.223 rem

[NewInWestsyde]

O.K. here is the situation

have been working on a load for my Savage P.O.S. with a 1 in 9 twist
I have been using 69 grain seirra and found a load with Ramshot TAC that works somewhat well out to 500 meters but it is only a second place load

I want to try the 75 BTHP Hornady's (shot the a-max/v-max 75's?? very well but needed way too much pressure)

stoped off at the store to pick up bullets to reload and from behind the counter came a "here try these first.... if you can't shoot these then the rifle might not like 75's and you won't waste time trying to find a load" semed like good advice

bought a box of Hornady TAP 223 REM 75 grain BTHP
premium hornady bullets in a 223
i have not seen much in the way of off the shelf 223 above 55 grain so i figured i would give it a try

Saturday got up early and was at the range for first light and stapled some big paper to the frames with two dots and raised

Since i had no marker i was just shooting for group so i let off 4 shots of my 69 grain load( 24.7 grains TAC with WSR primer neck sized fired winchester brass)
second dot recieved 10 shots of the hornady

after trucking on down to frames impact was off of paper but still on plywood(there was still alot of windage on scope from the running of v-bulls match)

4 shot group was in an 8-9" group (consistant with match results
10 shot hornady group was in a 3.5 to 4" group(not small enough to compete with the F-open crowd but more where i am aming for a .223

I know that the rifle now likes 75 grain BTHP
I know i do not want to pay these off the shelf premium prices

How can i match this loading of premium bullets??

website says box of ammo running2790/fps
should i be checking load data for powder pushing in that area???
should i find powder i have on hand and hope for best???
should i just go and get meself a 6BR???

thank you for your time in advance

 

[gaetoune]

Well, as far as finding a powder that will match this velocity it is feasible but unless you know the exact powder hornady uses you will probably not get exactly the same accuracy, maybe better maybe worst. There are lots of variable in loads and powders is one. You can get 2 loads with different powder at same velocity but 2 different accuracy. A lot of this is due to pressure. Same velocity load can differ as much as 4000 CUP and this create a lot of variance in accuracy.

The other thing to consider is TAP ammo is made for law inforcement. It probably uses some special mixture of two or more powders to produce this kind of velocity (Over 2900 in 75gr is hard to achieve). Mixture should not be attempted unless you are a powder guru or don't care if your gun explode in your face.....

My advice is star experimenting with the bullets and powder combination until you find the better load, then tweak the OAL to the land and backup until you hit the sweet spot. Usually around 0.010'' you should start seeing a lot of improvement.

Great powders for 223 are Varget, BL-C2 and H4895, they produce great accuracy and velocity.

Just my 2 cents

Hope this helps

 

[beltfed]

I net about 2850 fps with 24.5 grains of varget @ an oal of 2.260" with a 20" AR.
If your mag can take longer or if you are single feeding, there are better bullets than the 75bthp.

 

[Winnipeg Toymaker]

My Savage FVSS 1 in 9 twist loves the 69 gr. Sierras. Shooting well under 1/2 inch at 100 yards while my son's Savage 112 1 in 9 twist single loves 75 gr Hornady Match bullets. both pushed by Varget or IMR 3031. Crimped seems to provide much better groups also. It took a while but finally I stumbled onto the right combination.

 

[manitou210]

the best powders for 75gr bullets in my 26" Rem 700 1/9 twist and 75gr bullets are RL 15
VT 540 well over 2900 using Berger 75gr VLD bullets, the 69gr sierra,s will out shoot the 75gr Hornady HPBT Match. The BC of the Hornadys are low compared to Bergers

 

[maynard]

If the 75 gr A-Max bullets shot well but required too much pressure, you might find as good or better accuracy with a different powder and less pressure.