.223 newbie questions

[enfield2band]

Hi, I am about to start reloading .223 and will certainly have a few (probably dumb) questions. Here's the first:

I will initially be firing 55 grain bullets through a 16" barrel with a 1:8 twist rate. I am looking at powders which are currently available in the shoo I use, my choice basically comes down to spherical or tubular. Can someone tell me in very simple terms what difference this would make, and which is better, if any?

Tubular powder will burn faster because it has a bigger surface area than a flat disc. It does not matter which powder you choose. The loading data will give you a start load and maximum load, which must not be exceeded.
You might have to try several different loads before you find one that suits your gun. When it is a good load you should be able to shoot clover leaf groups at 100 yards.

The bullet has to match the rifling twist. The faster the twist the longer the bullet has to be. I can't remember off hand what bullet is for the 1:8 twist. I'm sure someone will tell you if the 55gr is not right.

[CROWMAN]

With a 1:8 twist you should find that bullets in the 60gr range will perform best.
you might even find that you rifle does not like 50/52/55 grain bullets.

Don't buy to many bullets until you know what the rifle will perform best with, see if you beg, borrow or steal some instead first.

[tinbum]

With a 1:8 twist you should find that bullets in the 60gr range will perform best.
you might even find that you rifle does not like 50/52/55 grain bullets.

Don't buy to many bullets until you know what the rifle will perform best with, see if you beg, borrow or steal some instead first.

Thankyou. I have 120 factory 55grn loads and 200 heads, I am a child trapped in a big, fat man's body. They won't last long! I have a friend with a .222, I'll see if I can try some of his if they're heavier.

[Daryll]

As said, the 55gn would be better in a 1:10 or 1:12 twist... 1:8 is better for 69gns

(My shooting buddy bought a Remingtom .223 with 1:12 twist, and the gunshop sold him some 69gn ammo... they went through the target sideways at 25 yds!!)

Any medium speed RIFLE powder will do... Something like Ramshot TAC is what I use for 55gns, and Vhit N140 for 69gns... but check published loading data...

Daryll

[tinbum]

As said, the 55gn would be better in a 1:10 or 1:12 twist... 1:8 is better for 69gns

(My shooting buddy bought a Remingtom .223 with 1:12 twist, and the gunshop sold him some 69gn ammo... they went through the target sideways at 25 yds!!)

Any medium speed RIFLE powder will do... Something like Ramshot TAC is what I use for 55gns, and Vhit N140 for 69gns... but check published loading data...

Daryll

The shop has a 25m range, so me and a mate tried quite a few before I chose this. I know it's only 25m, but when I zerod it, all three shots went through the same hole, and the correct way around

[amc577]

I have a Sako 75 in .222 with a 1 in 14 twist.. it shoots 55gn bullets, giving half inch groups at 100yards.. never tried a heavier bullet. Must be the quality of the barrel..

amc577

[JB101]

1:8 will enable you to use and stabilise the heavier bullets 69,75,77,80. & 90 grain
N140 gives good results
Ball powders tend to meter consistently through most powder measures where as grain type not so consistently although the LEE perfect powder measure which uses a ‘wiper’ performs very well.
You may find seating the bullet off the lands 10-20 thou improves accuracy (you’ll have to try that out )
If a magazine fed rifle then watch out for over length(magazine) as they may not fit (to long) if set off from the lands .
Other than that a cracking round out to 600yds and beyond weather (wind ) permitting using the heavier bullets .

ATB
James

[tinbum]

The barrel is a stainless Sig Saur and is supposed to be quite good. We have a range not far away that offers up to 800m, so it would be fun giving that a go.
My friend Jon has already mentioned bullet seating depths, I'll let him help me experiment with that. It is mag fed, currently a big, daft 30 round one that just gets in the way, I have a ten round on order. I don't know if they'll accept the same lengths?

