.223 Rem and 73g Berger's

[kyreloader]

Friend has a Police model Rem 700 in .223 Rem with 1:9 twist.

Plan is 73g Berger, Varget, Lapua cases, BR4s.

Any ideas on sweet spot or where to start powder charge with Varget? Seating depth in relation to lands the 73g Berger's prefer?

Thanks guys!

 

[Big Mc]

Friend has a Police model Rem 700 in .223 Rem with 1:9 twist.

Plan is 73g Berger, Varget, Lapua cases, BR4s.

Any ideas on sweet spot or where to start powder charge with Varget? Seating depth in relation to lands the 73g Berger's prefer?

Thanks guys!

I have a 223 with 1-9. It likes 21.7 H335 CCI450. Does not mean yours will. Start 10% lower and work up.. Tommy Mc.

 

[ShootDots]

I have found that the 73gr Berger to be the most accurate .22 cal bullet with a boattail. I used 24.7grs of N540 with those 73's seated right at 3 thousandths off the lands. That load produced 3025f.p.s. in a 26" barrel and SUPER accurate! If you have a 1-9 twist this is the bullet! My son had a .22-250 and I loaded that 1-9 twist barrel with the 73's and found them to be the most accurate in that .22-250 also>>>>but that was with IMR 4007 which does not exist any longer. Varget, which you are using, depending on which lot of Varget, is either a 1/2 shade faster than N540 or nearly identical in burn rate..

 

[284winner]

Friend has a Police model Rem 700 in .223 Rem with 1:9 twist.

Plan is 73g Berger, Varget, Lapua cases, BR4s.

Any ideas on sweet spot or where to start powder charge with Varget? Seating depth in relation to lands the 73g Berger's prefer?

Thanks guys!

You could safely start that project with 21.0 +H335. I run 25+ thru mine with good results. Sweet spot is 25.6. Seems like alot but gives no pressure and great accuracy. I'm only running 26.0 with 50 grain Nosler BTs. That's the accuracy spot for those bullets. You'll find the perfect load. It will be above 22 I believe.

 

[ebb]

After some experimenting I too found that I liked 73 grain Bregers in my 9 twist 223. However Mine shot best ahead of H4895.

 

[swadiver]

my Savage/Bartlein 28" 1 in 7.7 twist barrel combo loves 'em. i shoot them only short range, so i opted for a moderate but very accurate load. 22.2 grs IMR 8208 XBR jumping .025". Berger told me they shot awesome at AR 15 magazine length as well. they also recommended 8208 XBR for it. great bullet.

 

[TIMO]

I have also had very good results with the 73 gr. Bergers with Alliant 2000-MR at 24.9 grains, LC-97 brass. I seat them at 2.260" OAL. My rifle is a Remington 700 SPS Tactical with a 20" barrel. For a factory rifle with the rubber Hogue stock it shoots very well. Replacing the stock soon, the Hogue leaves a lot to be desired. Going to test some in my AR service rifle soon to see how they do.

Tim

 

[Zero333]

around 25 gr of Varget with 69 to 75 grainers is usually good.

 

[kyreloader]

Thanks for all your replies!

I will tell him sweet spot will be around 24-25g of Varget and have him work to there.

I saw a 3 thous and a 25 thous off, so I guess he will just have to test it all!

 

[barefooter56]

Thanks for all your replies!

I will tell him sweet spot will be around 24-25g of Varget and have him work to there.

I saw a 3 thous and a 25 thous off, so I guess he will just have to test it all!

Kyreloader,
It would be best to tell your friend to do his bullet seating depth testing at the lowest powder charge listed for the bullet/powder/cartridge combination he is testing. Then, once the bullet seating depth accuracy node is found work the load up slowly checking for pressure signs and accuracy until the highest velocity accuracy node is found. The 73gr Target BT bullet is a length tolerant bullet so you could also just seat the bullet to the 2.260 COAL and work the load up slowly until the velocity accuracy node is found also. I use that bullet in my AR-15 rifles and they shoot lights out at magazine length with the proper load . If you have any questions please contact us at 714-441-7202 8am to 4:30pm Eastern time MON thru FRI.
Take care,

 

[Laurie]

After some experimenting I too found that I liked 73 grain Bregers in my 9 twist 223. However Mine shot best ahead of H4895.

As did my 223 straight-pull (manually operated UK Legal AR-15), although in this case with an 8-twist barrel and modified Wylde chamber. It really is such a tolerant bullet that when loaded in 223 which is a very flexible number in this sort of set-up (likewise the Remy 700 Police) that most any powder in this sort of bracket - H4895, VarGet, Alliant Re15, Viht N140, Ramshot Tac, Accurate-2520 etc will give acceptable to excellent results. The 73 BT is one of the older Berger models dating back to the days when it was given the 'LTB' designation - Length Tolerant Bullet (as opposed to the very length intolerant VLDs that Berger made alongside it). Its survival into these times of Berger Hybrids etc shows how good a design it is, and the LTB moniker correctly suggests it won't be at all fussy about jump to the lands. (Probably just as well if the 223 Police is made with as much freebore as some of Remy's heavy-barrel 308s are these days! )