.223 Question

Y

Yankee Doodle

New member
Gentlemen
I was just given a box of 500 Hornady 68gr. Match BTHP bullets. Can I expect these to properly stabilize in a 9" twist barrel? The box says that they should be used in a 7" - 10" twist only. What's your opinion? I have been using 55 grainers, and the rifle will shoot consistant 3/8" groups at 100 yards.
These 68 grainers are really good quality bullets, and if I can't expect them to shoot well in my gun, I would rather give them to someone who can use them in theirs.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
J

jrfoxx

New member
Well, not to be a wise-arse, but unless I'm misunderstanding, 1:9 falls between the 1:7-1:10 you say the box lists.That aside, it's my understanding that 1:9 will work up to 70gr.its mainly the big 75gr ones that have issues.
 
Y

Yankee Doodle

New member
No, you are not being a wise arse. I do understand that the twist is in the listed range. I am simply trying to avoid wasting these bullets if there does not seem to be a good chance that they will shoot.
I would much rather give them away, than throw them away.
 
J

jr05

New member
How many rounds does it take to figure out if the rounds work well in your rifle? 10? 20? 50? Seems like a small percentage of the 500 you were given. Just go do some testing and let us know if they work or not. You should be able to figure out pretty quickly if they stabilize or not, as well as what kind of groups they are giving you.

I am not sure if you meant you were given just bullets or loaded rounds so that is why my test fire numbers are ?s. If bullets it might take a few with different loads to get a good understanding of how they are going to perform. If they are loaded rounds 10-20 should easily tell you if they are right for your gun.

-JR
 
Y

Yankee Doodle

New member
Bullets. To be honest, reloading is not my favorite pastime. I do it because I can't afford to buy ammo in the amounts I shoot. So, what I am saying is, is that I am not looking forward to attempting to work up a load until I am fairly sure that the slugs will stabilize. Lazy? I guess so.
So, perhaps I should reword my question as follows:
Has anyone reading this actually fired 68 grainers in a 9" twist barrel? Did the bullets stabilize?
Thank you.
 
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6

629 shooter

New member
I have used the 68 grain Hornady sparingly in my 1 in 9" twist .223s - a Savage 12BVSS and Rem 700 LTR. The bullet stabilized in both rifles - in other words - nice round holes in the target.

The accuracy was better in the Savage with this particular bullet. Maybe the extra velocity of the 26" barrel? The 68 Hornady is a longer bullet than the 69 Sierra which I shoot far more of. The 69 Sierra has given me great accuracy from both the Savage and Remington.

I would sure load up 20 rounds or so and see for myself. If not you might be missing out on something that is a perfect match for your rifle.
 
Y

Yankee Doodle

New member
629 shooter
You da man. I am planning to be shooting these out of the same Savage. Now it looks as though I will be spending some time on a load. Do you have any suggestions as to where I should start?
Thanks
 
6

629 shooter

New member
Do you have any suggestions as to where I should start?
Click to expand...

I went looking back through a bunch of old targets and managed to find a target shot with the 12BVSS using the 68 Hornady Match with load info:
68Hornadyvarget.jpg


Would of been nice to cluster them in the same hole but I can still cover all 5 with a dime. If you do not have Varget , Benchmark has given me great results with the 69 Sierra but I have not tried it with the 68 Hornady. Plus it meters much , much better. Maybe when things warm up I'll do more tests with the 68 Hornady using Benchmark.
 
S

Scorch

New member
I shoot service rifle match with a RRA NMA4 with 1:9" twist with that exact same bullet. I shoot expert, so I would have to say they will likely work well in your rifle with a 1:9" twist.
 
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