.223 Remington 35gr./40gr High Velocity Loads

[Eagle-I]

Fast and Flat .223 Remington .35gr/40gr
Loads for my Savage Bolt Action Rifle ?

Here's what I'm thinking of trying :

- 35gr - V-MAX
- 30gr - TAC ?
- 4,000 fps ?

 

[Eagle-I]

Hornady has some 35gr NTX Factory Ammo that claims a 4,000 fps Muzzle Velocity.
Has anyone tried them yet?

 

[Eagle-I]

 

[urbanrifleman]

Try lt30.

 

[Pawnee Bill]

Too fast and the bullet goes pffffttttt.............disintegrates.

 

[Plumsask]

26" barrel, 223 rem, 40gr vmax with 27.4 gr of H335- chronos 3780 FPS shoots 3/8" groups for me

 

[Eagle-I]

Too fast and the bullet goes pffffttttt.............disintegrates.

Hornady is already making 35gr 223 factory ammo that has a 4,000fps Muzzle Velocity

 

[searcher]

I suggest W-748, RL7 or Accurate LT32 with the 35-40 Lead free bullets. One of them always shoots the best in my rifles with these lead-free numbers.

 

[Eagle-I]

Ok, picked up a box of 35gr V-MAX and some small Rifle primers for this .223 Remington Reload project today.
My Shooting buddy has the dies, shell holder and some TAC powder. Just need some brass and I should be ready to go.

 

[Eagle-I]

What .223 bullet do you think will handle 4,000fps better 35gr V-MAX or a 35gr VG ?

 

[Zero333]

I chronographed a couple different superformance factory loads and results were interesting...

243win
22" bbl
58 gr V-max superformance
Advertised = 3,925 fps
Actual = 3,644 fps
Ambient temp = 25 f

243win
26" bbl
75 gr v-max superformance
Advertised = 3,580 fps
Actual = 3,427 fps
Ambient temp = 75 f

300winmag
24" bbl
180 sst superformance
Advertised = 3,130
Actual = 3,152
Ambient temp = 85 f

You will not get close to 4k unless you have a 26" barrel. And even then you might be pushing more than acceptable pressure.


Ramshot TAC is too slow burning to reach max velocities with 35 gr bullet. You will have a very compressed load to reach max pressure with TAC.

Best powders for max velocity with 35 gr bullet in the 223rem are as follow...

RL-7
IMR or H-4227
AA 1680
AA 2200
Norma 200 (max might be compressed)
H-335 (max might be compressed)
IMR or H-4198
VV-N110
VV-N120
VV N-125

I'm sure there are other suitable powders too.

 

[Zero333]

What .223 bullet do you think will handle 4,000fps better 35gr V-MAX or a 35gr VG ?

35 Vmax will handle 4,000+ no problem

 

[varmintshooter]

To me this is the problem with people new to handloading. They look at velocity but know little about bullet BC. I did not notice the twist rate of said barrel. AN 8 twist will spin a bullet a heck of a lot faster than say a 12 or 14 twist. Speed is fine but accuracy is final.

 

[centershot]

Try X-terminator instead of TAC. Use it in my .223 AI.

 

[searcher]

The VG will probably go much faster than you can make it go.

 

[Danger]

I use AA 2200 In My 223 AI's with 40 gr V max I have a 20 inch 1-14 twist 20 inch 1-9 Twist and 1-9 26 inch I shoot the same load in all of them they all shoot under .500 or better and are 4000 plus PS the 26 inch is unreal fast I no longer need a swift of 250

 

[js223]

Hornady is already making 35gr 223 factory ammo that has a 4,000fps Muzzle Velocity

You mean that they claim it is going 4000fps, which is not the same thing as actually doing it. Personally I have seen some Hornady ammo in a different caliber that was overrated by about 230fps. As far as the 223 with light bullets, I have seen some WIN 45gr that was advertised at 3600fps tested, and true measured velocity in a 26" barrel was a mere 3307fps.

 

[js223]

Just going to add that like Zero333 has found, often the advertised velocities on the box are optimistic. I have seen true velocity be more than 200fps less than the manufacturer's claims in multiple tests. A chronograph can be purchased for around a hundred dollars, so you (OP) could fairly inexpensively find out what is really going on.

 

[Deleted outa08]

Whatever factory ammo states as fps was most likely achieved in a tunnel.

 

[varmintshooter]

I don't shoot factory ammo but when looking at the box where it states velocity they don't say what length barrel was used to get said velocity. We all know some barrels are faster or slower than others. This is why you work up a load for a gun to get a combination of speed and accuracy that is acceptable for your use. Several years ago I was getting 4390 out of my 22-250 with 40vmax but they wouldn't group.