Lots of exciting testing to come

[loiner1965]

Thankyou. I have 120 factory 55grn loads and 200 heads, I am a child trapped in a big, fat man's body. They won't last long! I have a friend with a .222, I'll see if I can try some of his if they're heavier.

if you pm powder / bullet weight and make etc / col / barrel length and i will quickload it for you

[tinbum]

if you pm powder / bullet weight and make etc / col / barrel length and i will quickload it for you

Thankyou

[tinbum]

Tubular powder will burn faster because it has a bigger surface area than a flat disc. It does not matter which powder you choose. The loading data will give you a start load and maximum load, which must not be exceeded.
You might have to try several different loads before you find one that suits your gun. When it is a good load you should be able to shoot clover leaf groups at 100 yards.

The bullet has to match the rifling twist. The faster the twist the longer the bullet has to be. I can't remember off hand what bullet is for the 1:8 twist. I'm sure someone will tell you if the 55gr is not right.

Thankyou, then I would guess fast burning would be better in a semi auto, slower in a bolt action?

The shop threw in a couple of hundred 55 grn heads, but I think the faster spin of the 7 & 8 allow for a heavier/longer bullet? That's what I got from reading t'interwebs anyway. It's probably wrong which is why I ask here

[sarge4318]

The bullet has to match the rifling twist. The faster the twist the longer the bullet has to be. I can't remember off hand what bullet is for the 1:8 twist. I'm sure someone will tell you if the 55gr is not right.

Actually the twist has to match the bullet. The longer the bullet the faster the twist needs to be - a short bullet should work in a fast twist barrel.

A longer/heavier bullet (depending upon which formula you use) will require a faster twist. With .223 there are lots of scare stories about over stabilising the bullets, but how stable do you want them?
Spinning too fast could potentially disintegrate the bullet but I have never heard of any first hand stories of it happening with bullets fired at normal .223 speeds. I regularly shoot 52gn bullets from a 1:7" twist travelling at breakneck speeds and the foxes don't know any different.

The upshot is faster twist is better, unless you're wildcatting and pushing the envelope regarding pressures and velocities.
With the 1:8" twist rate you should be able to shoot the heavy 75/77gn bullets and possibly even the 80gns but you'll have to try it and see what your barrel limits are.

[tinbum]

Actually the twist has to match the bullet. The longer the bullet the faster the twist needs to be - a short bullet should work in a fast twist barrel.

A longer/heavier bullet (depending upon which formula you use) will require a faster twist. With .223 there are lots of scare stories about over stabilising the bullets, but how stable do you want them?
Spinning too fast could potentially disintegrate the bullet but I have never heard of any first hand stories of it happening with bullets fired at normal .223 speeds. I regularly shoot 52gn bullets from a 1:7" twist travelling at breakneck speeds and the foxes don't know any different.

The upshot is faster twist is better, unless you're wildcatting and pushing the envelope regarding pressures and velocities.
With the 1:8" twist rate you should be able to shoot the heavy 75/77gn bullets and possibly even the 80gns but you'll have to try it and see what your barrel limits are.

That's interesting, so a 55grn bullet will still be accurate in a faster barrel, but a heavy bullet needs a fast barrel to be accurate. That is good news as the 55grn are far cheaper

[JB101]

That's interesting, so a 55grn bullet will still be accurate in a faster barrel, but a heavy bullet needs a fast barrel to be accurate. That is good news as the 55grn are far cheaper

Go by results rather than price , I’ve found out (in my rifle) that the heavier bullets 69 , 77 produce better results at 3-600 yds than the 55’s .
Some people are happy just to hit the target at 600 where as I want to get them all in the bull / V bull .

[tinbum]

Go by results rather than price , I’ve found out (in my rifle) that the heavier bullets 69 , 77 produce better results at 3-600 yds than the 55’s .
Some people are happy just to hit the target at 600 where as I want to get them all in the bull / V bull .

I will have some special rounds for when I'm taking things more seriously, but cheap ammo for fast-fire fun will definitely be required. With the factory rounds a full mag dump will cost €45!