68gr (or so) .224 projectiles

Necroman99

Necroman99

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Hey gang.
Been reloading for all my guns for 5 years or so. This inquiry is for a rifle so in that world ive reloaded for several 308s, 270win 270wsm 35rem...you get it. Ive never really been challenged in producing accurate ammo. My 308s all like varget...my target rifle likes 150gr hornady fmjbt or the campro version thereof (sub moa for sure) and my blr throws any 150 or 180gr projectile more accurately than i am for hunting.

Enter new rifle. Mossberg mvp varmint in .223 with 1 in 9 twist.
Intended purpose is groundhogs...ive been told that the hunt im interested in may demand i bring 1000 to 2000rds. Sooo i tried the 55gr campros cause theyre cheap (110$ per 1000)...not cool...2 or 3 moa. Read up and then bought some 68gr match hornady hpbt...saweet! Pricey though ($35/100)

Obviously ill cough up whats necessary to get the performance i need but if i really plan to make 2000 rounds of this any savings would be good.

Are there other 68gr (or so) projectiles at a lower pricepoint i can try? I havent found any. I saw that sfrc has these for 125 per 500 so i will go that way if this is all there is.
 
At that point I'd just find some of the Hornady Z-Max bullets and use those at the price you quote. They are lighter, yeah. But the faster speed and shorter time of flight actually beats th 68-69 grain match type bullets out to a bit past 400 meters in my experience.

Less drift and less drop since it just plain gets there faster. Mind you once the heavier bullet takes over past 500, it flat out kicks ass.
 
Thanks guys.
Im confused though...youre suggesting i go even lighter than 55gr...which are like 2 or 3 moa off a lead sled indoor range. The 68s were 1 hole. If i go lighter can we predict what it will do?
 
I think you can credit the poor Campro 55gr accuracy to the bullet. I've had the same experience, no way to get those bullets under ~2MOA. And I'm not aware of any higher quality bullet that a lower price than the $31-35/hundred price that the nice Hornadys are.
 
campro is bulk FMJ made for military style loads, high volume shooting through an AR.
 
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On the seating depth question...not really. Normally l like to go 10thou off lands...55gr bullets dont allow that so i just load to max length mag allows which is like 2.279 i think. With the 68gr bthp i tried both the 2.279 and then 10thou off lands...both sub moa but 10thou is better. I dont necessarily mind single loading them.
 
I had the same issue, 55's weren't shooting good enough and the 68 BTHP's which are my accuracy load didn't blow up on gophers. I eventually developed a load using Win 748 that would shoot the 55's in my 1 in 7" twist. I still use 68's from Mystic Precision for anything that I really want to hit beyond 100m.
 
55gr nosler ballistic tip over some benchmark at 2.260 or a little longer holds 1 moa or very close to it for me. Also playing with some tipped varmegedon and cfe. As for hornady only shot 50gr over good load of benchmark. Steamed along at a pretty good pace. I remember the factory 53 gr vmax superformance was awesome accurate. My mvp seems to like things running near max loads.
 
This is a reloading forum. Those things are called bullets.

What distance do you shoot gophers at? I have never done it. I have shot lots of ground hog - at 100-200 yards.

I would assume that the 68 Match is your best bet. They come in large boxes (4500, I think) and cost around 20 cents each.

Hornady also make a 60 gr SP and a 60HP. One of my hard to please rifles does well with the the Horn 60SP and the Sierra 60HP.

If you shoot at a distance where the wind matters (say, beyond 200 yrds) I would assume that the 68 would have less wind drift than a 55 gr or lighter bullet. I say "assume" because I have not looked at any tables.
 
Ganderite said:
This is a reloading forum. Those things are called bullets.

What distance do you shoot gophers at? I have never done it. I have shot lots of ground hog - at 100-200 yards.

I would assume that the 68 Match is your best bet. They come in large boxes (4500, I think) and cost around 20 cents each.

Hornady also make a 60 gr SP and a 60HP. One of my hard to please rifles does well with the the Horn 60SP and the Sierra 60HP.

If you shoot at a distance where the wind matters (say, beyond 200 yrds) I would assume that the 68 would have less wind drift than a 55 gr or lighter bullet. I say "assume" because I have not looked at any tables.
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Hoping to use a bolt savage tr 22lr for anything inside 50 to 100yds. Time will tell on that one. This will be my 100 and beyond gun...probably nothing over 200 or 300. Im not picking the bullets to resist the wind...im picking them cause so far theyre the only ones that are accurate. I may try some of these better bullets as suggested but as i dont feel like having 100 of all the different bullet weights its tempting to just go with the 68s...and it sounds like jerry might hook me up.
 
Necroman99 said:
Hoping to use a bolt savage tr 22lr for anything inside 50 to 100yds. Time will tell on that one. This will be my 100 and beyond gun...probably nothing over 200 or 300. Im not picking the bullets to resist the wind...im picking them cause so far theyre the only ones that are accurate. I may try some of these better bullets as suggested but as i dont feel like having 100 of all the different bullet weights its tempting to just go with the 68s...and it sounds like jerry might hook me up.
Click to expand...

I understand what you mean. A bullet that won't group well is not worth shooting.

But "accuracy" also means hitting what you aim at, and this is where the wind comes in. For those of us who have done a lot of shooting at longer ranges, we take a tight group for granted and then try to cope with the wind. You are lucky, because your accurate bullet is probably also much better with the wind than a a lighter bullet.
 
Ganderite said:
This is a reloading forum. Those things are called bullets.

What distance do you shoot gophers at? I have never done it. I have shot lots of ground hog - at 100-200 yards.

I would assume that the 68 Match is your best bet. They come in large boxes (4500, I think) and cost around 20 cents each.

Hornady also make a 60 gr SP and a 60HP. One of my hard to please rifles does well with the the Horn 60SP and the Sierra 60HP.

If you shoot at a distance where the wind matters (say, beyond 200 yrds) I would assume that the 68 would have less wind drift than a 55 gr or lighter bullet. I say "assume" because I have not looked at any tables.
Click to expand...

Lighter bullets actually beat the 68s in both drop and wind drift out to at least 400 meters.

Not sure about the 55s as I have never measured it. The 53 gr Varmageddon and VMax beat the pants off of heavy match bullets until past 400-500. If someone wanted cheap, I am sure the 50 grain ZMax out there for $99 per 500 would likewise not drift a whole lot until you really reach out there.

Shorter time of flight means they offer the environment less time in which to act on them. If you get a light bullet cooking around 3300 + FPS, its at the target fast enough to make up for any deficiency in handling the wind.
 
rick357 said:
Actually the other way around, heavier bullets require faster twist. 68gr should work just fine. The HRN 68gr BTHP are pretty decent for the price and the OP already stated they work. Even better but at increased $ would be Sierra 69gr MK.
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Thought that was what I said. 55gr might be the lightest 1-9 will shoot well. 60-70+gr will be more accurate, and high RPM with a 9 twist will probably spin lighter (36-45gr) jackets apart before the target.
 
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