F/tr 223. Load advice

[Cory porter]

Just picked a f/tr 223 from a buddy. I'm planning on using it in 300 and 600 yard shoots. I have no idea what to load for it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Is it worth going lapua for a 223 or is LC brass ok?

It's equipped with a 20moa base and siii 10-50

 

[Boyd L.]

Just picked a f/tr 223 from a buddy. I'm planning on using it in 300 and 600 yard shoots. I have no idea what to load for it. Any advice would be appreciated.

Is it worth going lapua for a 223 or is LC brass ok?

It's equipped with a 20moa base and siii 10-50

A starting point for your load development might begin with what your buddy was using. That is, assuming he had a good performing load for his purposes.

 

[Cory porter]

He shot 55g factory vmax. He's not a handloader

 

[stacy]

VARGET, 8208 XBR,CORY AND IF IT A 7 TWIST 90GR BERGERS LIGHTS OUT !!!!!!

 

[Ned Ludd]

Cory - there are a number of shooters here at the forum that have been using the .223 in F-TR midrange matches. If you look back through a few pages of this .22 cal sub-forum, or simply do a search using 90 VLD, you will find a wealth of informative discussions on using the .223 in MR F-TR. If you still have questions, PM me and I'll try to point you in the right direction.

 

[cmillard]

i would buy several thousand once fired LC brass from brass bombers. prep all pieces of brass and cull the perfect ones and go from there. sounds like it is a savage?? so that should have a 1-7" twist which will be good for your heavy bullets.

 

[boltman223]

Like greg has said there is a lot of info on here pertaining to what you want to do.

To get you started, you'll want to use at least an 80 grain bullet. Others do use lighter bullets with success( success is relative), but the 80's have a BC advantage. Take your pic on what 80 you want to use. The 80 vld has the highest BC so maybe that is a first choice.

I started with 80 smk's just because they were suppose to be easy to tune. Berger 80.5's might have been a better choice because of BC and now knowing they are probably just as easy to load.

Try some varget and H4895 and see what works best.

Don't be affraid to try some 90's either.

As far as brass goes, it all depends on what you want. The most consistency with the least amount of work, buy lapua.Lapua brass can benefit from sorting too. On a budget and/or don't want to spend the money, sort your LC brass.

 

[rjstubbl]

Lapua brass , berger 80 grain vld , cci br4 primers , 24 grains of varget , touching the lands .

 

[boltman223]

Lapua brass , berger 80 grain vld , cci br4 primers , 24 grains of varget , touching the lands .

Curious, what's your velocity with that?

 

[josebd]

The last batch of once fired LC brass I bought from a member over at predator masters,the necks were so bent and messed up I couldn't even use them,I think it was 500 count.

 

[Cory porter]

The last batch of once fired LC brass I bought from a member over at predator masters,the necks were so bent and messed up I couldn't even use them,I think it was 500 count.

I get all my LC brass fully processed from sages reloading. I think around $120 shipped for 1000

 

[rjstubbl]

Curious, what's your velocity with that?

I think it was right at 2800 fps .

 

[josebd]

Thank you Cory,looks like I found a new place

 

[Cory porter]

Thank you Cory,looks like I found a new place

If you have Facebook he has a group on there. I usually send him a pm and it's cheaper than ordering of his website. Great guy, and he will stand behind his product. I've ordered probably 4000 pieces

 

[eric n]

The last batch of once fired LC brass I bought from a member over at predator masters,the necks were so bent and messed up I couldn't even use them,I think it was 500 count.

Do you have an expander? They should iron out unless they are crushed. I've found an expander to be an indispensable item to open up new brass... especially Lapua.
Cory- Varget and 80 vlds are a good combo. They shoot well when the conditions are calm and force you to learn the wind better when its blowing. Don't overlook the 82 bergers as well. I've never shot the 82's at 600 but they shoot very well at 300. Obviously, the 90's trump.
I don't shoot f\tr. just a 223 gomer.

 

[JAlfred]

Just starting out? Go to shootersproshop.com and buy as many 80 gr Nosler Custom Comps as you can reasonably afford, right now at (deleted)(just checked price, now at $137/k, still better than I ave. paid for the 3K on My shelf currently) Cheap practice, easily sub 0.4 in a good gun.

Factory chamber is short, but you can get a 90 SMK to 2700 plus without breaking anything and this may have some serious advantages. You do not have to have a specialty chamber to run 90SMKs unless you are planning to go out past 600. 90 Bergers may be a different story.

Look at 80.5 Bergers. Have not tried them yet, but have 200 on shelf to try.

 

[SooStan]

What rjs1230 said but don't be afraid of going higher on the load as long as it is save. Varget likes to shoot well hot and depending on your throat it could be a load hotter than 24.0. Lapua brass is worth every penny in a good bolt gun. I set 3 police national records shooting exactly what rjs1230 said. Their are other good powders that were mentioned but varget or rl15 are good places to start. I use wolf primers.

 

[Albany Mountain]

Whats the twist rate of the new rifle (or did I miss it?)

 

[Shynloco]

Cory,
If I may, you haven't told us what distance(s) you plan to shoot and I'm going to ASSUME (probably a bad idea) that you plan on pursuing F/TR as well. All the above suggestions are certainly good possibilities, but your new rifle will be the final judge for what SHE likes. Distance alone will tell you what class/weight of bullet to test and then you have to match a powder that shoots in sync with that bullet the best in your particular rifle. And don't make the mistake of discounting any viable powder that others have found great success with. For instance, in my son's rifle, it loves BLC-2 pushing 52 - 53 gr bullets and hated Varget for short distance, 100 yds shooting. But the reverse was true for long distance using a heavier bullet.

As far as casings go, for a bolt gun .223 like the F/TR model Savage my son shoots, we use Lapua and strictly Lapua. But for my custom built .223/5.56 I used strictly Lake City unless I let someone shoot it for plinking or general shooting. Regardless of make of brass, a Body Die goes a long way (turning the brass 1/4 turn at a time and throwing the lever) can rehabilitate a casing in MOST instances. In some, the casings have manufactured errors in uneven thickness and those should be relegated to either foulers or the trash heap.

I'm a firm believer in doing my own testing and not relying HEAVILY on word of mouth. It is a well established fact that what one rifle likes, another could potentially hate. So figure out what YOUR baby likes best at each distance and have fun. Part of reloading is fulfilling the challenge that a rifle gives you and making her sing/shoot nicely and accurately. And that's where the fun comes in when your target documents the fruits of your efforts. Have fun!

Alex

 

[jsthntn247]

brassmanbrass.com has new/unfired LC brass from time to time. It weight sorted better than my Lapua. Internal capacity is less and I had to back my load off .3gr to get the same speed and into the same node.