I'm a little new to reloading but i know the basics. Anyway i'm trying to find the best possible load for my .223 bench rifle I was using a 55gr v-max over varget. I put charges in from 23.5 to 27.5 in graduations of 0.5 and the best one was 25.5 at 75 yrds. It shot about 2/8" which i thought was awesome. But when i took it out to the range to sight my scope in at 100 yrds i shot about an inch grouping. The only thing i changed the i shouldnt have is in the 75 yrd test i was using new brass and in the second one i neck sized the brass from before. So for all the people who have dedicated their lives to reloading and shooting. What should i do next as far as changing variables or get out there and try it again because it was an average winter day in northern MN freezing my pecker off. Ive got a box of loads that i put charges of 25.3 to 25.8 with graduations of 0.1 so maybe that will do it I.D.K. Thanks in advance for all then help.

Try some loads 0,1g 0,2g 0,3g up and down from 25,5g and see if you can find a stable load in the middle what can take some temperature variation.
Cold weather isnt good for your groups either.

quote:

Originally posted by deer slayer:
I'm a little new to reloading but i know the basics. Anyway i'm trying to find the best possible load for my .223 bench rifle I was using a 55gr v-max over varget. I put charges in from 23.5 to 27.5 in graduations of 0.5 and the best one was 25.5 at 75 yrds. It shot about 2/8" which i thought was awesome. But when i took it out to the range to sight my scope in at 100 yrds i shot about an inch grouping. The only thing i changed the i shouldnt have is in the 75 yrd test i was using new brass and in the second one i neck sized the brass from before. So for all the people who have dedicated their lives to reloading and shooting. What should i do next as far as changing variables or get out there and try it again because it was an average winter day in northern MN freezing my pecker off. Ive got a box of loads that i put charges of 25.3 to 25.8 with graduations of 0.1 so maybe that will do it I.D.K. Thanks in advance for all then help.

Well if you fiddle with the loads and seating depths as Nordic suggests you might just be able to get that 2/8" group down to a 1/4"!!


If the new brass gave repeatable groups of one size and the neck sized fireformed brass groups of another then the increase of volume of the case has affected internal ballistics in some way and trying small charge weight variations around your figure might net you your accuracy back.

On the other hand the initial group might have been a fluke.

Test and see mate, it's the only way I'm afraid...

Google Audette ladder test. Works

If you're wanting to get the best out of your .223, get rid of the v-max bullets and get rid of the Varget powder.
Load developement for a .223 bench gun starts and finishes with either the 52 or 53 grain SMK bullet, unless you're using a custom bullet. You have to find out if the rifle prefers BT or FB bullets. (I'd start with the FB's myself)
And there are numerous powders better suited to the .223. H335 comes to mind.
What kind of bench gun do you have? What scope?

This method also works!
OCW

If you are truly interested in benchrest shooting at its best, you will do several things, some of which have been mentioned and some of which I will now mention---as an older and wiser BR shooter who tried to shoot a .223 Rem for best accuracy.

It has been my experience that the majority of factory barrels in .223 Rem are 1/9" barrels and do not place the 55 grain bullet--no matter how good those bullets are--in the same place every, or even most of the time. Most match grade bench .224 bullets are 52 grains. Personally I do better in the 60 - 70 gr. range in the .223 rem and also the .22 BR. The same can be said of Varget powder. There are more consistent powders than it--notably those from Finland. (Vihta Vuori OY) and also others available from Hodgon. These things are also true of 1/9" to 1/12" match barrels I have bought and shot. .243 or 6mm and variants rule the roost in all but short range score BR these days and virtually all are the "Short Fat" cartridges.

If I were starting to become interested in REAL benchrest shooting these days I would buy a copy of "The Book of Rifle Accuracy" by Tony Boyer, a person who does have the bonefides to write such a book. Also I would buy a copy of the "Benchrest Shooting Primer" Published by Precision Shooting Magazine - the semi official rag of the IBS.

These books were not available when I started down the .223 rem dead end, but now you know they are and have not got the excuse I had for wasting time and money on it.

In Tony's book there is a tried and true method of testing BR loads in an accurate barrel.

Or if you are "bench shooting" for S & G as Mike Myers as Austin Powers would say a 1" group--always considering a group is five shots-will be 1 MOA and not all that bad for a factory rifle and a staurday afternoon--surely it is a good enough accuracy to shoot a deer in the brisket............and bring home..........the bacon? Little finger placed at the corner of mouth ala Dr. Evil..........

quote:

Originally posted by deer slayer:
I'm a little new to reloading but i know the basics. Anyway i'm trying to find the best possible load for my .223 bench rifle I was using a 55gr v-max over varget. I put charges in from 23.5 to 27.5 in graduations of 0.5 and the best one was 25.5 at 75 yrds. It shot about 2/8" which i thought was awesome. But when i took it out to the range to sight my scope in at 100 yrds i shot about an inch grouping. The only thing i changed the i shouldnt have is in the 75 yrd test i was using new brass and in the second one i neck sized the brass from before. So for all the people who have dedicated their lives to reloading and shooting. What should i do next as far as changing variables or get out there and try it again because it was an average winter day in northern MN freezing my pecker off. Ive got a box of loads that i put charges of 25.3 to 25.8 with graduations of 0.1 so maybe that will do it I.D.K. Thanks in advance for all then help.

Sadly, if you're after the best accuracy in your rifle, you'll have to resign yourself to the fact that you'll probably have to try sever powder and bullet combinations. Also, you didn't mention barrel twist rate which makes a difference in the bullet you should select.

You also don't mention how many shots in each group during your test. I use 3 shot groups in load workup. If I get an inch group with a 3 shot group, I know a 5 shot group isn't going to be any better BUT if I shoot a 0.5 inch group, I won't know it will consistently do that unless I shot more and/or larger groups. The best group I've ever shot was a 3 shot group out of a rifle that wouldn't consistently do better than about an inch.


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The above loads are what I use in my 223.



The best 100 yard 3 shot group I've ever shot out of a rife that wouldn't consistently do better than about an inch.

Amamnn makes a good point. You do need to know the twist of your barrel. There is so much variance now a days as folks try to make the .223 something it ain't. My reference to the 52 and 53gr bullets was based on a 1/14 or 1/12 twist. I've never owned a .223 that wasn't one of those.

If the rifle shot well with new brass and poorly with once-fired, you might have a concentricity problem, i.e. you're chambering bananas. This can be a critical factor when you are seeking maximum accuracy. There are several gauges on the market. The source of the problem is often the dies, but there can be several causes. Good luck.

Like Wasbeeman said about using the Sierra MK, my .223 seems to have a preference for these, the 53 gr. MK flat base. I haven't shot any plastic tipped bullet that will match these for accuracy.It's been my experience that these are great for minute of groundhog shoting, but they don't make the small groups that you seem to want. Also I've never had a MK fail to deliver a devastating punch to anything from blackbirds through groundhogs. I've been using IMR 4895 (24.5 gr.) with excellent results teamed with a Remington 7 1/2 primer in Federal brass with this 53 gr. MK set to about .030" off the lands. Mine also is a 1:12 twist.