HELP With Accurate Load For Robinson XCR - .223

Chizzy

Chizzy

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Hello,

I am having great difficulty in finding a load / recipe that is somewhat accurate for my Robinson Arms XCR in .223.

I have tried Hornady 50 grain VMAX, 55 grain VMAX, and 68 grain BTHP over various amounts of Varget powder with NO success. It looks like I shot a shotgun at the target.

I am capable of producing sub-MOA reloads for my bolt guns (Savages and Remingtons in .223 and .308); however, this gun is giving me fits.

The best groups I am able to get using factory rounds is about 4.5" @ 100 yards using bulk Federal 50 grain jacketed hollow points.

I have also tried various factory loads from 40 grain Hornady Vmax to 64 grain Winchester PowerPoint and various weights. manufacturers, and bullet types in between.

Does anyone have any suggestions that they have used with good results in their XCR? Ideally something that could be ethically used for hunting coyote?

The last two days at the range with this rifle have been very frustrating trying to find something that would produce decent results.

Thanks for your time.

Regards,

Chizzy
 
Here is a list of XCR-L accurate factory loads:
  1. Hornady TAP-FDP 60gr (Hornady 60gr V-Max bullet)
  2. Federal Gold Match 69gr (Sierra 69gr MatchKing bullet)

Use accuracy load from reloading data from Sierra's AR15 loads.
(Varget powder and always use hard primers in semis).
http://accurateshooter.net/Downloads/sierra223ar.pdf

My rifle shot very accurately using 60gr and 69gr bullets with Varget powder.

Alex
 
Hello Alex:

Thank you very much. When you say your rifle shot very accurately, what type of groups are you experiencing? I am a long way away from 1 MOA as it stands now and would love to get there if possible.

Thanks again for your time.

Regards,

Chizzy
 
Alex:

One more question regarding primers, I am using Winchester Small Rifle primers, are these considered hard?

Does the hard primer promote accuracy or is it a safety issue with semis?

Again, thank you so much for your help.

Regards,

Chizzy
 
Chizzy said:
Alex:

One more question regarding primers, I am using Winchester Small Rifle primers, are these considered hard?

Does the hard primer promote accuracy or is it a safety issue with semis?

Again, thank you so much for your help.

Regards,

Chizzy
Click to expand...

1) Hard is CCI mil-specs primers and Remington primers, soft is regular Federal primers. Hard primer are used to prevent slamfires which can happen with soft primers.

2) As for accuracy, my rifle would shoot 5 shots Hornady TAP-FDP ammo in a 1cm x 1cm area at 50m indoors at CRAFM!
I've shot a couple of smaller than 2" 5 shot groups at 200 yards with this ammo but the average was 2.5" 5 shot groups at 200 yards. For whatever reason I got best accuracy at 50m indoor (maximum range) and 200 yards outdoor (maximum range).

I shot from sandbags with a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24x50mm target scope with parallax adjustement. If found it very difficult if not impossible to get this type of accuracy with a Leupold 2-7x32mm hunting scope.
Also important, the rifle's accuracy is much better after the bore has been cleaned. It seem that powder residue is very detrimental to accuracy.

In short, get some Hornady TAP-FDP 60gr ammo, some Federal Gold Match 69gr ammo, clean your bore with solvent and patch, use sandbags, use your best scope and shot at your scope's parallax free distance (100 yards or 150 yards most of the time).

Last hint, make sure to tighten your gas block after firing 300-400 shots as it can really affect reliability and accuracy.

Alex
Alex

Alex
 
Alex, thank you so much. I will try all of the great advice you have given me.

I was able to score some 60 grain VMax for my own reloads and will work on trying to find the factory loads you mentioned.

I appreciate all of your help.

Regards,

Chizzy
 
Ar180shooter said:
What optics?
Click to expand...

I am running a Bushnell 4200 Elite 1.5X6 - 36 in a Burris PEPR QD mount.

I have had this scope on other calling rifles and I don't believe there to be any issues with it. Admittedly, the Burris mount is new and I have never had it on any other rifle; however, it seems sturdy.

Perhaps just to eliminate any possibility of a bad scope / mount I will throw on my Khales 2X7 scope with a Leupold QD mount on my next trip to the range.

Regards,

Chizzy
 
CZ_Brno said:
What do you get for a trigger pull? With 6.5 lbs it makes it difficult to get target accuracy.
http://www.eliteshooters.com/articles/Robinson-Armament.html
Click to expand...


I am not sure what thr trigger pulls is as I don't have a trigger scale; however, that being said, I don't think that is the cause of my issue. I don't find the trigger overly heavy and I can tell when it is about to "break". It is not as light as some of my adjustable bolt gun triggers, but I don't think that it is overly heavy to be the cause of my poor groups.

Regards,

Chizzy
 
Does your gun have a 1 in 8 twist? That would be optimal for bullet weights of 65-70 grains. You could try Tac powder.

1-2 lb trigger pull.Target shooting.
3-5 lb. suitable for Hunting.
6-8 lb. Military trigger pull on many guns.
 
CZ_Brno said:
Does your gun have a 1 in 8 twist? That would be optimal for bullet weights of 65-70 grains. You could try Tac powder.

1-2 lb trigger pull.Target shooting.
3-5 lb. suitable for Hunting.
6-8 lb. Military trigger pull on many guns.
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge, my gun is a 1 in 9 twist rate.


Regards,

Chizzy
 
With my xcr I'm using 24.5 gr of H335 with Remington bulk bullets 55gr FMJ and getting about a 1.1" grouping at 100 meters shooting off a sand bag. I know if i was to put it into one of those fancy bench rest setup I could defiantly get below a 1" grouping
 
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