1 in 9 twist 223 and light bullets

[603Country]

My Ruger Hawkeye shoots amazingly well with 65 grain Sierra gamekings, and that's a fine bullet for what I use it for. But...I'd really like to shoot some of the small bullets like the 35 and 40 grainers, leadfree or not leadfree. In my early bullet/powder workups with the rifle, I didn't have much luck with the smaller bullets, but I did have some problems early on (bad scope and bad synthetic stock) that might have caused the poor shooting more than the bullets themselves did. So, I'm asking you guys that might have the same twist if you've had luck with the smaller bullets, and what your powder/bullet recipes are. Your answers may save me a lot of work and a lot of wasted bullets and powder. Surely a small bullet can be shot accurately in a fast twist barrel. What works for you?

 

[dagger dog]

I have a Savage 12FV .223 Rem 26" 1 in 9" twist it has a fondness for the longer 69 SMK's but will group the 50 gr Barnes Varmint Grenade, 55gr VMax,into 1" @ 100 also.

The 50 gr Grenades are an exceptionally long design,as are the SMK's and thats why the 1-9 likes them. I tried some 35 gr Vmax but you can't seat them anywhere near the lands on the Savage and they were not accurate.

The 40 gr Nosler BT's and VMax come closer and shoot a little larger groups but are still under 2".

 

[mohr308]

I have a RRA Ar-15 with a 1:9 twist barrel, the higher grain bullets work better with that high twist, stick with anything from 55-69 gn bullets.

 

[m&p45acp10+1]

My Model 12 FSSV with 1 in 9 twist drives tacks with 55 grain V-Max using H335 powder with standard CCI SR primers. I have not tried anything ligher than 55 grain. While my rifle shoots the 68 to 77 grain bullets with great accuracy. The 55 grain V-Max, and Nostler BT are nothing to sneeze at when considering that I can get under half MOA with them on a crappy day for five shot groups.

 

[flashhole]

I had a dickens of a time with my Kimber 223 Longmaster Classic 1:9 twist shooting middle weight bullets 50 - 60 grains. Nothing I'd call a group in that mix and I have no acceptable load.

63 - 70 grain bullets behave really well in my gun and I have a lot of choices that produce itty-bitty groups.

On the light side I shoot the Nosler 40 grain Ballistic Tip bullets and have found three powders that work really well, Benchmark, H-4895 and Accurate Arms 2230. Of those three, the go-to powder is 4895. Again, itty-bitty groups but as you know the lighter bullets are more suseptable to wind.

 

[603Country]

Thanks Flashhole, that's just the kind of info I was looking for. As it happens, I have an unopened box of 40 grain Nosler BT's and I have some AA2230. I'll give it a try and see what happens. Do you get best accuracy with those bullets when loaded light or loaded hot?

As for why I'd want to shoot the tiny bullets when the 65 grainers work great, my wife is after me to thin out the crows. I want a smaller bullet for that.

 

[flashhole]

Those bullets are devastating on crows. I have shot several with both my 223 and 221 Fireball. Lots of floating black feathers and big exit holes. The trouble with crows is they learn quickly and post sentries about to warn the flock when you are out and about. They don't react to my wife but I can't step outside without them cawing like crazy. They take flight immediately.

As to the load. I almost always end up about a grain below max for highest accuracy.

 

[amamnn]

Every shooter, application and barrel is different. That being said, the 1/9 twist for a .223 rem /5.56mm cartridge is a VERY versatile combination. I have had gifts of bullets and/or ammo from friends and family members who did not know better and a lot of those were very light bullets or ammo in the .223 rem cartridge. I have managed to get pretty fair --sub MOA 5-shot groups out of several barrels using bullets as light as 40 grains in various conditions using 1/9 barrels. These were, and are, with two exceptions all Shilen select match barrels installed on a Savage bolt action or a DPMS AR-15. None were shorter than 20 inches in total length.

One well meaning, but ignorant (of rifle, or indeed any firearm caliber) gave me 200 .223 bullets for my .223 rem rifle. She had heard part of a discussion about .223 rem vs 5.56x45mm ammo and heard me say a rifle I owned was set up for the .223 and went somewhere and bought the bullets marked .223------how can you explain to someone who takes all that trouble and goes out of their way to get you a gift, that those are just---wrong?


Those bullets--.223 diameter and 40 grains did ok-- not sub MOA but on the paper at 200 yards.....................go figure.............the bullets I have tried on the heavy side--over 70 grains- have not worked out so well for me.

 

[603Country]

Thanks for the info. What I didn't put in the original post was that I had tried, and tried, and tried to get 55 grain Noslers and VMax to shoot real well in my rifle, and just couldn't find the magic combination. I had a zillion bullets that I had accumulated, so that's why I wanted the 55 grainers to work. A recommendation on this forum pushed me to the 65 gr bullets, which shot extremely well. I'm very happy with the 65 grainers, but feel like my reloading quest with that rifle isn't finished to my satisfaction. That, and the abundance of crows, is why I wanted to try the smaller bullets. As soon as I finish a couple of woodworking jobs, I'll convert my shop back into reloading mode and go back to playing with bullets and powder. And...I have to admit that between stock bedding and scope problems, maybe my problem with the 55 grainers wasn't the bullet and rifle twist. I'll recheck all of that too. On the 40 grainers I was just looking for a head start on what folks have found that works particularly well in that fast twist.

 

[m&p45acp10+1]

For retrying the 55 grain bullets give H-335 a try. For 55 grain bullets it is the cat's meow. My H-335 loads have performed extremely well in several 1 in 9 AR rifles, as well as my Savage. At 100 yards I get super small groups.

 

[Toolman]

I have two AR's, both 1:9 twist. My little AR has a 16-1/2" heavy BBL. The varmint AR has a 24" SS 1" BBL.
55gr bullets are the lightest I'd use, having loaded them using H335, BLC-2, Varget, H322 (worst performer) Ramshot TAC & Exterminator.
I prefer 69gr Sierra #1380 bullets loaded with H335, TAC or 8208XBR. I have loaded up to 80gr bullets, but for my usage the 69gr work fine. I haven't tried the Nosler Varmeggedon bullets yet.
Every gun has it's own personality, so you have find what works best in your gun.

 

[603Country]

I have Varget, H335, and AA2230 that should work with the smaller bullets. I just really want to see if I can find one of the really small and really hot bullets (35, 36, 40gr) that'll shoot really well in the rifle. It isn't something that has to happen, but is just something that interests me. Pretty soon I'll be mowing pasture and the crows will show up to look around in the short grass. I'm going to have to finish up the woodworking and get to reloading pretty soon if I want to surprise the crows.

I had a Varget load behind some 55 gr Noslers that shot real well before the scope gave it up. I'll start with that.

 

[A_Gamehog]

The best light load for my .223 rifles with the 1-9 twist are:

34 Grain dogtown/varmint Nightmare
27.5 AA2230
CCI400
Lake City Brass

They will never reach the lands but shoot great out to 200 yards max.
1MOA under ideal conditions.

W-748 27.5 works well also as does a case full of varget.

8208 XBR also works well with 26.5 GR