Why won't my t3 group with 75 grain AMAX's?

LittleBoyLefty said:
Strange, my SS T3 shoots the 75Amax as well as it shoots the 55Vmax, very well. Haven't stretched out past 1oo yards though.

How far off of the rifling did you seat the Amax? I started at .020. Makes for a long little round.:)Do you single feed your Amax loads?
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Yes, I single feed, though I'm working on modifying the mag.

I tried them at about .015 and -.005 jammed.
 
I have never had much luck with Hornady bullets. The BTHP's shoot better in my .223 than the Amax. Never had a problem getting Sierra or Noslers to shoot.
 
Perhaps, but neither of those bullets give good performance on varmints, usually just pencilling through. Plus, the 75 AMAX has the VLD ogive, where the other two are standard.

If anything, I'd like to try the 80 amax which appears to have a non-VLD profile, or the Berger VLD's or Wildcat ULD's
 
The 75 AMAX worked very well in my Rem 700P 26" barrel, 1:9" twist.

I traded the 700P for a TicTac with a 24" barrel, 1:8" twist. I was getting around 1-1.5" with a few leftover rounds but they weren't optimal length for the Tikka. Unfortunately I don't have any of the 75 AMAX left and the stores in Calgary are out of stock (except moly bullets). If I ever get some I'll work up a load and let you know how it turns out.

I've got lots of the 69 and 80 grain Sierra Match Kings and they shoot fine out of the Tikka, but they don't work so well on gophers, as was mentioned earlier. I'm hoping, as you are, to find a heavy varmint bullet for those really long shots.

Eric
 
My Leeper-rechambered Stevens 200 in 223 Ackley shoots the 75 A-Max close to half an inch at 3000 fps out of the 1:9 twist 22" factory barrel all day long.

It also puts the 40 gr Ballistic Tips into 5/8" at 3900 fps. Not too shabby for a factory barrel.

Ted
 
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prosper said:
If anything, I'd like to try the 80 amax which appears to have a non-VLD profile, or the Berger VLD's or Wildcat ULD's
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I haven't tried the 80gr Berger VLD's in a T3 but the 80 A-max shot the worst 5 shot groups ever. Some groups had only 3 shots on 8.5x11" targets out of 5. Hornady 68gr match and 75gr V-max groups shot 2.5 to 5 inch groups. 50gr V-max shoot sub 1/2 MOA groups in the same gun. This is the second T3 .223 Stainless Varminter I've tried and results were identical.

I just don't get it. The 1x8 barrel should stablize the longer heavy bullets and produce fine accuracy but they don't. I measured the twist and it is 1x8 as advertised. The longer bullets shoot VERY large groups no matter how long or short I load them but they handle the 40 to 55gr bullets very well :confused: I've developed accuracy loads for many rifle is various calibers but never encountered anything like this. Why should a 1x8 barrel refuse to shoot the heavy bullets well but love the light short one? There is something wrong here but I have no idea what it is.
 
I've been researching this a bit, and from what I gather, the 223 can be very particular from gun to gun with these heavy bullets. Loads that work well in one setup can be abysmal in another. Though I must confess that your results are particularly horrible. What powders did you try?

I'm hoping to find some answers by going with relatively heavy charges of faster powders - this should cause a dramatically different pressure curve than with something slower like varget. If the pressure peaks sooner - well, I dunno. But I do know that VLD style bullets are sensitive about distance to the lands, which may suggest a connection to a fast-rising pressure curve. Maybe.

In any case, I have another hundred and sixty-ish of these 75 grainers, so I'll keep playing and hopefully find something that works.
 
prosper said:
I've been researching this a bit, and from what I gather, the 223 can be very particular from gun to gun with these heavy bullets. Loads that work well in one setup can be abysmal in another. Though I must confess that your results are particularly horrible. What powders did you try?

I've used the following powders without much success with heavy bullets. H322, H335, W748, N133 & Varget.
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I have lost the majority of my hair going through this with 6mm bullets (and 308) in full-on custom rigs. I have a couple of tack-drivers that will not shoot lapua scenars to save their soul.

the answer likely lies in seating depth and the right bullet for your bore fit. That will take some experimentation with different bullets.
 
How fast are your bullets going? I read that heavier bullets can be more difficult to stabilize if the "right" velocity isn't reached. Sounds like your bullets are stabilizing but maybe it needs more or less powder to hit the "sweet spot". I remember that my 1-12 twist .22-250 couldn't even hit an oil drum at 50m with 62 grain bullets so I don't believe that you are having problems with twist of your barrel. What amount of powder are your trial loads?
 
No idea, I didn't chrony them. They were near the top end of the published data spectrum. From 24-26 grains of varget even slightly exceeds the data published by some sources.

They do appear to be stabilizing fine. They're not keyholing at all, and while the groups are poor, they're not THAT poor
 
try another manuafacturer of bullet, I had a problem of nosler 55 grainers tumbling in my 22-250 yet v max shoot into a one hole group at 100 yards. I mic'd the bullet diameters and all checked out leaving me in a real confused state. Also give Benchmark powder a try, It is the powder of choice in my trple duece with all bullet weights.
 
Honestly, if it won't shoot amax's, it's going to be for sale. Other match bullets perform poorly on varmints. I require a bullet with a high BC AND good terminal effects on gophers.
 
How do they shoot past 100 yards?
My 75 & 77 grain loads are not that hot at 100m, but they perform very well out at 400 & 500m.

If you are only shooting to 100m, I would question the bullet choice -just mho.
 
It's been my experience that if something doesn't shoot well at 100, it won't past that. I generally do the first few passes of load work at 100, and refine the loads at 200 and 300. Past 300, I only shoot at gongs and gophers - no paper
 
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