Suggestions for a .223

notsorichguy

notsorichguy

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So I just ordered a .223, a Remmy 700 SPS Tactical. Should be here by the weekend!

I have no idea what the twist is, all I can get from remington is 1:9 or 1:12. Untill it actually gets here there is no way for me to know.

I have been invited to the US this spring to go for Prarie dogs, I was told to expect distances of 350 to 400 yrds.

So:
Who out there reloads for dogs?

What are your pet loads?

What would be a good place for me to start? ie: bullet weight/brand and powder combo's

I was thinking I would start with a set of .223 dies and then move up to a Lee 1000 for my .223 reloading. Apparently I will need to put together between 1500 & 2000 bullets for the week I will be there. (so a progressive is a must!!)

Thanks!
 
I use Hornady Match 75gr HPBT over 24.6gr of Varget, it's quite accurate out of my 9 twist savage and drops yotes good. But it would be real expensive at 1500-2k rounds. If your going to be doing a lot of target shooting id be looking a some 55gr FMJBT. Im pretty sure your gun is a 9 twist as well.
 
Cummins4x4 said:
With out knowing the twist it's impossible to suggest some loads. That info is on Remingtons website some where IIRC.
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Agreed.

In my experience, a generic load that works in everything from 1/7" to 1/12" is:

52 gr SMK
25 gr H335
2.260" OAL

If this load doesn't shoot well, your gun is cursed.

Once you give the twist I can pass on some loads that have worked well for me.
 
I just did a google search for "rate of twist in a Remington Model 700 SPS Tactical"

I got this from "the fireing line" web site:

Confirmed it with Remington. The previous poster was right.


Remington said the first 125 rifles are 1/12. The rest are 1/9. These are the 20" Tacticals I am speaking about (to clarify).


Only way to tell is via serial number by calling them.
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So I am going to go out on a whim and say mine will be a 1/9 twist as it would be of a "newer" vintage than the first 125 off the line.......
 
This load should work with both twists
55gr Nosler Ballistic tip
Varget max load in Lyman 49 book, groups in my 1/9 twist 26" XCR just over 1" groups at 300y
In good conditions off bench
manitou
 
Hi John
I'm using 13.5 gr of Blue Dot pushing either a 55gr Hornady SPSX (very explosive) or a 55gr V-max bullet. The barrel doesn't heat up as much and the accuracy is there. I had a great time in Alberta this year clearing a field of gophers.
The SPSX produced some very good aerial acrobatics. It's also a cheaper bullet then all the rest.
There's lots of info on the net from a guy called Seafire.
Start with a lighter load and work your way up.
I found 13.5 gr was the max for my Stevens 200 1-9 twist .223
Regards, Henry
 
50 or 55grn V-Max are devastating on P.Dogs

Load them up with H4895, Benchmark or H322 and let em rip.

Fassteel said:
Now there is a caliber a guy wants to shoot all day, Not FS
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What's wrong with a 22-250. I have sat in a field for more than 8hrs shooting nothing but. The giggle factor far outweighs the slight bit of recoil that this cartridge has.
 
Henry Nierychlo said:
Hi John
I'm using 13.5 gr of Blue Dot pushing either a 55gr Hornady SPSX (very explosive) or a 55gr V-max bullet. The barrel doesn't heat up as much and the accuracy is there. I had a great time in Alberta this year clearing a field of gophers.
The SPSX produced some very good aerial acrobatics. It's also a cheaper bullet then all the rest.
There's lots of info on the net from a guy called Seafire.
Start with a lighter load and work your way up.
I found 13.5 gr was the max for my Stevens 200 1-9 twist .223
Regards, Henry
Click to expand...

Interesting data Henry, I was loading 40gr Vmax and the max load for it from Seafire was 14gr. My best accuracy in my gun was with 12gr of Blue Dot.FS
 
What can I say FS. Maybe cause the bullet is heavier and my Stevens is a 1-9 twist.
It Likes the 13.5 load. I found 14.0 gr showing pressure signs and no better accuracy.
Nice to see someone else using Blue Dot. It sure works out to be cheap to shoot with the SPSX bullet & only 13.5 gr of powder. Thats just over 500 loads per pound of powder.
I think I paid $15.00/100 from WSS earlier this year.
It's a cheap shooting load.
Regards, Henry
 
I never would have thought to try Blue Dot for Acuracy loads to 400yrds.

I saw a thread listing a whole bunch of Rifle calibers using Blue dot, but I thought they were all "pussy cat" "plinking" loads.

Untill I read all of the posts with recipes I was leaning more towards a 40gr V-Max and Varget, more due to availability (my Local g-store has about 1.5K on the shelf) than anything else. But everybody so far has suggested loads with 50 or 55 gr projectiles..... This must be a "rate of twist" thing.

I am really liking the idea of getting 500 rnds of .223 out of a # of powder. I may have to try a # of Blue dot, just to see.

I am still trying to gather up a list of stuff, I'm going gun-showing this weekend!

Cheers!
 
CyaN1de said:
50 or 55grn V-Max are devastating on P.Dogs

Load them up with H4895, Benchmark or H322 and let em rip.



What's wrong with a 22-250. I have sat in a field for more than 8hrs shooting nothing but. The giggle factor far outweighs the slight bit of recoil that this cartridge has.
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I must just be getting old, would much rather sit behind a 204 for 8 hours. FS
 
I got my Remmy 700 SPS Tactical today. It is in fact a 1/9 twist. I also got the 500rnds I ordered with the rifle, so I will be sure to get to the range this weekend! :D

Thanks for all of the load data, now if I can just find any of the combo's suggested....... There is a g-show this weekend, hopefully I can find some powder, bulets and primers.....

Cheers!
 
My Stevens 223, 1 in 9 twist.

55 grn Nosler BTs, 28 grains of BLC2, yesterday a bit windy, 5 shots less than 0.35"
6 shots 0.7". OAL 2.400"

This is over max load in the Lyman and max in the Hornady. Can't wait to chrony it.
 
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