Whats the go to bullet for .223 Remington to 600 yards?

[MoneyWaster]

I have a trued Remington 700 SS action with a 26" Bartlein M24 contour 8 twist barrel in an XLR carbon chassis, and I'm shooting 75 gn. Hornady Match HPBTs into a 1/2 MOA at 100 yards with 5 shot groups. I'm looking to improve on this with another bullet in the 75-80 gn range. What are the competition guys running in this chambering? I know this rifle can shoot better than 1/2 MOA. I have a 308 that I can shoot in the 0.3s - 0.4s, so I know that it isn't me. I shoot paper at 100 and steel from 300 to 600. I tried the 75 gn. A-Maxs, and the rifle didn't like them.

 

[swadiver]

80.5 gn Berger Fullbores. try H4895 or IMR 8208 XBR they hammer out to 600 yds

 

[MoneyWaster]

80.5 gn Berger Fullbores. try H4895 or IMR 8208 XBR they hammer out to 600 yds

I have both powders on hand. Do they like jump or jam? What should one expect for velocity in a 26" barrel?

 

[swadiver]

i seat them right on the lands. in my 28 inch barrel, with H4895, depending on the load, getting from 2820 to 2990 fps.
the IMR 8208 XBR load was giving me around 2900 fps. probably lose about 30 to 40 fps with the 26 inch barrel

 

[chkunz]

At 600 yards you want both accuracy and velocity. Stacy and I shot out a barrel to get the answer. Too much for a simple reply here. We obtained sufficient data to be statistically significant and documented the results in a report. If you would like a copy of the report send me an email at chkunz@bellsouth.net and I will send it to you.

 

[MoneyWaster]

i seat them right on the lands. in my 28 inch barrel, with H4895, depending on the load, getting from 2820 to 2990 fps.
the IMR 8208 XBR load was giving me around 2900 fps. probably lose about 30 to 40 fps with the 26 inch barrel

Thanks for the info Swadiver. I appreciate it.

 

[MoneyWaster]

At 600 yards you want both accuracy and velocity. Stacy and I shot out a barrel to get the answer. Too much for a simple reply here. We obtained sufficient data to be statistically significant and documented the results in a report. If you would like a copy of the report send me an email at chkunz@bellsout.net and I will send it to you.

Email sent. Thanks!

 

[chkunz]

Email sent. Thanks!

Oops I made a mistake in the email address should have been chkunz@bellsouth.net please try again.

 

[MoneyWaster]

Oops I made a mistake in the email address should have been chkunz@bellsouth.net please try again.

Strange, my email to the wrong address was delivered but I got an "undeliverable" message for the correct address??????

 

[NickB1075]

Sierra 80gr MK over Varget or r15.

Nick

 

[DBLNUT]

I have a trued Remington 700 SS action with a 26" Bartlein M24 contour 8 twist barrel in an XLR carbon chassis, and I'm shooting 75 gn. Hornady Match HPBTs into a 1/2 MOA at 100 yards with 5 shot groups. I'm looking to improve on this with another bullet in the 75-80 gn range. What are the competition guys running in this chambering? I know this rifle can shoot better than 1/2 MOA. I have a 308 that I can shoot in the 0.3s - 0.4s, so I know that it isn't me. I shoot paper at 100 and steel from 300 to 600. I tried the 75 gn. A-Maxs, and the rifle didn't like them.

80 Gr Berger VLD .015 off with 25.3 of Varget gets 2900 from my 26" Brux 1-7.5. I had a 1-8 Mullerworks that was great with 25.0 of varget at 2920.
The brux barrel has a .140 freebore specifically for the 80VLD, the Mullerworks was a .078 freebore.

 

[MoneyWaster]

I appreciate all the suggestions guys. Getting jump, powder and velocity info is invaluable.

 

[Ned Ludd]

How much freebore does your rifle have? Alternatively, where would the boattail/bearing surface junction of the 80.5 be in relation to the neck/shoulder junction when seated at "touching"? I run the 80.5s in a 26" rifle with a very short freebore. Because of the short barrel, short freebore, and the bullet seated fairly deep in the neck, I went with H322 to keep the velocity up. I'm getting about 2860 fps and precision is excellent.

 

[mac86951]

See what you do is seat any bullet into a 223 case; then seat that case with bullet in a 338LM... Just kidding!

If you've self restricted to a length of 2.260; the Berger OTM 77 is good, as is the 73gr.

If you are allowing a longer col:. 80gr+ for sure; and the 75 A-Max is worth a test.

-Mac

 

[MoneyWaster]

How much freebore does your rifle have? Alternatively, where would the boattail/bearing surface junction of the 80.5 be in relation to the neck/shoulder junction when seated at "touching"? I run the 80.5s in a 26" rifle with a very short freebore. Because of the short barrel, short freebore, and the bullet seated fairly deep in the neck, I went with H322 to keep the velocity up. I'm getting about 2860 fps and precision is excellent.

Using the Hornady Lock N Load A.O.L. gauge I get a BTO measurement of 2.871" with a Hornady BTHP 75 gn. bullet.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Unfortunately, I don't have the 75s to compare with your measurement, but no matter. If the bullet boattail/bearing surface junction is well above the neck shoulder, H322 may not be the best choice for you. I used it due to the bullet being seated deeper in the case and the resultant loss of case volume. I suspect in your setup, H322 would give a fairly low fill ratio. As someone else mentioned above, H4895 would be my next choice.

 

[DumpHollow]

Interesting about the H322. I have a bunch left over from a couple 6 PPCS that are gone now. Decided to use it in an AR and Tikka with 65's. Great precision in two different mutts.

 

[Ned Ludd]

It's a great powder; temperature stable, very small kernels, and lots of velocity. However, in a .223 Rem case with 80+ gr bullets seated optimally, the fill ratio will be pretty low at typical operating pressures. The burn rate is a little too fast. I really like H322 for certain applications, though.

 

[mac86951]

It's a great powder; temperature stable, very small kernels, and lots of velocity. However, in a .223 Rem case with 80+ gr bullets seated optimally, the fill ratio will be pretty low at typical operating pressures. The burn rate is a little too fast. I really like H322 for certain applications, though.

IMR 4320; h4895; n140 / 540; R15; AR-comp; cfe223; AA2230 AA2460... Beauty of 223 is the versatility; likewise it's curse.

Federal 205M is my preferred primer; keep good brass prep; pick an 80+gr and you'll be good to go.

 

[chapstix97]

I run Lapua brass 75 Amax 25 inch 1/8 bartlein .005 from lands. 23.3 rl15. 2860 fps magnetospeed verified. Barrel 6k round count puts it at 2.340 inch.