So I am reloading for a Remington 700 5r in 223 and it has a 1 in 9 twist and I am using 69 grain barns match burner projectiles and sig sauer brass and I am using tac powder and varget I followed the book going from min to max in .3 increments loading 5 in each increment. I still need to sight the gun in so should I sight it in with factory match ammo or should I load up some others and start at the min load and then test the others
223 reloading question
- Thread starter mese341
- Start date
Load 20 rounds with a minimum load, use them to sight the rifle in and foul the bore.
On paper is on paper.
It might be a smidge off between the two but its not like youre going to be worlds difference between. If its a brand new rifle i would probably put 100 rounds down it to speed the barrel up and form some brass top the chamber before I started load development in earnest.
It might be a smidge off between the two but its not like youre going to be worlds difference between. If its a brand new rifle i would probably put 100 rounds down it to speed the barrel up and form some brass top the chamber before I started load development in earnest.
Agree with what's being said above. Depending how crazy your gonna get with barrel break in if any. I would get it on paper with some cheap American eagle 5.56 and put 50 or 100 through it before doing load development. Otherwise your results might disappoint you till that barrel is shot some. Also if you use AE 5.56 62gr you will have some once shot LC brass to use later if you want. It will need to be swaged though.
Otherwise minimum do like @whatsupdoc said load 20 minimum loads and shoot them all before the ladder.
Otherwise minimum do like @whatsupdoc said load 20 minimum loads and shoot them all before the ladder.
I would recommend loading up 10-20 fouling rounds of each TAC and Varget.
An interesting thing I learned doing load development for one of my .223Rem rifles with TAC (ball powder) after I had already shot several hundred rounds of a Varget devloped load through it is that you will get some some weird POI shifts and flyers going between these two powders. Be sure to lightly clean and then foul the bore well before attempting to shoot groups.
I shoot two different kinds of .22 ammo in matches and if I don’t run 25-30 rounds through it after switching the groups fall to shit. So saying that to say, the fouling, different powder, and in this case I think bullet lube all matter.
Sometimes it’s stuff you wouldn’t even think about or even consider that mess with your group sizes. I think it’s also a small part witchcraft.
Have fun! Matches are a good time. Just FYI, I ran a lot of matches with the 75gr ELDs and had really good luck with them-hits out to 1,135. So the 69’s should be fine. The only thing that sucks is spotting misses with a .22 caliber. Other than that, try and get them to around 2,900 or better and you’ll be gtg.
All good info! After you get through the load development process I think you will need to re zero the gun anyway.
There’s definitely nothing wrong with a .223. The more calibers I shoot, the more I like the .223. You’re really just battling more recoil than is needed. Some guys are even going 22BR which is another nice choice for a low recoil round. If nothing else, a .223 is good for learning wind calls.
I recently put together a .22BR and love it! I thought about a .223, but wanted a little more. I thought about a .22 Creedmoor, but wanted a little less. .22BR is juuuust right!
15lbs. w/can, bipod and mag. 88's at about 2950. Rifle barely moves.
Check out the .22BR thread over on the Reloading Depot.
15lbs. w/can, bipod and mag. 88's at about 2950. Rifle barely moves.
Check out the .22BR thread over on the Reloading Depot.
Exactly. A perfect PRS gun. I had my .223 pushing 2,975 with 75gr eld’s and it was an awesome shooting rifle.
You could always do .223AI for your next barrel as well. Same availability of components and apparently fireforming is cake, and still accurate. Might help squeeze that last little bit out of that caliber.
Any comments on this? Are 200 - 300 rounds required to break in a barrel before load development?
I wouldn’t say required. But I do know myself and some serious PRS shooters won’t attempt load development until their barrel has settled down. There is a point where the speed levels out and that’s when your load development is most critical. Any swings in velocity can really affect your SD and impacts at distance.
A lot of guys I shoot with strive for a load that had as little elevation change at distance as they can get. And it really depends on what kind of shooting you’re doing and who you’re talking to...because, opinions. A great group and load at 100 yards may look like garbage at 800.
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Theres guys on here that run .223AI in gas guns without issue. That being said if I was going to run .223 in PRS or any match setting I would not run a gas gun. You just lose too much barrel length and there more to contend with the gas system and tuning, etc.
I would personally run a Bolt gun in .223AI with a 28" barrel. Sqeeze as much velocity as you can out of a longer barrel in a higher rated action system. You could get the heavy for caliber 88-90gr running 2800-3000fps.
