223 match bolt action load data

[acloco]

EVERY barrel is different.

Work up the load for this barrel. There are NO shortcuts.

 

[Hohn]

At what distance are you speaking of ? Big dif between 100-600 plus yards when it comes to twist and bullet design and weight.

300y-600y. Midrange match distance.

 

[Farmerboy78]

Well, the tac worked really well and gave me sub 1/2 moa loads. But, it had a big temp swing causing higher velocity than load development and the sd was quite a bit higher than I'd want to use at distance in this setup. Had es of 44fps. Picked up 3lbs varget to try out. Any starting points loaded long?

 

[std7mag]

As before, should have picked up some Alliant PP2000.
Anti copper, and "temp stable".
Really pushes those heavy bullets out there!
ES6, SD2.

But hey, what do i know?

 

[Farmerboy78]

Guys I wanted to give an update. I am using once fired lake city 95 brass that's been fully prepped for reloading. This brass has a high case volume and takes more powder than my buddies starline brass. I tried to make the 75gr eld shoot in my rifle with no luck. About 3/4" groups were the best I could get. I switched to the 75gr vld and my groups went way down. I knew from testing the eld that I needed/wanted to be about 25gr to get near 3000fps, which is the cutoff for tactical prs class speeds. I loaded 25.6, 25.8, 26gr with the vld, lc brass, cci 450, and varget... 25.8gr gave a 1/4" group and 26gr shot in the same exact hole for 4 shots. I shot 2 to the left to be sure what i was seeing. The 26gr load was 2999fps average with a 3000 fps limit, I'm going to use 25.8gr.

 

[Eagle-I]

Great info thanks for sharing

 

[SavageShooter67]

As before, should have picked up some Alliant PP2000.
Anti copper, and "temp stable".
Really pushes those heavy bullets out there!
ES6, SD2.

But hey, what do i know?

I’ve been using the 2000-MR for quite some time with 80gr SMK’s. Haven’t heard about PP2000, something new?

 

[std7mag]

I’ve been using the 2000-MR for quite some time with 80gr SMK’s. Haven’t heard about PP2000, something new?

It's the same thing.
Alliant Power Pro 2000 MR (medium rifle).

 

[Indiana6547]

Guys I wanted to give an update. I am using once fired lake city 95 brass that's been fully prepped for reloading. This brass has a high case volume and takes more powder than my buddies starline brass. I tried to make the 75gr eld shoot in my rifle with no luck. About 3/4" groups were the best I could get. I switched to the 75gr vld and my groups went way down. I knew from testing the eld that I needed/wanted to be about 25gr to get near 3000fps, which is the cutoff for tactical prs class speeds. I loaded 25.6, 25.8, 26gr with the vld, lc brass, cci 450, and varget... 25.8gr gave a 1/4" group and 26gr shot in the same exact hole for 4 shots. I shot 2 to the left to be sure what i was seeing. The 26gr load was 2999fps average with a 3000 fps limit, I'm going to use 25.8gr.

This has got to be a compressed load, correct?

 

[Farmerboy78]

Came up to the neck shoulder junction, so not really, its seated long. 2.50"

 

[Dgd6mm]

What was the H2O capacities difference between the 2 brands?

Guys I wanted to give an update. I am using once fired lake city 95 brass that's been fully prepped for reloading. This brass has a high case volume and takes more powder than my buddies starline brass. I tried to make the 75gr eld shoot in my rifle with no luck. About 3/4" groups were the best I could get. I switched to the 75gr vld and my groups went way down. I knew from testing the eld that I needed/wanted to be about 25gr to get near 3000fps, which is the cutoff for tactical prs class speeds. I loaded 25.6, 25.8, 26gr with the vld, lc brass, cci 450, and varget... 25.8gr gave a 1/4" group and 26gr shot in the same exact hole for 4 shots. I shot 2 to the left to be sure what i was seeing. The 26gr load was 2999fps average with a 3000 fps limit, I'm going to use 25.8gr.

