Gents,

OK so I have to own up, I'm basically CHEAP! The ammo I use for practice on the range preferably has to be as cheap as possible. So I use cheap components - I'm sad to admit...

If I'm looking for the best combination of cheap and accurate .224 caliber bullets, where should I look?? Until now, I have used Remington bulk packed 55 grs PSP, occasionally I have used the Winchester equivalent. Is this the best I can do (they are actually pretty OK for what I do with them, but not necessarily super accurate).

If it came down to Rem vs. Win bulk packed, what would your choice be? Or am I overlooking other obvious choices?
- mike

If you can get any reasonable accuracy out of either the Remington or Winchester bulk 55 grain soft points, then you are either better or luckier than I am. The noses on the lots I've had vary from lead not protruding from the jacket to lead bulging out around the jacket, and worse, the cannelures are never quite in the same spot from bullet to bullet. The Remingtons were bigger offenders in visible inconsistency, but the Winchesters were just as innaccurate. I gave a bunch of the Winchesters to a good friend who is a competent reloader, and his accuracy experience with them was no better than mine. Neither of us could get them to "shoot" in any of a total of about 6 guns.

My suggestion as an alternative would be to try the Midway "Dogtown" bullets, or just a little higher-priced but still economical, the Speer TNT. The latter gives sterling accuracy in my .222 and has explosive terminal qualities. Speer also makes its regular 55 gr. SP available in bulk for a little less than the TNT, but I haven't had occasion to try it.

Buy a .22 rimfire...

I have had very good luck with the 55 gr Remington HPs in bulk from Midway. They shoot as well as any bullet I've tried, but I don't load match bullets in my .223 - V-Maxs, Ballistic Tips, TNTs, etc. are what I use.

Buy a set of swaging dies...cheap!

Use discarded 22 shells for jackets;

Make your own lead wire from discarded wheel weights.

I don't know the rules on import / export, but these guys are pretty decent to deal with if you are allowed:
Hi-Tech Ammo (New, MilSurp pull-downs, etc)

quote:

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NEW MANUFACTURE BULLETS (Not Surplus)
Description____________________1000___2000
223 cal-55gr.FMJ-BT_____________$35____$68
223 cal-62gr.Match Grade FMJ-BT_$55___$108

---

They have quite a list . . .

[ 09-25-2003, 20:23: Message edited by: eshell ]

MHO, I'll second Hot Core's post by saying the 50HPPL work very well in my 223 as well, my smallest group to date is .375" at 100yds. I've got a .278" 4 shot group and a .304" also, using Benchmark powder, I don't think I ever got a group that was over an inch, unless I had a little help with the wind, unless you go with Remington's SP bullet, these are your best buy IMHO, but wait till they go on sale at Midway, then snatch up a thousand or so, Jay

Where does Federal get its 55 gr bullets for their M193 Ball ammo? They use Lake City Brass and they are very accurate if you sort them by COL, especially in a 1 in 9 twist. In any event, they can't be expensive and would do great for punching paper...bad for varmints as they are FMJ BTs.

Try Vit-133 if you want to try an accurate powder. Usually, accurate, and cheap are mutually exclusive terms. I have tested H-322 my old tried and true Powder; benchmark, Accurate 2015, IMR-4198 and none will shoot like Vit-133. Vit-133 is THE powder the vast majority of benchrest competitors shoot and they are truely fanatical on what works.

When I think of cheap and accuracy lumped together I think of Sierra.

I have a very early 700X single shot in 222. It has and will shoot in the 2's using Rem 50gr PLHP's and Accurate Data 2000 powder. I think I paid around $7/lb for the powder. From what I understand, it's NLA. Sure glad I bought more than one jug.

Sorry, that was Data 2200 not 2000

Guys, thanks a lot for that input, there were some good suggestions in there. I'll check out prices and options...
- mike