A few weeks ago I started making my own loads for my Target-Varmint rifle. Savage Preditor Hunter .223. I have made a few rounds that get ok groups at 100 yards. I'm sure not the same groups that someone with a specialized target gun could get but I don't think they are bad for my rifle and me being a new reloader.


This is a 50g Black Hills factory load target that I shot.



This is my round 55g Nosler - BR4 - Benchmark 25g - OAL 2.300

Here is my question these were both shot at 100 yards with less than 5mph winds. I moved out to 200 yards and I would say that each of these loads landed about 3" lower than at 100 yards and also spread out in pattern to around 1 1/2" does this sound like a normal drop from 100 to 200 yards?

That sounds about right. A 6PPC Benchrest rifle and cartridge generally requires about 1MOA adjustment from 100 to 200.

I don't know your velocity but a 55 gr bullet at 3200 fps will drop about 1.5 MOA at 200.

Run a ballistic chart for your particular load.

ray

Normally elevation adj. from 1-200 yards, 2moa, 2-300 3moa or a total of 5moa from 100 yards to 300 yards. Puttting approx. 3moa per 100 yards out to 700 yards will get you on target or a total of say, 17-18 moa for the 700 yard target. Good initial adjustments for either 223 or 308 I have found. Good luck.

.223 rem. does not make a good BR gun. I'm one of those obstinate people who, when they are told something like that, just have to give it a try. You can get some pretty nice 200 yd. groups with enough practice and experimentation, but not into the .2" @ 200 yards or .1" @ 100 yards, which is what it takes to really be competitive in group shooting BR these days. You've probably already figured out that it's easier to zero for 200 yds. and reset for 100 than vice versa.

Digger

If you use some Benchrest quality bullets and wind flags I bet you can cut those group sizes down, a lot.

amamnn

You're right, a 223 doesn't make the best BR gun. But since it's what Digger has, he'll have to make the best of it. With a good barrel and good loads it can double as a varmint and target rifle and shoot well enough that he won't be embarrased.

On the BR groups, I think you meant .2 MOA at 200 yards. .2 inches is better than competitive, it will win most of the time.

Ray

Minute Of Angle "MOA" -- is 1" at 100 yds.

A "minute" is 1/60 of a degree of angle. 360 degrees in a circle. It's about 1" at 100 yds, 2" at 200 yds. 10" at 1000 yds.

Minute of angle is constant at any distance.

Bullet drop is an entirely different matter. Drop is affected by bullet trajectory, drag, velocity, etc.

Bench rest shooters face significant issues when moving from distances of 600 yds out to 1000 yds because drag begins to affect the bullet, dropping velocities to sub-sonic speeds. Once velocity lessens, bullet drop begins to increase rapidly over distance.

A MOA is APPROX 1" at 100yds. In BR we deal with it in that manner as it is easier to compute our aggregetes. Listen to cheechako as he is a very accomplished long and short range competitor. He also is one of the most knowledgeable persons in the world of wildcats.
Butch