I have a .223 with a 1 in 13" twist (best I could come up with using a cleaning rod to measure it). I am thinking of using 52 grain A-max from Hornady, 53 Grain Match kings from Sierra, or a plain 50 gr. Remington SP. I am going to be shooting paper 90% of the time with an occasional shot at a Coyote. Which of these bullets would you reccomend. Do you thik I'll notice any difference in group size between the 3. If you think a diferent weight or brand of bullet will perform better please feel free to suggest it.

The only one of your choices I'd question is the Rem, and then only because I've had better accuracy with the Sierras and Hornady V-Max's. At any rate the funs in the testing, have fun! Your rifle will tell you when you've made the right choice.---Shoot Safe---montdoug

My 1 in 14 twist really likes the 52gr stuff. It will shoot up to 63gr but it is sloppy and has to be really slowed up. I would like to try out 40gr V-Max from hornady. I have heard that they will shoot well in a slow twist rate like what is in our guns. I got a whole lot of ammo in a deal that I could not pass up. (7lbs of win 748 powder, 4000 primers, 2000 projectials ranging from 40gr to 75gr(which I will not load I know that they will not shoot in my gun), and over 400 peaces of new brass for $250) I was looking on some different reloading sights and found out that the 40gr vmax will do over 3600fps. That will knock the coyotes down in their tracks. Let me know what you come up with. Here are some of my results at 100yrds. My rifle is a remington VLS 223 1 in 14 twist 24.75"bbl 4X12X40 VXII Leupold and a 2.5lb trigger.

4 round groups using bench rests and 3 min between all shots. 1st shoots barrel was cold.
63gr sierra hpbt 1.75"
55gr sierra hpbt & hp 1"
52gr sierra hpbt all touched
52gr sierra hp .75"
All bullets were in front of 26grs of win 748.

Let me know how your gun and loads work out for you. The last 3 loads have hit 20oz bottles @ 600yrds. But would not go all the way through them. Also these loads are on the light side. I have not worked up a max load for my rifle. I will when I get done with all of these projectials and will most likly go with 40gr Vmax Hornady.

Hope this helps

Ray

Ray, I have the same gun (VLS 223). For a little more explosiveness (if you varmint hunt), try the Sierra 50gr Blitzking. I'm shooting them over 24.0gr of IMR 4895. My 100yd groups touch. 200yds around 3/4".

The only reason I condiered the Remington bullet is they are really cheap. If I can see a difference on paper I'll probably use the other bullets.

elkhntr,

One combination that has worked really well for me is any one of the bullets you suggested with Accurate Arms 2015BR powder and use Remington SR Benchrest primers. The 50gr Remington bullets should work fine on coyotes and the Sierra 53gr will probably be the most accurate for paper punching. You might want to consider the Rem 50gr HP's, a tad more expensive than the SP's but have proven very accurate in my 223 and my cousin's .222Rem. I believe you have chosen 3 very good bullets to go with, now you just need to find the powder/primer/load combo to find what fills your requirements. Good luck in your quest.

Ol' John

Yes, I'd agree that the 50gr Rem. HPs are an accurate bullet loaded with 25.5grs. of Benchmark, 55VMAXs have given very excellent results also, 52 and 53MKs give identical group sizes at 300yds.(Best was 2.25") although the 52s hit a bit higher at that range, don't know why, the BC is higher on the 53 if I'm not mistaken.

The VS, VLS, and VSSFs have twists of 1 in 12" in 223 as opposed to some of the posters saying 1 in 14", well newer models that is, don't know about the older ones. At any rate, there seem to be alot of bullets that work very well in my rifle,(VS) I have gotton my best groups with 52AMax, and 55VMAX bullets as of late, but haven't had any subpar performance with any of the bullets I've tried. Jay

[ 12-06-2003, 02:29: Message edited by: Jay Gorski ]

If you're gonna be paper punching most of the time with an occasional groundhog or coyote,go with the Sierra match kings. (my .223 prefers the 53gr flat based bullet) Hornady makes an awful good bullet also. Rather than limit yourself by what you've read or what we say, buy a 100 of several kinds and rate them side by side out of your gun. You may be surprised to find that dollars doesn't always equate to better. I bought a box of 500 hornadys (with the channelure) and they shot better than any other bullet I could find. Once you decide which is best for your rifle, buy them in 500's or 1000's.
If you're going to go sage rat shooting, buy the cheapest bulk bullets you can find.

You're likely to have good results with a number of bullets.

Like you, I was tempted by the price to try some of the Remington bulk bullets (and Winchesters). I found them to be very poor in accuracy compared to others, and the noses were quite inconsistent, as was the placement of the cannelure (55 grain SP). As a result, I gave up on them.

The 50 grain Speer TNT is somewhat less expensive than the plastic tipped bullets and gives outstanding accuracy (and explosive terminal perfomance) in my .222. I've never used it in my .223's (simply because I reserve it for use in the .222), but would expect it to do equally well in that kissing-cousin caliber.

I second Stoney's recommendation of the Speer 50 Grain TNT.

As far as price, Stoney Check out Cabela's for that 50 grain TNT. $7.99 for a box of 100!

As far as bulk bullets for 223, I do use the Winchester FMJ 55 grain bullets. They are very accurate and consistent where the cannelure are.
Just have to watch where I am shooting them, as riccochets are possible.

Use them a lot at the range for target practice.
Cabela's again,, real cheap per 1,000.

Winchester's 46 grain HP also gets honorable mention for bulk bullet for accuracy and performance.

I find the bolt action 223's I have are not that picky on bullets. Can't say for an AR, as I am not an auto guy.

I guess I and the others are assuming you have a bolt gun in which case all of the mentioned could work fine. If you have an AR-15 or clone you may find the Sierras are best as they were originally designed for match work in that rifle. The ogive is shorter so that the col limit imposed by the magazine has less theoretical effect on accuracy. My AR loves Sierras, my bolt 223s love Hornady, Nosler, Berger, Dogtown, et al.

Seafire, what difference does it make where the channelure is??? Do you crimp you .223 rounds???
And let me go on record as saying, if you're using a sporter weight factory rifle, you have to be a helluva lot better shot than me to discern a real difference between say a sierra matchking and a Berger premium match bullet.

I shoot a H&R Ultra-Rifle. Does the single shot action affect bullet choice at all? In my opinion it should be very forgiving of bullet type, similar to a bolt action.

Elkhntr-WE are back into a better fur market now.I use the 60 grain Hornady on coyotes.Lots less holes to sew than the lighter bullets.I use the smaller bullets for target shooting.I have shot a pile of coyotes with this bullet,I don't mind a 3 stitch hole.

Elkhunter, there are two reasons for crimp; the most common being recoil moving bullets in cases in the magazine and the most important being starting velocity. One wants each bullet to leave the case at a consistent velocity so a crimp allows the burning powder to build a consistant pressure before the neck expands enough to release the bullet.

[ 12-07-2003, 04:14: Message edited by: tiggertate ]