9 twist .223 target/Long range bullet?

[DHuffman]

I have a Savage Model 11 I swapped bolt head, baffle and screwed a used 26" Model 12 barrel 1:9 twist on last winter. I'm looking for advice on how heavy a bullet the 9 twist will shoot well.

I plan on shooting at varying distances from 200 to ? for the prairie dogs this summer. It shoots the 50 grain Barnes Varmint Grenades into 1 hole at 100 but they seem to fall like a rock past 200 so I'm looking for a bullet with a better BC that will buck the wind as well as a .223 bullet can.

Any suggestions for a good mid price range bullet for this?

 

[Mozella]

My 1:9 twist Howa 1500 .223 shoots both Sierra Match King 69gr bullets and Berger VLD 70gr bullets very well. Hornady Match 75gr bullets, Hornady A-Max 75gr bullets, and even Black Hills 75gr factory ammo don't shoot well at all from this particular gun. Black Hills 77gr factory ammo is even worse. If I were you, I might experiment with bullets heavier than 70gr just as an educational exercise. But don't buy a lot of them because going heavier than 70gr is likely to be less than optimum unless you shoot at high altitudes in hot weather. I'd spend most of my time working on developing a good recipe with Berger 70gr VLDs or, if you prefer a less expensive bullet, the Sierra SMK 69gr bullets.

You might want to check out Berger's twist rater calculator on their web site. Plug in your own parameters and see what Berger has to say about stability. And don't forget about consistency either. In my 1:7 twist F/TR .223 rifle I can shoot 90gr bullets and some 5 shot groups are pretty good, but the next group isn't so good; inconsistency is a real problem and I'm not sure exactly why. One of my fellow F Class competitors has the same experience with his 1:7 twist .223 which is why we both shoot 80gr Berger VLDs in competition.

 

[wi50]

I've had a few savages with 1 in 9 twist barrels that shot 75 gr amax great.

 

[wi50]

The nosler cc 77 grain is a good, mid priced bullet. The amax is a bit better it seams. I use both.

 

[stacy]

MY 9 TWIST REALLY LIKES 68GR BTHP HORNADY AND 75GR HORNADY'S THEY DO A GREAT JOB FOR ME

 

[Dale700]

I have a factory Remington 700 heavy barrel that shoots 2 bullets very well , the Serria #1410 is very good but the Nosler 50 Gr bt will shoot very well at 300 and matches the varmint reticle in my scope on it.

 

[swadiver]

I have a factory Remington 700 heavy barrel that shoots 2 bullets very well , the Serria #1410 is very good but the Nosler 50 Gr bt will shoot very well at 300 and matches the varmint reticle in my scope on it.

Berger 73 gr HPBT (non VLD) shoot awesome in my 1 in 9 twist Criterion barrel on a Savage action. 1/4' groups @ 100 yds when everything is right. the 69 SMK's also do well. did not have much luck with Hornady 68 gr or 75 gr bullets

 

[danny]

I have shot thousands of the Hornady 75 BTHP out of my 20" AR to 600 yds. and they have shot really well. I have not tried the AMAX. They are a bit longer. Someone here has said they got them to work. You have a longer barrel and more velocity, which would help.

Danny

 

[JarheadAZ]

I have shot thousands of the Hornady 75 BTHP out of my 20" AR to 600 yds. and they have shot really well. I have not tried the AMAX. They are a bit longer. Someone here has said they got them to work. You have a longer barrel and more velocity, which would help.

Danny

I concur. I have a factory Savage 11VT .223 with the factory 24" 1:9" barrel. My 250yd accuracy load is PPU Brass, CCI-400 or BR-4, HDY 75gr HPBT Match (not A-Max, it fails to stabilize with my barrels/loads), and 23.5gr of Varget, loaded to magazine length. I believe that with the mag length restriction, the 23.5gr load is a good compromise between internal capacity and bullet stability, and is the lightest charge I'd want in this application.

It is the same accuracy load I use in my Stag Model 6 Super Varminter 24" 1:8" AR.

