Berger 77 or 73

[afret]

If my AR15 with 1 in 7.7 barrel shoots the Berger 77 OTM pretty accurately, would it be worth it to give the Berger 73 grainers a try to see it they would be more accurate? I just shoot paper at 100 yards.

 

[garandman]

73 gr Bergers ran good for me in my AR. By "good" I mean 0.50 - 0.75" @ 100 y. As good as anything else I ran thru the gun (68s, 69s, 77s.... countless powder and seating depths.)

In truth, after this years long tail chase, I dumped the AR15 as an accuracy platform and went to bolt guns exclusively for accuracy.

 

[284winner]

Accuracy IMO should be first but that degree of accuracy depends on use. All things being equal as I believe the 73/77 grain Berger's almost are, I think it's worth trying both to find the best accuracy. For me, my use of rifles is for hunting mostly so depending on what I hunt would make that decision. Varmints or smaller critters of course require great accuracy. Deer up, not as much until range comes in to play.

 

[afret]

Thanks! Probably worth a try. Got some nice groups with the 77 OTMs and will see if I can do better with the 73s.

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

If my AR15 with 1 in 7.7 barrel shoots the Berger 77 OTM pretty accurately, would it be worth it to give the Berger 73 grainers a try to see it they would be more accurate? I just shoot paper at 100 yards.

I have a Krieger 8 twist ar. I have great accuracy with many heavier bullet's like the 73-69-77-64 grain bullet's , but just tried some 52 grain fb. Berger's and Wow! They shoot like a( barn on fire). 28.5 cfe223 they make a ragged hole about .2" most bolt actions won't do that good.

 

[rebs]

I have a Krieger 8 twist ar. I have great accuracy with many heavier bullet's like the 73-69-77-64 grain bullet's , but just tried some 52 grain fb. Berger's and Wow! They shoot like a( barn on fire). 28.5 cfe223 they make a ragged hole about .2" most bolt actions won't do that good.

isn't 28.5 of cfe a little on the hot side ?

 

[Zero333]

isn't 28.5 of cfe a little on the hot side ?

Hodgdon's MAX is 28.5 cfe223 with 53gr smk.

Quickload shows 55,000 psi with 28.5 cfe223 with the 52 Berger FB at 2.260" coal.

 

[rebs]

Thank you for the reply I appreciate it

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

isn't 28.5 of cfe a little on the hot side ?

It is prfct. In my gun.

 

[rebs]

I'll work up to it in my rifle, thank you

 

[afret]

I just got a few boxes of the Berger 52 FBs for a bolt gun I'm putting together with a 1 in 12 twist barrel which is taking a long time to get here. I tried the 60 grain FB Bergers with my AR but the 77s seemed to be more accurate so I probably won't try the 52s in my AR.

I might buy a few boxes of the 73 Bergers though just to see how they do. I just started reloading a few months ago and in the last several weeks started playing around with different combos to see what works best in my new AR barrel. This shoots really well but I'm a novice at shooting so it's hard to be consistent. I got a friend to use On Target on three of my best groups that I got recently with 77 OTMs since my Macbook won't work with that software or Ballistic X either. Usually I can get a couple of groups out of 12 or so in the .2s and .3s.

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

I just got a few boxes of the Berger 52 FBs for a bolt gun I'm putting together with a 1 in 12 twist barrel which is taking a long time to get here. I tried the 60 grain FB Bergers with my AR but the 77s seemed to be more accurate so I probably won't try the 52s in my AR.

I might buy a few boxes of the 73 Bergers though just to see how they do. I just started reloading a few months ago and in the last several weeks started playing around with different combos to see what works best in my new AR barrel. This shoots really well but I'm a novice at shooting so it's hard to be consistent. I got a friend to use On Target on three of my best groups that I got recently with 77 OTMs since my Macbook won't work with that software or Ballistic X either. Usually I can get a couple of groups out of 12 or so in the .2s and .3s.

Berger makes both, target bullet's and varmint bullet's. I only use the target bullet's in an AR. Because the varmint bullet's are more fragile and don't like slamming into a feedramp. I can tell you the reason the 60 grainer's didn't seem to shoot as well is because the powder type and load was not optimal, not because the gun doesn't like them . example- when i tried the 52 grainer's i loaded six different powder's and some of the powders only made 3/4"-1" groups. The cfe223 and 8208 both made tiny, tiny groups. It's always the powder load that creates the accuracy.