1:9 Twist 223

[K22]

Would like to hear from those who have used a 223 with 1:9 twist. My question is can you achieve 1/2 moa or close to it with 55 or 50 grain bullets.

Considering a Savage Varmint rifle and all they make in the 223 is the 1:9 twist.

All my 223's have 1:12 twists so I have no experience with the 1:9.

Rifle will be used for varmint hunting up to 300 yards.

 

[Rock Knocker]

I have had awesome .5" and less groups with my AR 1-9" shooting Fiocchi loaded 50gr Vmaxs. And good performances with 55gr Sierra gamekings in Fedral premium.

I have only handloaded 69gr Sierra matchkings but can also get .5" groups.

If the rifle doesnt like the 50-55gr varmint loads you can also try the 60gr Vmaxes

 

[coyoteklr]

with the info you gave i'm not sure but you talked about the savage 223 which is a bolt action ....
i have no experience with bolt 223's but do have with ar's in the 8 and 9 range and they will put 55 grain nosler bullets in one ragged hole.... with a bolt it depends on how accurate the barrel is and how well the bullet preformes in your rifle and the powder it likes and if the guy behind it can do it....
but with everything working right i believe you should have no porblem

 

[SS427]

My Savage LRPV .223 1:9 twist will shoot 55 grain Nosler Ballistic tips and 52 grain Nosler custom competition into 1/2 inch groups fairly regularly. My last 5, five shot groups average .4836 with the competition bullets, with the smallest group measuring .391.

The great thing too is it doesn't seem to matter which powder. H322, N133 and Varget produce similar groups. Bullets make a difference though. Sierra and Hornady match and varmint bullet groups open up, but never over 3/4 inch on average.

I bought the 1:9 twist for 68 and 69 grain bullets and have not had as good of luck as I have with the lighter bullets. Go figure.

 

[dreever]

I have a Remington 700P in .223 1 in 9 twist. It shoots 69 gr Sierra match kings fairly well but really likes the 70 grain Bergers. You can really tell a difference at ranges past 400 yards.

Danny

 

[Taildrag15X]

Would like to hear from those who have used a 223 with 1:9 twist. My question is can you achieve 1/2 moa or close to it with 55 or 50 grain bullets.

Considering a Savage Varmint rifle and all they make in the 223 is the 1:9 twist.

All my 223's have 1:12 twists so I have no experience with the 1:9.

Rifle will be used for varmint hunting up to 300 yards.

I did with many a 1-9" factory Savage barrels, 52gr Sierra's and VV-135, Vaget didn't seem to matter.

Don't limit yourself to the lite bullets, 68, 69, 70 (Berger VLD's), 75 BTHP & AMAX have all worked for me.....even used 77 SMK's out to 600 yds. in the early years of F-Class with good results.

 

[sscoyote]

I'm running the new 53 gr. V-Max with an advertised BC of .29 out of my 9-twist AR and it's working great. Shot a 2.5" 4-shot group with it several weeks ago at 425 yards.

 

[Lone Hunter]

Don't know about the Savage but I have a Remington 700 LTR with a 1-9 twist. It shoots 50,55 grain bullets very well. I use W748 for the 50 gr Sierra Blitz-Kings. They shoot very good. It shoots the Hornady V-Max and Nosler BT very well also. I use Varget for the 69 gr SMK's.

 

[K22]

Many thanks to all the replies - I'm looking at the Savage Model 10 Predator Hunter Max 1 in 223. It has their new Accu Stock, 24" barrel. It's a great looking rifle but I never own a Savage and never shot a 223 with 1-9 twist so I'm so evaluating.

A friend of mine just got a Savage in 25-06 with the Accu Stock - I was so impressed with the groups he shot I started looking.

 

[fdshuster]

k22: Three of my six 223 Rem. chamberings are 9 twist: a chrome lined Bushmaster, a Hart and Shilen stainless. The Bushmaster easily holds moa, the Hart & Shilen 1/2 moa, all with the 55 gr. Hornady V-Max. The preferred "heavyweight" is the 69 gr. #1380 Sierra MatchKing.

 

[5spd]

Of all the 4 Savage FP10s I have owned & still have 2 with the 1/9" twist every handload I have worked up have all gone .333" to .700" with a 50 gr vmax/ 50g jsp midwayusa/69g SMK bullet.
I wont have a .223 with anything but the 1/9" twist.

 

[sscoyote]

The bullet i got the best accuracy out of my AR was the 65 JLK Low Drag (BC-.4). I can't remember the last time i shot the JLK's out of a .22 gun that they didn't best any other bullet tried.

 

[m500]

My Savage model 12 shoots the 50 grain v max well enough. It has a factory 9 twist tube. The load is straight off the 223 load map. Lake city brass and winchester primer with around 25.5 grains of Benchmark seated about .005 off. 5 round groups have 4 rounds at about .350 with a flier opening it up to .500. Benchmark meters great. Good luck.

 

[Firefighter]

My Sav BVSS in 1:9 tw Shoots 3's & 4's all day with R-15 and Berger 52gr FB and BR primers. Another member gave me this load, its great, it also works great with same bullet but in 55gr. Have Fun

 

[DOGCAPPER]

I had a Savage BVSS that I used P-Dog shooting 2 years....223...I sshot 50 gr Berger first year...40 gr Nosler second year....Cleaned it up and shot 69 gr SMK at 100 yds in .4 to .6 range...Tough rifle...It would be worth 300$ more with a fine trigger...And dont even try totell me Accutrigger is acceptable...Anything that moves that much scrap metal when fired is a PP idea...LT

 

[kkeene]

I have shot several Savage's VLP's and BVSS's in 223 w 1/9 twist. Very good all around twist for 40 gr to 75 gr. I usually shoot 50 gr v-max or 52 gr Sierra Match at prairie dogs. Typically under 1/2 inch accuracy for 5 shot groups in good conditions.

I am a Savage centerfire rifle fan as they have treated me better than other brands, but two "heads up" issues that I have noticed with Savage rifles;

I have had horrible accuracy (2 inch groups) with 2 different heavy barrel Savage rifles until I got 50 or so rounds down range. Then I started often getting sub 1/2 MOA accuracy. I have not had that accuracy fall off after over 1,000 rounds with either rifle. One was a 223 the other was a 204. My guess is that the bores are a little rough to start with. Never had a cleaning problem though.

It is not un-common to have to use Burris signature rings with offset ring inserts to get on target.

Keith

 

[trooper]

I recently bought a Savage 10 predator and I absolutly love it!! Mine also has a 1 in 9 twist and so far, I've tested Hornady V max 50 gn and Sierra blitzk 50 gn with great results. Both are pushed with 25 gns of H335 in a Federal case with a CCI 400 primer. The Sierra gave a better group of .512 and the Hornady gave a .787. both were off a bench in minus 10 celsius. Much further testing may be required as the trigger finger was a bit too cool for propper trigger control.. Yesterday morning just after first light, I nailed a coyote with the Hornady loads and I wasn't too impressed as the bullets didn't penetrate very much. I had to put 4 rounds into the coyote in order to turn off it's lights this was about 70 meters from my hide. After checking on available data, I discover that the Hornady 50 gn Vmax is a gopher/groundhog round and maybe too explosive on a heavily furred animal like a coyote. I may get better results with a 55 gn Sierra blitzking as I have plenty of those.