The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Single Shot Rifles Hello from So. Central PA.Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I didn't see a dedicated forum, so I figured I'd say hello here since this and Varmint hunting are the two I'm most interested in. I'm a retired engineer, live in So. Central PA. Rural farm area - target rich environment for a Ground Hog hunter. I have bagged 12 so far this year, and that is just in my back yard. I've been using a 93R17 Savage. That works great but looking for more range, when a used bull barrel .223 Rem Handi rifle with a 4-12x40mm AO scope that had hardly been used showed up at my favorite gun store for $200.00, I jumped on it. I reload for .243 Win, .38/.357, and .45C. I'll be reloading for the new .223 as well. It has a 22" 1:12 twist bull barrel. My question: After spending most of Saturday and Sunday with various manuals (nosler, hornady, Sierra, Speer), QuickLoad and QuickTarget there are a bewildering array of possibilities. So I have to ask, are there known "good" 200 to 250 yard varmint loads for this rifle? For longer distances I can use the .243, but between 115 yards and 250 yards where the .17HMR isn't all that good, I'd just rather not burn so much powder. Thanks Fitch | ||
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Varget and the 40gr Vmax is a good combo in a lot of 223 Handis and Ultras, give em a try. Tim http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/index.php?board=126.0 | |||
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Hello Fitch...welcome to the forum. | |||
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Thanks for the reply. I will be getting some Varget for 55g bullets,so I will give it a try. But I admit I am surprised it works well with that light a bullet. Looking at it in QuickLOAD, Varget looks like too slow a powder for that 40g bullet. It looks pretty good for the 55g V-max. I may get some IMR4198 to try with the 40g bullet as well. Fitch | |||
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Welcom Fitch. I live 40 mi. S of you, about 2 miles north of Hagerstown just off I-81. This is not a bad place to live, if one is forced to live outside of the Rocky Mountains, I guess. They say PA has more whitetail deer than any other state, but you wouldn't believe it to hear the local hunters bitch. I see plenty around here, and a lot of wild turkey also, not to mention the sod poodles! "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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I live in a semi rural area - deer walk through my back yard nearly every day. The ground hogs are dying to move into the rock pile about 50 yards outside my back door.  Fitch | |||
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Cool. I live in a "village" called Worleytown. There are other denizens here, but I still have deer nearby, and they sometimes come thru the yard after dark. I have four dogs, so that is kind of a putoff to the deer, but there ARE groundhogs around! I buy my hay from a Mennonite farmer about half a mile down the road, and he and his sons are always shooting groundhogs (and a deer too now and then, I suspect!!) My favorite .223 load is 24.5 grains of IMR 3031 with the Sierra 50-grain PSP bullet in GI cases with Federal primers. In my old, rechambered M722 Rem. rifle with a 26", 1/14" twist barrel this load would shoot thru essentially the same hole at 100 yards as long as you want to continue shooting. However, I traded that rifle off because it would NOT shoot military ammo due to the slow twist. It was OK with 55-grain flatbase bullets, but would not shoot the same weight at all if it had a boat-tail. The boat-tail version was just a tad too long..... "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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I know where Whorleytown is. I get my haircut at John's in the square in Greencastle. I do right well on doves and pigs from 5 forks to Chambersburg, foxes out towards Gettysburg. | |||
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Boy that sounds good. A rifle that shows no creep due to warming would be wonderful.
I don't know if my NEF will shoot military ammo or not. I don't want to shoot anything heavier than 50g to 55g in it. If I need more than that, I have the .243. What I'm hoping is that I can find a cheaper than dirt 55g FMJ boat tail for practice ammo that matches a good 55g boat tail varmint bullet, like a Nosler, for example. Fitch | |||
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So do I!! John's quite a hunter too, I think! "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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Hello Fitch...I have had real good luck with H335 and Rem. HP bulk bullets out of my Rem. model 7... Sounds like PA is a neat place to live...Sadly no ground hogs around here  | |||
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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try it. Ground Hogs are a varmint shooters dream here in PA. They are far enough away and small enough to make the shooting challenging enough to be fun, but not so far away that exotic expensive rifles and scopes are required. There are lots of them. None of the farmers want them anyplace on the property. They aren't always out so it takes a little planning which adds to the fun. It's a target rich environment! About the only time one can't hunt them is during spring turkey season. Fitch | |||
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I guess the grass is indeed often greener elsewhere! When a guy in B.C. would rather be here!!!!!!! "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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Fitch, I no longer own a .223 . However when it was in action I favored IMR 3031 for bullets 50gr.or less. IMR4198 and IMR4895 for the heavier bullets. My new(est) pest gun of choice isnt a single shot however. I also do not have to worry much about bullet drop out to 300yds. Its a ruger M77 in .220 swift...I feed it a steady diet of 45gr v-max, 38.0gr of IMR3031 @ 4110 fps. Kills everything from crows to coyotes As to your other question.You can find an abundant supply of surplus ammo for your .223 at Midway suply or Cheaper than dirt.they both have web sites and are more than pleased to send you a free catalog Oh, and Welcome aboard. "BIG bullets"."For those who like to eat right up to the hole." | |||
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Thanks for the input, and the welcome. That Swift sounds really good! 4,110 fps might be a tad hard on the barrel but if you only shoot it at game, it will last a long time. Looking at IMR3031, IMR4198, and 4895 in QuickLOAD, I can see why you liked 4198 - it shows promise pretty much across the range of bullets for the .223 - but better on the lighter end. But frankly I'm surprised it didn't work better than 3031 for lighter bullets. 3031 is a slower powder. 4895 may have worked well in your gun, but it looks slower that I'd have picked for .223. Thanks Fitch | |||
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According to Harvey Donaldson, use of a grease wad on top of the powder charge did wonders for extending the barrel life of the .220 Swift. He made his own, but I recall some outfit was marketing them in the HANDLOADER magazine several years back. Don't know if these things are still on the market, however. "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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