I have a very accurate rifle twisted 1-9 that I would like to use out to 600 yards on steel. It shoots the Hornady 75 grain BTHP into .5 moa. The rifle is a 223 so there is that limitation also. I get 2925 fps using Leverrevolution powder. I have run it out to 400 but now have access to a range that goes to 600 yards. Will the bullet remain stable that far out?
Is there a good 600 yard .224 bullet with a 1-9 twist barrel?
- Thread starter rickt300
- Start date
The Berger calculator says 1-9 is a bit slow.
No problem to single load. Just make sure the round is laying in there straight before you close the bolt.
Funny the box for these says 9 twist or faster…….my rifle has a 1-9 and it shoots tiny little bug holes with the 73’s
Davidheart
Joshua - Hunt 12;10
The calculator may say it's a bit slow but the last time I was on the phone with Bob Blaine that's the bullet he recommended I use in my 1:9 twist 223.
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
The temp and elevation of the Berger Twist Rate Calculator are preset at 59 degrees and 0 ft. Under those conditions and at 2650 fps velocity, the 73 is predicted to have an Sg of 1.41, which is more than adequate. With the same velocity at 65 degrees and 500 ft elevation, the predicted Sg goes up to 1.46. On a hoit summer day, it would be even more favorable. Assuming the barrel actually is a 9.0-twist, I think you'd be fine with the 73s. I've shot factory ammunition loaded with 77 gr SMKs out of a 10-twist barrel out to 400-600 yd many times. So I wouldn't be surprised if you could even get away with the SMK 77s out of a 9-twist barrel. A single box of ammunition would be sufficient to answer the question. A 9-twist barrel is going to provide similar Sgs for several different bullets in that general weight range including Berger 70 VLDs, Hornady 75 BTHP, Nosler 70 RDF, and SMK 77s. All have estimated G7 BCs in approximately the 0.180-0.190 range, or thereabouts, so it's not like there will be a huge variation in BC even when slightly under-spinning them. Because of that, whichever one seems to provide the best precision in your setup would likely be the best choice. You might pick one or two, or even three, and try out a single box to decide if any one is a standout in terms of precision. Otherwise, the external ballistics of all of them are going to end up fairly close.
Sgs and barrel twist rates are an area in which there is a certain amount of latitude. In other words, a bullet might be perfectly stable gyroscopically even though slightly under-spun, such that all you're really giving up is a few percent of the intrinsic BC. That doesn't mean they will unexpectedly fall out of the sky on their way to the target, but they may behave as though a little more sensitive to wind deflection. I've never had an issue running bullets from barrel twist rates predicted to yield Sgs of around 1.4 or higher. It's when you start getting predicted Sgs below 1.2-1.3 that performance seems to be noticeably affected in my hands.
Does anyone shoot the Sierra 69gr HPBT any more?
I still love that bullet.
I just ordered 500 from the Urban rifleman. The price was very good and the shipping is a bargain.
I had Col Billy build a 223 with a 9 twist barrel a few years back and took a newbie shooter to Manatee to shoot the 600yd range. My friend said after a few hits and watching me shoot it for a while, "you almost can't miss at 600 with this thing!" Well it was a day with almost no wind and on that day he was right. And what Herzo said 73 grain Berger BT was what we were using. I also have Berger 75s i have never tried cause the 73s shoot so good i don't see it worth the time to try.
They are like the 168 smk, maybe not the best long range option but fantastic midrange and silly easy to load.
I shoot almost exclusively at 400yds. That is, unless I'm smacking groundhogs. LOL
The 69 smk will happily do 600+
That said I’ve had two 1-9 AR barrels that did quite well at 1000 yards with 75BTHP’s
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