15 May 2004, 18:19
bowhuntrrl.223 loads..best powder to start with???
My new toy will be here on monday, at least the UPS tracking says so. It's a Rock River Arms 18" heavy barrel varmint model with 2 stage target trigger. For now, I'll be mounting a 6x42 power scope on it since in New England, the shooting distances are not that long. It's main use will be coyotes. The barrel has a 1 in 9 twist, so some of the lighter bullets will be out of the question. I plan to start with 60 gr Sierras and maybe later try 55 gr if the 60's stabilize ok. It has what is called a Wylde chamber, something between a .223 and 5.56 chamber. I've got tons of powder, but mostly for my magnums. What is a good, accurate powder?? I like AA powders and Reliant powders. How about Lil Gun?? Is it too fast for the .223?? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
bowhuntr
15 May 2004, 18:58
ricciardelliFor the 60's:
Varget From 21.7 grains to 27.1 grains
Remington 7-1/2 Primer
For the 55's:
X-Terminator From 22.7 grains to 25.3 grains
Remington 7-1/2 Primer
16 May 2004, 12:09
BECooleLil Gun is way too fast.
A 1/9 twist will shoot bullets up to 77gr. The 60 Sierra is a very good choice for hunting.
Powders to try include W748, Re15, H4895, Varget, some Viht powders like N140, N540, etc. I think the fastest powder I would try would be H322. That with lighter bullets like 50s.
16 May 2004, 13:18
Major Caliberget a 8lb keg of AA-2230c for $60
16 May 2004, 14:17
Steve E.I have a RRA also but mine is the 24 inch Varminter and it will shoot 1/2 of an inch at 100 yds with Winchester cases and primers, put 22 gr. of H335 and cork it off with a Hornady 68 gr. Bthp, I seat the bullet out as long as the magazine allows. It works great for me. I got one of the RRA Ntl. Match trigger kits and had it sent to White Oak Armament for John Holliger to work his magic on it. It is still a 2 stage, the first stage is so light it feels almost non existent and the second stage is set at 3.5 lbs and it is crisp. That helped the groups a whole lot.
Steve E...........
16 May 2004, 17:35
AtkinsonH335 and H322 seem to work best for me in the many 223s I have had over the years...Ocasionally BLc2 will perform a miracle.
18 May 2004, 04:08
KevinNYThe lighter bullets will work fine in a 1/9 twist. I buy RE15 by the case to feed my AR. The Sierra 60gr flatbase is the bullet I use for shooting reduced course(100 yard) matches, it will shoot 10 shots into a ragged hole in the paper from position with open sights, ought to be great for coyotes.
AA 2015 with the 60 grain Sierra or Hornady has been excellent in all of my AR match rifles with 8 twist barrels. H-335 works fine too.
18 May 2004, 06:40
Tom HargerI agree with "Major Caliber". 55 grain bullets and 26 grains of 2230C will work. I have shot thousands of these.
In short barreled 223's (15" XP-100) I use BL-C(2), it seems to work real well.