Range Report Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate.

[2500yards]

Looking to tighten up my groups on my .223. I want to buy some new ammo, but I am not sure whats the best right now. Should I go by the price? haha. Never had the best results doing that.

Here is whay I am looking into. which would you say would hold the best groups.


.223 Hornady Match 75 Grain Boat Tail Hollow Point 75 Grain 20 Rounds per Box

OR

5.56 Bitterroot Valley Ammunition BVAC 75 Grain Tactical HP 20 Round Box 2600 FPS

OR

.223 Remington Premier Match Rifle Cartridge, 77-Grain MatchKing Boat Tail Hollow Point Bullet, 2750 fps

OR

.223 Remington Federal Gold Medal Rifle Cartridge, 77-Grain Sierra MatchKing Boat Tail Hollow Point Bullet, 2750 fps

 

[Cmonroe]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate.

Tell us about your rifle first!

 

[2500yards]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate.

its a colt AR Match Hbar II

 

[Criver600]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

The Hornady 75 grain match and the Federal 69/77 have worked out in several rifles. My newest toy a 5-R .223 really likes Black Hills 73 grain BTHP

 

[GCMxVeGeTa]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

I like Hornady 75 gr. A-Max, but they'd be too long to fit in your AR mag. The 77 gr ones should be the next in line as far as B/C; and that's what I'd look at...

 

[2500yards]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

so, the 77 grain sierra matchking will work ok in an AR?

 

[Sig685]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

It will work fine, with a 1:8 or faster twist.

 

[rmfield]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

Actually, it will probably work fine if it only has a 1:9" twist as well - you'll just have to try it to find out. I have a 16" 1:9" that loves 77s.

 

[Graham]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rmfield</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Actually, it will probably work fine if it only has a 1:9" twist as well - you'll just have to try it to find out. I have a 16" 1:9" that loves 77s. </div></div>You must shoot at altitude.

Chances are that no 77gr will work well in a 9-twist HBAR, and the 75's are iffy at best.

Try 73gr Berger LTB's, seat them to mag length at push them at over 2700fps.

 

[rmfield]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

Yes, I do shoot at altitude, but if you run the 77 throught the Miller calcs at a density altitude of 0 feet and a MV of 2650, it still makes a factor 1.361 in gyroscopic stability. While this is not ideal, it should work - at least in theory. That said, it may or may not be accurate and you won't know until you try.

BTW, the Hornaday 75 is bit longer than the 77 and that makes it flat ass unstable (.961) under the above conditions. The Berger 73 comes out slightly better than the 77 at 1.386.

I any case, all I was trying to suggest is that you shouldn't rule the 77s out without trying them.

If anyone is interested in playing around with these numbers, JBM has a Miller calculator here .

 

[2500yards]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

ok, thanks. I just bought 5 boxes of each of these. I am not at much of an elevation compaired to colorado. but I do my shooting at 2500-3000 ft elevation here. I am looking for somewhere that can custom make me a standard dimension barrel at 24-26 inches with a 1-8/1-7 twist.

I will test them all out and see what they do.

---
Silver State Armory Ammunition 5.56x45mm (223 Remington) 77 Grain Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Box of 20

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Hornady Match 75 Grain Boat Tail Hollow Point 75 Grain 20 Rounds per Box

---
BVAC 75 Grain Tactical HP 20 Round Box 2600 FPS
52781

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Remington Premier Match Rifle Cartridge, 77-Grain MatchKing Boat Tail Hollow Point Bullet, 2750 fps, 20 Rounds per Box

---
Remington Federal Gold Medal Rifle Cartridge, 77-Grain Sierra MatchKing Boat Tail Hollow Point Bullet, 2750 fps, 20 Rounds per Box

---
.223 Remington Fiocchi Exacta Match Rifle Cartridge, 77-Grain Sierra MatchKing Bullet, 2750 fps, 20 Rounds per Box

 

[GCMxVeGeTa]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

If you're looking for value, I'd go with Black Hills. They sell new and reloaded .223 from 36 gr Varmint Grenade to 77 grain MatchKing in 50 round boxes...

http://www.black-hills.com/reman.htm

 

[2500yards]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

Im looking for accuracy, but if it comes at a value, I would not be unhappy.

 

[spr1]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

If anything heavy will work in my experience, it would be the Hornady TAP 75gr load, which has provided good results in most 1 in 9's I have seen. However, I had one COLT 16" HBAR, that as near as I can tell went from shooting it great to absolutely spraying them all over from one range session to the next. Scary, as it still shot lighter bullets great. I have since switched exclusively to 1 in 7 barrels.
A safe bet would be the Blackhills 69 gr match, either blue or red box.

 

[Chilo]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

I've got a 16" 1:8 twist barrel. It loves 69's and 77's in the SMK. It shot bugholes at 100 yds with the 52 gr Bergers, but I needed something for killing coyotes out much farther than that. I get great varmint stopping power and accuracy out to around 600 yds. Let us know how your test turns out.

 

[2500yards]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

Thanks for the input. I need to find someone to make a good barrel for me.

 

[Wild_Bill]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

Hi nas you did the best thing is to actualy test the ammo in your rifle that is the only way to know as every rifle is diferent.

As for barrels you can get any custom barrel manufacturer to make you a barrel. their are heaps out there but try Rock Creek barrels their cut barrels are great Lawton are awsome aswell but they dont make many 224 barrels. also get a 8 twist you will be better off if you are not going to use any of the longer match type VLD projectile single loading. any projectile that will feed through the mag will work in the 8 twist

 

[2500yards]

Re: Which of these .223/5.56 ammo is most accurate

thank you wild bill. I went with Krieger barrel. They were very friendly and helpful and seemed very knowledgeable over the phone. Im getting a 26" with a 1 in 7.7 twist as per thier reccomendations. Gonna be a while for it to get shipped, but as far as thier customer service goes. I would reccomend them to anyone. http://www.kriegerbarrels.com/Contact_Us-c1246-wp2532.htm