Favorite 80gr. For 223

[Bottom Fodder]

Just wondering for you that shoot 80gr. In your 223 what’s your bullet for longer ranges, just doing a little survey ‍

 

[Twdmar]

80 matchking. Easy to tune and accurate.

 

[SSchnd]

Berger 80.5 Full Bore, SMK80 with the tips pointed, NOT TMK. Moved to Berger 80.5's after running out of SMK80 and have not looked back.
Do not forget the 75 and 80 ELDM too

 

[padom]

Still shooting those 600ct boxes of 80 Amax...bought up a ton of them before they disappeared. Also love shooting the new factory pointed 80smk.

 

[chkunz]

I did load development for a 223 match rifle with 1:7 twist for 600 yard NRA Mid Range matches. I was looking for the best combination of accuracy and wind drift. I shot multiple 10 shot groups from bench rest at 100 yards with 75 HDY A MAX, 80 SMK, 82 Bergers and 90 SMK. I shot a total of 30 ten shot groups. The 80 SMK tied with the 75 A MAX for accuracy but the A MAX had slightly more favorable wind drift. I chose the 1:7 twist hoping that the 90 SMK would win but they were slightly less accurate and I would have had to gone over max load to get enough velocity to make them worthwhile.

I wrote a report on this testing, if you would like a copy send me an email at chkunz@bellsouth.net

 

[miningshawn]

I have been developing loads for the 223, but in an AR platform. My best groups have come from the Berger 77gr OTM. I have been very successful out to 1000 yards, as long as the wind is below 15MPH. It has been by far the easiest to tune.
1:7 and 1:8 twist BTW

 

[CJ6]

80.5 Berger Fullbore.

 

[RegionRat]

SMK 80 & Berger 80.5

 

[bullseyeshtr]

80 Berger VLD

 

[CharlieNC]

Shooting Fclass the 80.5 FB is tough to beat for accuracy at 300yd. While vertical consistency is good out to 600yd the wind sensitivity suffers significantly vs the higher BC bullets.

 

[dstoenner]

For me 80.5 is better than 80 smk. In both 1:8 and 1:7

David

 

[Hohn]

I like the ELD, haven’t tried the Bergers or Sierras in that weight range. With the recent massive price hike from Sierra, I might never try the 80 SMKs.

 

[Bottom Fodder]

Thanks for the input, I’ve been playing with 80 SMK but running low and getting hard to find at a decent price I did pick ups some 80gr. ELD match. I’ve never really shoot Hornady bullets but hear good things, that being said you that do use the 80 ELD match in YOUR gun do you have better luck jam or jump. this is kind of a home built side line project to see how good I can make it shoot with powder, primmers and bullets that have and don’t use in anything else
thanks

 

[padom]

Here is my data for 75 ELD's that shoot one hole with both Varget and H4895...both 0.015 off the lands

https://imgur.com/iSuANRH

https://imgur.com/OFKppU1

Here's my data with 80 Amax (my favorite bullet in my 223 bolt gun)

https://imgur.com/qsYtuf6

 

[LVLAaron]

Berger 80.5

 

[SEMO Shooter]

I have used Berger 80.5's for a couple of years and just recently changed to 85.5's. Both shoot great, but the 85.5's should do a little better in the wind.

 

[chkunz]

I shot four ten-shot groups from bench rest with the Berger 82s in a head-to-head comparison with the 80 SMK and the burgers did well but the SMK was slightly better. I was shooting a bolt action match rifle with a 26 inch 1 in 7 twist barrel. I normally use 1 in 8 but choose the 1 in 7 to try the 90 SMK.

Can someone tell me if the Berger 80.5 has an advantage over the Berger 82?

 

[Jeff Porter]

I shot four ten-shot groups from bench rest with the Berger 82s in a head-to-head comparison with the 80 SMK and the burgers did well but the SMK was slightly better. I was shooting a bolt action match rifle with a 26 inch 1 in 7 twist barrel. I normally use 1 in 8 but choose the 1 in 7 to try the 90 SMK.

Can someone tell me if the Berger 80.5 has an advantage over the Berger 82?

The story goes that in order to be Fullbore legal they needed to be less than 81 gr. And there was not a significant difference when they removed 1.5 gr of lead from the core so to minimize SKU the 82 was discontinued. Basically perform identically.

 

[chkunz]

The story goes that in order to be Fullbore legal they needed to be less than 81 gr. And there was not a significant difference when they removed 1.5 gr of lead from the core so to minimize SKU the 82 was discontinued. Basically perform identically.

Interesting, thanks for the reply.

 

[White Eagle]

not for the 223 but in my 224 Valkyrie I use 80 gr. Nosler hollow points