 

[Farmerboy78]

I dont know about h20, but his unprimed starline weighed 101 grains and my lake city weight was 91-92 grains

 

[Baer45]

My latest build is a Remington 700, trued action, Bartlein barrel 1/8 twist cut to 22 inches, Jewel 2 oz trigger, on a custom made stock.

I was hoping for 1/4 in groups and wound up with bug holes. Truly accurate rifle that turns heads at the range.

I load 80 gr Berger target bullets, 21.8 grs of Vargat, CCI 400 primers, .0010 off the lands. If you check the Berger data manual, you will find that they always are on the low side of other manuals for comparable weight bullets. I assume that they tailor the powder weight, to the bullet shape and density of the jackets, on their bullets.

When looking for a load, I have always used Hodgdons load data but what I learned with this rifle is to disregard most of the powder manufactures listed data. From now on I will use data listed by the bullet manufacturers data and start out with a reduced load even then.

If you are wondering why the 22 inch barrel, it's because I almost blew that brand new barrel up, at the range, when breaking it in. It started out at 26 inches and I must have left a patch or at least part of one while cleaning it between each round. Put a bulge two inches from the muzzle. My smith cut 4 inches off and recrowned it and it was good to go. From that point forward, I always look down the barrel after cleaning. A habit I should have had, in the first place.

What velocity are you getting with the 21.8 gr of Varget with the 80 SMk’s?

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

What velocity are you getting with the 21.8 gr of Varget with the 80 SMk’s?

2550 fps. It's not the velocity that counts, it's the size of the groups. Now this rifle was not set up for shooting long distances and I have not been able to shoot it at more than 200 yards yet so I don't know how it would do at a longer distance. Hear is my last target. Not my best target, but you get the idea. These are five shot groups at 100 yards. It was a 10MPH winds and rain.

 

[dolek]

2550 fps. It's not the velocity that counts, it's the size of the groups. Now this rifle was not set up for shooting long distances and I have not been able to shoot it at more than 200 yards yet so I don't know how it would do at a longer distance. Hear is my last target. Not my best target, but you get the idea. These are five shot groups at 100 yards. It was a 10MPH winds and rain.

View attachment 1170749

Good shooting ,you nailed it on the velocity part . I shoot 77 MKs with only 20 grains of H4895, very accurate at 200 yards.

 

[Baer45]

Excellent and thanks for posting. I’m getting same accuracy at 22.2 gr of an older lot of Varget..my spread is fairly large though..

 

[BronzeArcher]

Well, the tac worked really well and gave me sub 1/2 moa loads. But, it had a big temp swing causing higher velocity than load development and the sd was quite a bit higher than I'd want to use at distance in this setup. Had es of 44fps. Picked up 3lbs varget to try out. Any starting points loaded long?

Varget should calm things down with temp swings, but we still do better taking care not to let rounds "cook" in the chamber. We wait for the condition we want then close the bolt, fine tune sight picture, and send it within a few seconds of bolt closing.

23 grains of Varget is a good starting point for 77/80 SMKs loaded long. Brass lasts a long time. We tweak the powder charge first for the greatest accuracy. Then we tweak the OAL to dial it in a bit more. When a load is working really well, it is insensitive to both changes in temperature as well as new lots of components.

 

[Baer45]

Do you know what your Extreme Spread is?

 

[JEFFPPC]

2550 fps. It's not the velocity that counts, it's the size of the groups. Now this rifle was not set up for shooting long distances and I have not been able to shoot it at more than 200 yards yet so I don't know how it would do at a longer distance. Hear is my last target. Not my best target, but you get the idea. These are five shot groups at 100 yards. It was a 10MPH winds and rain.

View attachment 1170749

Looks like a winner to me. Groups win, not velocity.

 

[Nick Caprinolo]

Do you know what your Extreme Spread is?

Not sure what extreme spread proves. Is it due to a flyer, or wind conditions or shooter error. Now if you were shooting in the Huston Warehouse under an absolutely wind free and temperature controlled environment, extreme spread might have some meaning, although there is still room for pilot error, which nullifies the results. When I measure my targets, I never discount the flyers or my mistakes. I just tally up the results and live with them.