Bulk 55gr. Winchester FMJ Results

SeamusMac

SeamusMac

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After a some really horrid initial results with bulk 55gr. Wichester FMJ's I think I'm getting close to the best that can be expected of these plinking bullets.

First group is 4 shots at 100 yards with 26.4 grains of Varget. 1.833"

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Next group is 4 shots at 100 yards with 26.6 grains of Varget. 2.184"

P4140178.jpg


I tried loads from 26.0 to 26.8 grains today.

Bullet length, casing length and OAL were all kept in mind during reloading. I kept all the length measurements within 0.01" of one another because although the brass length was very consistent I'm not willing to sort through 100 bullets to get 10 with the same length haha.

Next step is going to be trying three 3-shot groups for 26.4, 26.5 and 26.6 grains of Varget so I can get an average for each load and make a final decision.
 
I have had excellent results with these bullets and Reloader 10X. I would not limit my powder choice to just Varget. No doubt that varget is a very versatile powder, but I find it better for larger non magnum cartridges.
 
SeamusMac said:
After a some really horrid initial results with bulk 55gr. Wichester FMJ's I think I'm getting close to the best that can be expected of these plinking bullets with varget.
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As suggested, try other powders. I've had good results with AA2015BR. And a dwindling stash of Reloader 12. Don't limit yourself to just one powder.
 
As suggested, I'd try other powders. Varget works great for heavier bullets in .223. For 50-65gr bullets, I'd try faster powders like H335 & H322
 
Did you sort them by weight at all? I`ve weighed sorted about 100 of them so far and found there was about 1 grain variance between them. I have not yet had a chance to shoot them though.
Are these what you call factory seconds?
 
I'm going to take a guess here and say that you are reloading for the 223 Remington and not one of the many other 22 calibres.

What rifle are you using it in? I'm guessing a short barrel AR15 with those 2" groups?

I would try using another powder as others have suggested. I've been using some H335 and it has been working well for me.

SeamusMac said:
Next step is going to be trying three 3-shot groups for 26.4, 26.5 and 26.6 grains of Varget so I can get an average for each load and make a final decision.
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Ever try using 2 shot groups? :p 3 shots, at least to me, is not enough to make any decision on. Up it to 5 shots minimum. You want to eliminate any reloading mistakes and other errors that might be causing changes in group sizes. Its easy to have one of three rounds get screwed up just a little during the reloading process or caused by flaws in the components. Or you might even oh I don't know, screw up a shot at the range. :rolleyes:


Fudd
 
I'll certainly see what some different powders will do. A friend of mine has promised me some Accurate0223 (Ithink that's what it's called) so I hope that'll work better. I'll look for some of the other powders suggested.

cjd966 said:
Did you sort them by weight at all? I`ve weighed sorted about 100 of them so far and found there was about 1 grain variance between them. I have not yet had a chance to shoot them though.
Are these what you call factory seconds?
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I didn't sort them by weight this time, I was more concerned with length but I think I'll check weight next time in addition to length.

ElmerFudd said:
I'm going to take a guess here and say that you are reloading for the 223 Remington and not one of the many other 22 calibres.

What rifle are you using it in? I'm guessing a short barrel AR15 with those 2" groups?

I would try using another powder as others have suggested. I've been using some H335 and it has been working well for me.


Ever try using 2 shot groups? :p 3 shots, at least to me, is not enough to make any decision on. Up it to 5 shots minimum. You want to eliminate any reloading mistakes and other errors that might be causing changes in group sizes. Its easy to have one of three rounds get screwed up just a little during the reloading process or caused by flaws in the components. Or you might even oh I don't know, screw up a shot at the range. :rolleyes:


Fudd
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I was shooting .223 out of my Savage 12FVSS. I think that I was partially to blame as I wasn't shooting off bags as per my usual. I've been getting consistent sub MOA results with bulk 45gr. Winchester from Wally's World so I'm not sure that I'll keep testing these bullets (wally's world ammunition is barely 50 cents a round). I should have been doing 5 shot groups agreed, but I only had the time to prep 20 cases the night before and I wanted to test 5 different powder charges.
 