Both rifles use identical Mueller 8-32x44 Target Scopes.

The rifle does not win, but competes respectably with all out BR rifles at 250yd off the bipod. Someday, the barrel will die, and I'll replace it with an L-W pre-fit.

Greg

 

[DHuffman]

I had a box of AMAX 60's so I've shot a few of them but have been cosidering the 75's

The 60's and 21.8 g of Reloder 10x put up some decent groups so far. A couple groups in the .3's I thinking I could go higher in the powder and see what happens.

 

[amlevin]

Berger 73 gr HPBT (non VLD) shoot awesome in my 1 in 9 twist Criterion barrel on a Savage action. 1/4' groups @ 100 yds when everything is right. the 69 SMK's also do well. did not have much luck with Hornady 68 gr or 75 gr bullets

Same here with the Berger 73 gr. 69's shot good but the 73's were head and shoulders better in my 1:9 twist barrel.

 

[Titan700]

I've had a few savages with 1 in 9 twist barrels that shot 75 gr amax great.

wi50 would you mind sharing any load data ?
Thanks Robert

 

[wi50]

I've used varget and RL15, H335 and 8208, with varget and RL15 working the best. I had the best luck with varget and 24 gr was mild load, 25.2 gr was the load I ran.

 

[McGee68]

Savage 11VT shooting 69 gn SMK very good with 23.5 gn of AR-Comp. Laupua brass, Tula primer loaded .010" off the lands. Also shoots 77 SMK and 77 Nosler CC very well.

 

[fourpower]

I have a Savage Model 11 I swapped bolt head, baffle and screwed a used 26" Model 12 barrel 1:9 twist on last winter. I'm looking for advice on how heavy a bullet the 9 twist will shoot well.

I plan on shooting at varying distances from 200 to ? for the prairie dogs this summer. It shoots the 50 grain Barnes Varmint Grenades into 1 hole at 100 but they seem to fall like a rock past 200 so I'm looking for a bullet with a better BC that will buck the wind as well as a .223 bullet can.

Any suggestions for a good mid price range bullet for this?

use 70gr bergers and don't look back. Mossberg MVP holds range record 5 shots into 4.89 @ 900 yds.

 

[Yote Hunter]

My 9 twist savage 22-250 was erratic with the 75 amax. Have shot some decent groups but not consistent at all. They really need a 8 twist for best results. The Berger twist rate calculator actually calls for. 7.7 twist for optimum results. Will shoot the Hornady 75 gr BTHP much more consistent. I would try the Hornady 75 gr BTHP and maybe the new Sierra 69 gr TMK.

 

[ZenArchery]

Just start with heavier load and find whats most accurate. I was surprised that my 69gr SMK's shot better then my 75gr and 77gr loads. I've got 69 SMK out 700 yards so far. Go transonic about 775 area. May try and stretch out just to see capabilities.

 

[swadiver]

Budget precision build. Criterion 1 in 9 twist , standard Savage short action, Choate Tactical stock. 73 Bergers with Varget. all 5 at 100 yds.

Berger 73 gr HPBT (non VLD) shoot awesome in my 1 in 9 twist Criterion barrel on a Savage action. 1/4' groups @ 100 yds when everything is right. the 69 SMK's also do well. did not have much luck with Hornady 68 gr or 75 gr bullets

some pics

 

[1cougar]

I use 77 gr smk in my 1-9 twist

 

[DHuffman]

I've kind of been off an on this project but have managed a great 69 SMK load with Lapua brass, H322 and a BR4 primer. 23.6 grains, book max in the Sierra Manual.

First pic is 3 shot groups finding powder charge and the second pics hard to make out but that's 4 shots, scope POI was off for this round but that 1 flier I know I jerked near the bull and a 3 shot in 1 hole to the left. That's probably my best group ever with anything.

This .223 is something I put together from spare and used parts. I couldn't find any factory ammo it liked so went to the bench and it's the easiest rifle I have to load for.

I may try to go heavier on the bullet yet. It's hard to imagine anything shooting better than this though. Can't wait to try it out on the prarie dogs.