223 bullet weight

[BobLeeSwagger223]

Currently I own,2) 223 rifles, and I reload. Both rifles are a 1 in 8 twist. I load 40 v-max in the main p.dog rig. My thinking was flatter trajectory so I could right on and just worry about the wind. Well... seems like even a 10mph day can move me quite a bit especially when the wind is gusting. On the other rife I use 50 v-max and don't see a noticeable difference.

My question is what bullet is the best weight for shooting out to 300 yards on p.dogs/targets. I wasn't wanting to shoot the 75gr stuff because of the huge trajectory change. Or is this just something I need to accept with the 223 until I decide to move up into the bigger cartridges??

 

[1000yardstare]

BobLee: an 8 twist just begs for 75 AMax on varmints. I shoot a .223 30 inch MacLennon 8 twist in F Class and have taken it to a second cousin`s farm in southern Ontario to wail away at chucks. Using a range finder, I popped one at 500 yards much to my cousin`s amazement. The AMax has a very thin jacket which will deform over even a slightly compressed powder charge. When shooters say don`t use competition bullets for hunting, they are thinking of tough jacketed bullets like Sierra Match Kings. The 75 AMax blows up on impact.

If I could digress, my cousin`s idea of chuck hunting is using a rusty old Remington .22 LR target rifle from his tractor at as short a range as possible. When that rifle was brand new 55 years ago, my cousin let me use it to plink sparrows off the roof ridge of his barn. That was my first use of a rifle and I was hooked for life. Back then no one thought of or cared about what happened to the bullets that missed the sparrows. Where did they wind up? The next farm? Now it makes me cringe at the thought. He didn`t seem to care about low shots that went through the metal roof.

 

[Asscott4]

I would agree. Personally I would step up to a heavier bullet such as the 75gr A-max that was suggested. Im sure that you will like them. Good luck!

 

[ForneyRider]

Hard to argue with price/accuracy of the varmint bullets. Most of the varmint bullets stop at 60gr.

Here are some 75gr bullets.
75gr Hornady A-Max,match) - bulk pricing
75gr Swift Scirocco,bonded hunting) $$$
75gr Berger,Match) - bulk pricing

 

[BobLeeSwagger223]

I really appreciate the suggestions! I'm just wondering why the 75gr pills are your pick. I'm guessing they have less wind drift? How much less at 300 yards?

 

[ThunderDownUnder]

I really appreciate the suggestions! I'm just wondering why the 75gr pills are your pick. I'm guessing they have less wind drift? How much less at 300 yards?

Bob, its all about BC,Ballistic Coefficient)the 40gr VMax BC = 0.200, the 75gr Amax BC = 0.435 and the 80gr Amax BC = 0.453.

Lets set wind to 10mph at 3 o'clock and see how they compare.

Lets assume you launch the 40gr Vmax at 2980fps then at 300yds you would get 15.5 inches of wind drift. The 75gr Amax at the same velocity will get 6.22 inches of wind drift.

Ok lets launch the 45gr Vmax at 3200fps, it still gets 14 inches of wind drift even with the increased velocity.

Its not the weight of the bullet that makes the difference its all about BC and the best bullet design for ballistic efficiency that still functions for hunting as you want!

Your 1 in 8 barrel is perfect for the 75-80gr Amax so long as the free bore in your chamber allows seating the longer Amax bullets. I posted something about that here on this forum: http://6mmbr.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=3609970

 

[Grand]

BobLee: The 75g A-max really shines past 300 yards. Inside 300 yards I perfer the 50 V-max. I'm giving up drift, but shooting much flatter. The best thing to do is go to hornady.com and run the ballistics on their Ballisitics Calculator and make your own decision.