loads for when I get my new barrel installed. I've got a benchmark hv 1-7 sitting ready to put on when funds allow. I'll check out x-reload, thanks Scott. Where does everyone else get their stuff?
This forum/members are great for us noobs!
 
last time i was in Shooters choice(couple months ago) they had alot of sierra bullets.... as for Powder.. Hummasons in Ancaster.. last time i was in.. 3 weeks ago.. i piad $30 out the door for 1 pound of H 4895.
 
I've been lucky to find a load that works very well in two very different rifles. I use a 52gr HDY BTHP match with 25.0 gr of IMR4320. This works really well in my Rem 700 5R (1:9) and also in my H&K SL8 (1:7). In theory it really shouldn't work in the 5R, but it's the best load I've found for it (tried everything up to 80gr with many different powders).
 
Here are some powders I've had great success with. Reloader15, BLC2, TAC, CFE223, Varget, IMR3031. I've not seen a noticeable difference in 77 grain bullets from Sierra, Nosler, Berger ( BT Target not VLD )
69 gr bullets from Privi, Sierra, Nosler all work well. 75 gr Hornady BTHP are great. I can't load 75 gr AMax, or 75 gr VLDs to fit in my mags though. I've been experimenting with whatever I've been able to find and have found some pretty sweet combos.
 
Sierra and Nosler 77gr seem to be interchangeable with no adjustment to load, seating depth, point of impact or dope. It's a but of a bonus really. And now the new tipped 77 matchking seems to fit right in there as well. But I need a little more testing to make sure.
 
I've found the 69gr Sierra match kings very easy to load for. They shoot very well out of my savage with just about any powder, primer or brass if you find the powder charge it likes. For the most part, I've been sticking to Varget, H335, CFE223 with FC or Rem brass and CCI or Federal primers. When I was recently testing out the 77gr SMK and Varget, all 6 charge weights I tried were less than 1" at 100 yards for 5 shots.

Longshot said:
Sierra and Nosler 77gr seem to be interchangeable with no adjustment to load, seating depth, point of impact or dope. It's a but of a bonus really. And now the new tipped 77 matchking seems to fit right in there as well. But I need a little more testing to make sure.
Click to expand...
Are the tipped match kings up here already? Those BC's look really nice.
 
55 grn Sierra Blitzking loaded with Varget 25.8 grn.
Shot with Bushmaster ACR.

Graveman


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