Okay, bought a Remington 700 SPS tactical with a 1:9 twist bbl. Topped it off with a Zeiss 6.5x20 with Burris signature rings. I have done zero work on the rifle so far, other than mount the scope.
I bought this rifle specifically because i wanted the faster twist to handle the heavier bullets.

Okay well I gound a decent load for the 55 gr bullets (Hornady) of 25 gr Varget and the CCI BR primers is consistently giving me 3/4" groups when I do my part. Young eyes could probably shoot 1/2" with it.

Wit the 69 grain bullet, factory or Sierra, results have been less than acceptable. I'd be happw with an inch. Have only tried 4895 so far. Anyone have any suggestions your willing to share?

I really want a heavier bullet load for this rifle..

Thanks!

Why do you want heavier bullets? Why didn't you just get a .243?

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
Why do you want heavier bullets? Why didn't you just get a .243?

I don't think he's deer hunting with the rifle, I'm assuming he's wanting to dabble in med to long range varmints and paper, just guessing. The heavy .224 bullets seem to be popular for this.
I don't have any help for the OP I'm sure someone with more .223 experience than I will chime in, have you checked the twist??

Some attention to the rifle generally pays dividends. At a minimum I like to tune the trigger, check bedding of receiver and barrel, and torque action screws to the manufacturer's specifications.

55 gr. bullets in my experience give good accuracy in barrel twists from 1-7 to 1-12. I load a lot of 55 gr Hornady V-Max or Nosler Ballistic Tips, depending on price, but mainly these days on what can be found on dealer shelves.

Your 1-9 twist should easily stabilize the 69 gr. Sierra. I don't use this weight so have no load recommendations to offer.

I very much like the Hornady 75 gr A-Max and BTHP bullets, and again, these days it is a matter of what can be found for sale. Be aware, though, magazine restrictions may limit overall cartridge length and make these bullets impractical, especially the longer A-Max.

A 1-9 twist is kind of on the bubble with these 75 gr bullets. I've had the same loads, same rifle shoot moa groups out to 600 yards at temperatures of 65F, then keyhole at 0 degrees F when I wanted to use them for coyote shooting.

Incidentally if you do an Internet search for JBM stability calculator, you can use the calculator to vary factors such as temperature and barometric pressure to see the effect they have on bullet stability.

For all-around use with 75 gr bullets, especially if cold weather shooting is a possibility, I prefer a 1-8 twist, as in the Tikka T3 I own. I see the Ruger American .223 has a 1-8 twist, as does the newest version of the Browning X-Bolt.

Currently my powder choice for bullet weights from 55 - 75 gr in my .223 rifles is H-335. It meters beautifully, provides excellent accuracy and the velocity I want. Also I've been able to find it on the shelves recently! When I can find them, I also like RL-15 and AA-2230.

You have a nice outfit there, I expect a bit of rifle tweaking and load development will have it shooting the way you want.

Black Hills loads, iirc, a 75gr bullet. I would buy a box and see how they shoot for accuracy and check for keyholing at 100/200 yds. My homebuilt HBAR has an 8" twist and shoots even the 80gr JLK bullets just fine.

Thanks for the Replies guys.

I already have a 243 varminter.... right now its all over the bench... floating the barrel and getting ready to glas bed. ( I was getting fliers)

No particular purpose for the 223 (yet), just a fun toy, but I felt that heavier bullets will be less prone to wind drift than lighter bullets, so really want a load for the 69 graniers..

I shoot the 69gr SMKs exclusively in my bolt 223's. As I recollect I use about 25 grs. Varget or 25 of WW748. Extremely accurate in my Savage 110 FP. I don't know the twist. I will try to look up the load.
Peter.

Some 1 in 9" barrels will shoot 77gn SMK's without any trouble. I personally would work with the 69gn bullets a little more myself. I would give the Hodgdon Benchmark and Ramshot TAC powder a try. Most rifles really like them and they do very well at long range.

Your 1:9 twist should stabilize the 69 grain bullets, however check and make sure you have a 1:9 Twist just to be sure.

10-4 on that. Your problem shouldn't be the 1:9 twist. I shoot 69 gr bullets from my Swift reasonably well with a 1:12 twist. Not great but OK.

25.0-25.5 gr. of 748, depending on the lot, shoots well under MOA out to 300 yds. in 2 AR platforms, 1 with 8.5 twist and the other with 8 twist.

Clarence

The 9" twist shouldn't be an issue with the 69 grain SMK, I shoot them from my 10" twist 22.250 out to 1,000 yards.

Varget gave me the best accuracy with the 69gr SMK from my 1:9 twist AR. I don't see why it wouldn't work in your rifle as well.

Frank, the torque of the actions screws seems to be very important with Remingtons. Pagosawingnut (Rick) has the magic method, if you want to PM him. It's 50 in/lbs to start, as I remember, with the front increased by the pound between groups until the magic point is reached.

Frank,
If I'm correct, the SPS is a synthetic stock. Remington says to torque the front and the rear action screws to 50 inch pounds. I've found that after you do that, shoot a group. If you're happy, you're done. If you're not happy, take only the front action screw up by one (1) inch pound at a time. Shoot a group again and see if it gets better or worse. If it gets better but you're still not happy, try one more inch pound on, again, only the front action screw. I have yet to find a Remington yet that likes less torque on the front screw.
What ammo are you using, or are they handloads?

Hi guys, here is the latest update on this rifle from this past Sunday. Mirage was terrible but consistent.

Still haven't worked on it at all, but tried the Sierra 65 gr SPBT with 24, 24.5, and 25 grains of Varget.

24 grain load gave me a 10 shot group of just under and inch if i exclude the one flier that I caused.

The 24.5 grain load the group opened up significantly to almost 2"

the 25 grain load tightened up a bit to about 1.5", but the cases exhibited cratered primers.

I'm satisfied with the 24 grain load, I'll have to chronograph it and see where its at, I'll let you know when I get around to it.

Next up, is some testing with the 69 gr bullets.

I do not know about the SPS, but if it has that pad at the end of the forend, I ALWAYS remove it. I know some have had good luck with it, but I never have. I prefer to free float. My LVSS will now shoot 1/2 MOA. was about twice that before.

Hey Larrys,

Thanks for the reply, No pad at the end of the forend on the SPS... one of the first things I checked when i took it out of the box!

Pa, If you have some 2520 powder on hand you might try around 25 to 26.5gr with the 65 to 69gr bullets, you might like the results!

Steve

Try a different seating depth, I would imagine you are about as long as the mag box will allow, so push it in another .010. I would also load some longer and shoot SS just to se what happens.