Are you making sure your action screws are torqued proper?

Loose stock could give you bigger groups. Shouldn't have loosened up that day on the range...
 
Nothing wrong with that Joe! I assume that is at 100 yards and not 25? :p

I've got some IMR 4064 but haven't tried it yet in the 223 Remington as it is a compressed load (so says my manual) and a fair bit slower than the H335.

How compressed is it? Is 25.9 gr. right up to the top of the mouth?


Fudd
 
RobertMcC said:
Are you making sure your action screws are torqued proper?

Loose stock could give you bigger groups. Shouldn't have loosened up that day on the range...
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Yeah might be that, when I got home I adjusted them to 55 ft/lbs with my torque wrench. Should be good from now on.

I'm going to try as many of the different powders as possible but as far as changing bullets goes.. I still have over 150 of them haha. So I'll be back on the range Monday with more Varget loads since that's all I have atm. I'll sandbag the rifle and we'll see how she goes. It's supposed to be a bit nicer here on Monday (15* wewt!) so I won't have to contend with cold fingers :D
 
ElmerFudd said:
Nothing wrong with that Joe! I assume that is at 100 yards and not 25? :p

I've got some IMR 4064 but haven't tried it yet in the 223 Remington as it is a compressed load (so says my manual) and a fair bit slower than the H335.

How compressed is it? Is 25.9 gr. right up to the top of the mouth?


Fudd
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You know, I honestly can't remember all the details of that load. It was from the first batch of test ammo I created when I brought that gun home.

I was surprised at how well the gun grouped and I am surprised SeamusMac's gun won't do better! I'm pointing my finger at the bullets....
 
SeamusMac did you buy the winchester's off me? Thats not very good at 100 yards I will shoot some groups out of my 700vls and post some up. Might be going groundhoging this weekend.

off the top of my head those loads seem to be quite hot you might want to try and back them down about 10% sometimes less is more when your looking for accuracy.

I prefer H335 out of my 26" barrel seems to work well.
 
The winchester's in question are not factory seconds... I too use them but just for blasting out of my 10" Ar-15 if your looking for some precision bullets try the 68 Grain Hornady match bullets that I have.

I weighed them out too and there is slight variance I went back to winchester about them and they assured me they are the best quality they make in .224 FMJ other supplies like Remington are a bit worse I stoped selling them because they had greater variance in size and weight

The main reason I carry the Winchester FMJ is for us AR guys who just need something cheap for lots of blasting... I am starting to carry more precision bullets like Hornady match, A-max and V-max.

I will shoot groups with every .224 cal bullet I have on the weekend and post up pictures

Oh being a Remington guy I never heard of a Savage not being able to shoot sub moa maybe its broken take it back lol there are rumors all over the internet on how accurate that gun is.
 
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I went to my indoor range to test some bullets, its only 20 meters but here are the results from firing 20 of my own hand loaded 55 FMJ's, I will post results from 100 yards out to 300 tomorrow.

These groupings are poor at 20 meters with my 22 rifle Ruger race gun I can group much better then even the middle target normally under a dime.

The middle grouping is under the size of a quarter .75 inch's if I can get them to perform like that at 100 yards and 200 tomorrow that will be satisfactory for the round.

Shot using Remington 700 VLS 223 cal 1-12 twist barrel 26" bottom right was 16x , bottom left was 8x , and middle and top where 36x Zoom

scan0004.jpg
 
I shot a few groups at 100yards with my Savage 12. Here's the best one:
WinchFMJ1.jpg


I think there is potential, if they are sorted. My shooting may have been of a little, too .
 
cjd966 said:
I shot a few groups at 100yards with my Savage 12. Here's the best one:
WinchFMJ1.jpg


I think there is potential, if they are sorted. My shooting may have been of a little, too .
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Black area on target is 1" in diameter I assume? Those results look pretty consistent with my results.
I'm going to shoot some more groups (5 shots this time) at some point this week, this time with a more secure shooting position. If I can get consistent 2" or less groups at 100 yards I'll be happy with my bullets while using Varget :D

I'd really like to see some groups with H335 loads.
 
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