I have one of the Remington R-15 Vtr's and the best group of 3 i can shoot at 75 yards is about 2.5". I use a hyskore gun rest on a stable bench, so steadyness is not an issue. I reload 21gr of IMR 4198 behind a 53gr hp to around 3100fps. I also made up a few loads of imr 4320 with 25 and 27gr. these loads shot in a 3" circle... I talked to a gun dealer and he said they should be a 1" gun. My question is, do any of you have this gun? Does a gun with a 1:9 twist need a heavier bullet than the 53gr i am using? I have also shot 55gr sp and hp wolf ammo with an identical outcome. would there be a chance the rifling is messed up from the factory? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

you may want to try posting this on the reloading forum

Wasn't this posted on the black rifle forum already?

1 in 9" would be well suited to some 60-80 grain SMK bullets. Varget and a 77 grain Matchking works well for lots of folks.

I take it you have a scope on the rifle and that all the mounts and rings ect. are tight ......I don,t think the 1in 9 twist is for heavier than 69 gr bullets . I,m hopeing the 65gr Seirra GameKings group well in my 1 in 9 barrel ... I would try a heavier bullet before sending it back .. But that would be my next option .....

That gun should rock with 53gr bullets. I shoot Highpower and a competitive AR with a 1/7 twist will put 10 of those bullets into about 3/4" or less at 100 yards.

I think your scope is the problem.

You may want to try 26gr of Varget and a 52 or 60gr Sierra. Those shoot bugholes in every rifle that can do it.

Thanks for the help. I am hoping in the near future to get one of my deer rifle scopes put on it just to be sure it is the scope.

What scope do you have on the rifle now ..????? Even with Iron sights , from a good rest 1 1/2 " groups can be produced @ 100 yards ..

Its a tasco 6-24X60. I know Tasco isn't the best brand out there, but it was over 200, so i figured it would be a good one. I coulda been wrong... still need to get some 1" rings found and put another scope on it

update info:
I Have tried two additional scopes since... Same outcome. I haven't been able to reach a gun tech at remington yet. I called a few gun shops and gun smiths, they told me that may be all the better that my gun will shoot. He said factory bbl's are usually cheap and you can have three shoot really well and one shoot poorly. one guy told me it may need a heaver bullet (68gr). I am going to try a few loads with a heavier bullet and see what happens.
thanks

My Savage has a 1-9" twist barrel, and it shoots 50-63gr. bullets exceedingly well, so I don't think it's the twist.

Are you seating your bullets to the cannelure (if present) or are you seating to the longer COAL allowed by the magazine?

Also, H322 has always been my 'go to' powder in the .223. Try using that powder.

How is your trigger, and trigger control?

I don't trust Tasco scopes; see if you can borrow a Leupold, Nikon, or Burris. If the gun still shoots 2.5", that may be all it is capable of.

George

I have a Timney trigger set to about 1.5lbs. Bullets do not have a cannelure. my OAL is 2.245. I called Remington and got some help that i'm going to try. He said it is probably copper fouling in the bbl. I've got some Barnes CR-10 that i used tonight to clean it. He said these bbls aren't "crome lined" and they are really picky about copper at first. So i'll give that a try. Another thing he said... since a .223 has such a small neck the long cylindrical powders like IMR 4198, which i am currently using, do not perform like the powders like 748. I am going to try some 335 i believe it is, clean my bbl extra extra good and head back out to the range. He said he shot a R-15 with surplus ammo and shot 1-1.5" then shot good grade ballistic tipped bullets and shot within .5". If it was a bad bbl he told me it would be shooting withing a basketball and shooting key holes in the paper.

My 1in7 sav tactical puts 52gr serria match kings in very tiny groups. The twist is not the trouble. check the mounts rings scope should do a lot better then that have some one else shoot it.

I've tried 3 scopes and 3 rings. Same outcome.

Try 25.3 grains of Varget and a 55 grain Hornady ballistic tip. I can whack a 6" gong at 400 yards in a stiff wind all day long with mine. As far as cylindrical powder goes, I used both Tac and Varget while working up loads, and hands down the Varget was the clear winner. The only benefit to the Tac was being able to fit 26.5 grains in the case.

I loaded 24gr of W748 and went out and shot yesterday. At 1.25" it is my best group so far. According to hornady's reloading manual 24 grains is allmost minimum. I may try some hotter loads in the near future and see if i can get it any better. May even try a 60 gr v-max. Even the store bought'n Remington 55gr psp shot all over the paper.
I have been told that varget would be a great powder. Is it a cylindrical, or ball powder? The guy at remington said to try to stay away from the extruded powders like 4198, and i thought he also said varget.