I have started loading for this rifle in 223, it appears to be finicky or a problem somewhere. I have shot 68 gr Hornady hp's 73, 75 and 80 ELD's 70 gr RDF and 77 Nos CC. the 68 gr Hornady's have shot the most consistent, but great, Going to stuff some 70 gr Bergers and 69 gr Sierra match through it tomorrow. I have been using RL-15 and CFE223. Bullets are about 0.01 off the lands. Should I seat deeper? Do any of the bullets I mentioned have any certain characteristics I should take note of? I get a few random flyers at times, just when your thinking you got something going,...well it just goes south. Appreciate any help anyone can give, if I did not mention something that is relevant to the question, please let me know. Thanks!
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Weigh all your brass. I had an issue with some cases that were 12 grains heavier in amongst the rest of my brass and had mystery fliers until i decided to separate the brass that threw the flier. Finding the best seating depth for a particular bullet is something I do and I highly recommend you do also. In my rifles I have had very poor luck with CFE223 but great luck with BLC2, ARComp, H4895 and leverrevolution (LVR). I have never used RL-15 in a 223. Good luck.
Thanks for the tips, Very frustrating, today I put three 73 gr ELD's in one hole and two an inch away in another hole. 69 Sierra's seem to be shooting pretty consistent, but not quite what I'd like. In my AR's with heavier bullets RL-15 works well. The CFE 223 has been doing good in the Browning, but I'll try the powders you mentioned and start weighing brass. I have been shooting R-P brass only. Do you have a Browning Target also?
No I don't have that particular rifle but I am awash in various 223's. I had problems with CFE223 in that when I switched from it to another powder I really needed to clean the barrel thoroughly before using another powder or I would go through 20 shots or so before accuracy settled down. In fact trying it in three rifles until the pound of it was gone I experienced mystery fliers also, it just didn't work for me and that goes for a 6.5 Grendel I tried it in also. Are you new to shooting this rifle? It might need to be bedded. Is the trigger to your satisfaction? As for brass Remington doesn't measure up to PPU in any way when considering consistency. I don't even use Remington anymore focusing on Lake city or PPU. 223 brass stretches steadily and needs to be trimmed. If it is bumping up against the step in front of the case mouth this will cause higher pressure and accuracy issues. In fact I have had once fired 223 brass need trimming.
Yes, I am new to this rifle and I believe it's a new model, the gun comes bedded and has a nice target style stock with adjustable cheek riser and length of pull, trigger is ok for factory and is adjustable, I have it down to about 3lbs, not where I like it, aftermarket coming soon. I have annealed the cases, trimmed, deburred the flash holes on this brass. I do have plenty of LC brass, I'll load some and see. I have shot 68 gr Hornady HPM, 73, 75, 80 ELD, 70, 77 RDF, 70 Berger and 69 Si, the 69 Si has shot the most consistent, I have gotten 3 practically one hole groups with the 73 and 75 eld and then flyers about 3/4 to 1" out and those two in one hole. I have been loading for 35 years and have never experienced such a finicky rifle, but have never loaded a 223 bolt gun with a 1-8 twist. My other 223 bolt action rifles with 1-12 twist shoot very well and I quickly found what shoots out of them and I have loaded for many AR .556 and 223 Wylde chambered guns and have got them to ramp up fairly quickly. Your suggestions shed light on my problem and I will be applying them to this rifle. Thanks again for the information you have given me. I'll will keep share my results with you in a few weeks when I get the new brass prepped and loaded.
So are you suggesting I need more jump? I have been seating just off the lands.
Okay, I'll do it, can you suggest about how much lead would be appropriate, of course I'll experiment. This may have been my problem.
I like to start .050” off because this gives me room to move up or down.
