Hello Forum,

This is my first post to this site and I apologise in advance if I have posted to the wrong forum etc!

I have just bought my first centrefire (a savage VLP in .223) and I was wondering what would be the lightest bullet I could reload which would still shoot well in this 1:9 twist barrel? I will be shooting foxes, rabbits and hares.

Any advice for a newbie would be much appricated.

Kind regards,
Benno

With the Sierra 45gr. hornet and the 46grhp win. my .223 has achieved MOA.The rifle has gotten as good if not better results with 75 gr.BTHPs by Hornady.That seems to be a rather large weight spread to have stabalized. I guess that's a good thing. roger

Benno
You can use either the sierra 40 gr Blitzking or Hornady's 40 gr V-max. I have used both with good results out of my Win 70 HBV which has a 1 in 9 twist. There are others but for smaller vermin I like the polymer tipped bullets.

muck

Depending on the individual rifle, any bullet from 40 to 69 grains should shoot well in your Savage. I also shoot a Savage, and it shoots about as well with 40s as it does anything else. I have not had any kind of luck with 35 grain V-Max bullets, but I just tried them on a whim, anyway. The best load with light bullets, in my rifle, was a max load of H-335 and the 40 grain Ballistic Tip. Only trying them in your individual rifle will tell you which is best for that rifle, though. Hope this helps.

Many thanks for your responses, I look forward to doing some experimenting in the very near future. It seems that old adage that a fast twist over-stabilises bullets is not necessary true in all circumstances. I reckon that 40 ballistic tip must fly out of a .223!!! Look out bunnies!

I have recently bought a 223 Savage also....

I have tested quite a few bullets thru them in weights from 40 to 75....

Bullet construction is the key....

I rudely found out that you had better skip the Hornady SPSXs.. However so far I have not had any other bullets that have presented problems.. Accuracy has been real good with most bullets and powders... In about 900 rounds down the barrel so far, just doing testing... I have actually had more accuracy with NON plastic tipped bullets....
The Sierra 40 grain HP, was a one hole shooter, in several velocity ranges from 3000 fps to 3500 fps over the 40 gr VMax, Ballistic Tips, and Blitzkings...I have tested those combos with about 10 different powders.... The 40 grain HP Sierra came out on top each time for group size....over the other 3 types of 40 grainers tested....

cheers & good shooting
seafire

Benno,

I can certainly second Seafires recommendation of the 40 gr. Seirra HP. In my testing they came out on top also.

Shot several hundred pds on the last trip with them. Just walked around the towns sitting down occasionally, shooting off the bipod.

Jim

Jim/Seafire,

Thanks for the advice, I will give the 40gr Sierra HP a try in my rifle as I am keen to get a fast and flat load for my .223. I was concerned that most off the lighter weight bullets would have the problems experienced by Seafire in a 1:9 twist.

Kind regards,

Benno

Hate to be a dissenter here, but I haven't had much luck with anything lighter than 50 grains in my Savage. The 45 NBT from Ultramax key holed at 50 yards, and the 40 gr hollow points (Federal if I remember right) broke apart.

Didn't matter much as I was breaking the barrel in and this was old ammo from a mini-14.

I have had good luck with the 55 gr VMax and NBT's, and will try a 60 gr VMax this weekend. Over all the fast twist barrels like the heaveier bullets better.

My 1-9" Savages shot ANYTHING well. Didn't seem to matter much, really.

The 80 Sierra and the 35 V-Max didn't shoot quite as well as everything else from 40 to 75 grains but the 75 A-Max's were used in several 600 yard matches with terrific results.

Redial