223 1:12 w/ heavier bullets

[mwells72774]

anyone know of a good load with heavier bullets? or even a good load for a remmy 700 223 ADL. I'm new to reloading personally, but been around it a while.

 

[hodaka]

I've never been happy with anything over 55 gr. in my 700 BDL. It shoots 52's into one hole.

 

[homesick]

Not sure what model 700 you have but my 700VLS does not like any thing over 60 gr. What I have found was the faster twist 1/9 etc are better for heavier bullets.
My VLS shoots 52 gr HPBT Sierra very good 5 shoots in 1/2" MOA or better as long as I do my part.

 

[Jim Watson]

My 12 twist 788 does well with Berger 60 grain FLATBASE.
But that is kind of an exotic approach and I would be happy with 52 gr SMK for all my .22 centerfires except the fast twist midrange rifle.

 

[Jim243]

Stick with 55 grain bullets or less. You will not be happy with heavier bullets in a 1:12 twist barrel.


Jim

 

[Stick_man]

As has been alluded to, a 1:12 twist is to slow to stabilize anything over about 60 grains in the .223 Rem. Stick with the 50-55gr as your "heavy" bullets and you should get great accuracy and performance.

 

[hoffbill]

+1 My 700 with 1:12 twist does best with 50gr, does well with 55 gr, starts to wander with anything heavier. You would need a faster twist to shoot heavier bullets with much accuracy.

 

[Servant]

My 1:9 twist does better with 62grain than with the 55 grains. From what I understand, the 1:7 twist is better for the heavier bullets, but haven't had the pleasure of using one to know first hand. Seems opposite from what you are saying here.

 

[ragwd]

I have a 1:9 and it loves the heavier bullets. great result with 69 grain. I would stay with a lighter bullet for a 1:12.

 

[wingman]

Oddly enough all the 223's I've owned were 1/9 twist preferred the 52 gr bullet with only fair accuracy with 69gr smk but I suspect the large bullet would do better at longer ranges which I do not have access to.

 

[jepp2]

anyone know of a good load with heavier bullets?

What distance are you intending to shoot? Just curious why you are so interested in a heavier bullet instead of what will shoot best from your rifle?

 

[603Country]

My 223 with the 1 in 9 twist doesn't like the 55 grain bullets, but shoots the 65 grain Sierra GK very well. If I had the 1 in 12 twist, I'd either shoot the 50 or 55 grain bullets or go down to the 35 grain speedy loads for coyote.

 

[Wyoredman]

How come my .220 swift with a 1/14" twist likes the heavier bullets than the light ones? For .223 rem everyone says that the faster twist (1/8" or 1/9") is needed for bullets >55gr. Seems odd?

 

[Servant]

Physics. I don't shoot .220 swift, but have been shooting .223's for...dang, almost 30 years!! When the bullets started getting heavier (above 62 grains) is when I began seeing the rifle twist rate going down. I know nothing about your rifle's ballistics. Sorry.

 

[mwells72774]

I'm wanting to shoot coyotes and other varmint, and wanting a bullet that can buck the wind fairly well

 

[2ndtimer]

You might want to try the new 53 gr Hornady V-Max bullet. It is supposed to have a very high ballistic coefficient, and should work well at long range and still be stable in a 1 in 12" twist. I have had good results with the Hornady 55 gr SPSX in my 1 in 12" bolt guns, but it isn't as streamlined as the V-Max.

 

[Stick_man]

How come my .220 swift with a 1/14" twist likes the heavier bullets than the light ones? For .223 rem everyone says that the faster twist (1/8" or 1/9") is needed for bullets >55gr. Seems odd?

Wyoredman, the .220 Swift achieves velocities much higher than does the .223. On another forum, I read a thread talking about RPMs and bullet stabilization. In other words, the theory goes, the higher the velocity you have, the slower the twist required to stabilize a given bullet. It also talks about "over-stabilizing" a bullet (but that makes no sense to me), which could be the reason for your Swift liking the heavier bullets better than the light ones. The lighter bullets may be over-stabilizing at the velocities you are shooting with your 1:14 twist.

I have talked with Barnes Bullets about using their bullets in my 1:12 .223 and they told me that none of their bullets (in any caliber) would reliably stabilize in a twist slower than a 1:12 with most preferring 1:10 or 1:9. Their Varmint Grenades may do better with the 1:12s than would a TSX or TTSX.

 

[JohnKSa]

Correct. The issue, in terms of bullet stability, is how fast the bullet is spinning.

A faster muzzle velocity will result in a faster spin (rpm) for a given rifling rate.

If you look at the chart, you can see that a 1:12 twist rifle with a 4000fps muzzle velocity will impart a spin to the bullet of about 240000rpm. The same twist rifle with a muzzle velocity of 3000fps spins the bullet about 180000rpm.

 

[Wyoredman]

Thanks, Clear as mud!

I guess I should read up on this a bit more. The RPM explination does makw sense, but over stabalization I am having a hard time with.

I guess I will stick with what works? Thanks again.

 

[HiBC]

Wyo,I do not think "overstabilized" is quite the best term.I think perfectly stabilized is best.It can't get too stable.Bullets can get over spun,and become less stable.While I do not know all the factors,in some cases centrifugal force becomes high enough to cause the bullet to fail.Push some 40 gr Hornet bullets hot out of your swift and they won't make it to the target.Could be ,before the point of blowing up,there is a range of rpm where the bullet just distorts a bit.
Thats my guess.

OP,something to consider;in most cases,the next twist tighter than the 1 in 12 is the 1 in 9.While a 1 in 9 will stabilize 69 gr bullets just fine,69 and 75 and 77 gr bullets,on up are nearly all match bullets.I am not saying they won't kill a coyote,but generally they might not be quick and humane about it.Those bullets generally can't be counted on to expand or come unglued to make a quick killing wound channel.

In the expanding varmint type bullets,I just don't know of any past 60 gr.

I did some PD's with 77 gr Bergers the other day.Box said "Excellent for varmints".Maybe on a coyote but could have been better on PDs.Not such a good choice.

I'm suggesting a 60 gr varmint bullet is about as heavy as it gets.Your 1 in 12 is not giving up that much,enjoy it!!Good luck.