223 ar wont shoot

[Ron IA]

I have a Armalite ar 15 a-2 nm went out to try loads yesterday looks like a shotgun I tried 7 different powders there 55 gr. btsp bullets had 5 that key-holed at 100 yds. loads are all from 3080 fps to 3300 fps bbl is one in seven twist I think I got some bad bullets going to try some different bullets when the weather get better the bore looks great cleaned up with no fouling and the crown is good the scope is good yes a bad scope wont make bullets key-hole

 

[Dub]

Try heavier bullets. Like 69 gr

 

[dantiff2]

You must try different bullets. None of my guns shoot the Hornady 55 btsp very well. My 7 twist shoots them slightly better but still barely under 1 moa. On the other hand, I can shoot 55 hpfb midway dogtowns at or under 1/2 moa @ 200yds! And my 69 smks shoot even better!!
Edit to say that I had some really weird fliers with the Hornady 55 btsp's too! None with other bullets.

 

[SG4247]

Mine was that way, until I tried 62s (better), then 69s (good), and then even better with 77s!

1-9 twist BTW, the 77s shoot awesome out to 550 yards.

 

[Rsadams]

69 or 77 gr Sierra matchkings will do the trick....

 

[Ron IA]

I have some 62's to try what it is showing is backwards of what it should if it were a slow twist and I run long bullets in it I could see them not being stable but not in a 1 in 8 tw. I needed to change the twist rate it's not a 1 in 7 back to the drawing board

 

[snowpro440]

I never had any luck with Hornady 55gr soft point bullets feeding in my AR. They jam up or stick wedged in the chamber. Went to FMJ an all problems went away. Tried them in several AR's same results.

 

[XTR]

I have a Armalite ar 15 a-2 nm went out to try loads yesterday looks like a shotgun I tried 7 different powders there 55 gr. btsp bullets had 5 that key-holed at 100 yds. loads are all from 3080 fps to 3300 fps bbl is one in seven twist I think I got some bad bullets going to try some different bullets when the weather get better the bore looks great cleaned up with no fouling and the crown is good the scope is good yes a bad scope wont make bullets key-hole

I'm poking in the ether here, but 55gr bullets at 3100+ FPS from a 1:7 are spinning at in the range of 320,000 RPM, that's kind of the range where bullets start to self destruct. Those 55 would probably do better in a 1:9 or a 1:12 barrel.

 

[Knotwild]

Sadly, with an AR, there are so many barrel makers that you can get a bad one easily - it's not like they are hand lapped and air gauged. I have an expensive 1/8 that shoots 55's and 77's just fine along with a 1/9 twist budget upper I bought for $200 that shoots 55's amazing (to me). If I get one that doesn't satisfy me, it's a simple job to swap the unknown for a known.

 

[Walt Krafft]

24.3 Varget 69 Sierra. If it don't shoot you need a barrel.

 

[searcher]

I have a few Colt HBAR's with 1-7 tw barrels and have never had any of my 40 to 55 grain varmint bullets come apart. If you don't chronograph your loads when using hot loads, combined with not weighing individual charges - it is possible your loads are a bit faster than you might suspect - and far faster on some individual rounds. That could explain what could be your bullets coming apart. The 55 grain soft tips and FMJ from a lot of manufacturers are not known for their accuracy even when not coming apart. I used to buy the 50 VMAX bullets in the 500-paks (sold as ZMAX) for less than the cost of cheap and relatively inaccurate 55 grain "mil-spec" bullets. Can't get the 500-paks anymore - but the 250-pak VMax in either 50, 53 or 55 grain are all pretty economical and likely to shoot well in your rig. as well as a lot of the Nosler and Sierra and Hornady varmint lines. You shouldn't have to go to heavier bullets, though the 73 Berger or 69 Sierra MK are the among the better "next step up" in weight bullets for accuracy - though not so hot for varmints. Try Varget, Reloader 15 and IMR8208XBR with them.

 

[Ron IA]

the 62 sp didn't shoot very well I will try some of my reloads in my other AR I suppose after shooting benchrest for over 20 years it's hard to shoot a gun that MOA is looked at as good I'm not a big black gun fan and this is making me want to get rid of them

 

[thatguyshm]

I have a budget 223 Wylde barrel on a cheap Anderson lower, no name upper. I took it out this past week and did 20 shots at 100 (four five round groups). The barrel is an AR Stoner so it could be from any one of a half dozen manufacturers. I'm absolutely happy with this.

It takes some getting used to for sure to accept that accuracy.

 

[ratguner]

If you have a NM rifle, shoot 77 SMKs or the TMK.

 

[K22]

I don't shoot AR's or 7" twist rifles but I do have a few Tikka's with 8" twists.

With the 8" twist I had to slow down the velocity to about 2,900 f/s before 55 grain bullets would group. I got them to shoot in the sub 1/2 moa range with H4895 and Federal 205 match primers. Bullets I used were Nosler BT's. The 60 Vmax's shot very well in the 8" twist Tikkas, again with the same aforementioned powder and primers.

 

[6MMsteve]

I have a Anderson it's not made for paper it's a personal defense weapon. I shoot 55s and 62s 1.5 inches with the horrific trigger is fine with me..it's a 1n9 twist 22gr 4198

 

[Falfan2017]

If you want to shoot 55 grain bullets buy a 1-9 twist barrel and swap it out.

 

[6MMsteve]

I have a budget 223 Wylde barrel on a cheap Anderson lower, no name upper. I took it out this past week and did 20 shots at 100 (four five round groups). The barrel is an AR Stoner so it could be from any one of a half dozen manufacturers. I'm absolutely happy with this. View attachment 1182012

It takes some getting used to for sure to accept that accuracy.

that's bout how mine shoots the upper group..I'm happy it will get the job done

 

[Sniper338]

If everything comes together, is quality, and done right an AR will shoot very very good.

 

[nicholst55]

I had outstanding results with various 50-55 grain bullets in a 1:7" Colt HBAR. I never tried those Hornady bullets, but even the now discontinued Remington 50 gr HPs shot extremely well. I personally never experienced any varmint bullets coming apart, either. Three-shot sub-MOA groups were common; five-shot groups were typically right at 1" or just slightly under. Maybe I got lucky.