Howa 1500 .223 for starter benchrest

[Pareto]

I've just gotten started shooting centerfire rifles and had previously only shot rimfire. My interest is almost entirely short range benchrest shooting. Mostly at 100 yards, and perhaps once in a blue moon (or year) at 200.

I picked up a used Howa 1500 in 223 and was pleased that I immediately shot many sub MOA groups (average of 0.75) at 100 yards with bulk 55 gr PMC. Did slightly better with some of the Swiss 63 grainers being sold by Norma (best groups were 0.36 and 0.47). I didn't like the Nikko telescope at all and will mount my Sightron 45x45 on it for the next visit to the range. The trigger seems nice at just under 3 pounds but it's hard for me to judge as my rimfire triggers are mostly in the 2 to 6 oz range.

Now for my question. If I want to get deeper into benchrest, should I keep focusing on 223 or get into a new cartridge like 6mm creedmoor or PPC? Or just fool around till I'm much better?

I've already decided to put the Howa into a chassis. Not sure if I should focus on score shooting (like Rimfire) or small groups. Any thoughts or suggestions for this newbie?

 

[Just Say Moe]

If you handload, maybe. If you don't, I'd stick with the 223.

 

[Pareto]

Ok. I'll stick with .223. I won't say never, but I have no plans to handload in the immediate future. No time for it.

 

[CT10ring]

Have you considered looking at older AS posts / forums (search) that discuss other calibers / methods to achieve accuracy? Most are loading by hand.
Likely the best shooters / machinists / competitors / gunsmiths / suppliers worldwide, are posting on this site. I'm not a Benchrest shooter, but wow, there is ALOT of knowledge posted every day; here. Check it out, sir.

 

[Pareto]

Thank you sir. Since I don't have time to reload, I think I'd best stick to my little fishpond of factory .223 for the nonce.

 

[Pyscodog]

I'd steer away from bulk FMJ ammo if your looking for accuracy and don't reload.

 

[STOMP442]

Bench rest and no reloading? not the best recipe for success. Factory ammo puts you at a very big disadvantage. No matter what you do you will only be able to shoot as good as the ammo will let you. You may have a consistent half moa or better shooting rifle but your ammo will only let you shoot .75. If you are serious about bench rest, reloading is going to happen sooner or later. better find the time and make the best of your new hobby.

 

[sw282]

My experience with different 223s using factory ammo led me to plain old Winchester White Box 45gr jhp @3600fps. lt shot most accurate in a couple 700 Remington Varmints. Twas best in my son's Win Mod 70 Coyote Varmint in 223Rem, my daughter's 700SPS 16''. Also great in my COOPER21

With reference to success: My opinion-- Your approach is most practical, educational, and rewarding. Compete against yourself. Do the best you can with what you have. When you decide there is no room for improvement, Then think about an upgrade in guns and ammo.

 

[Bottom Fodder]

If what your doing makes you happy and have a good time. GO for it! Yep if you get a chance to try different factory ammo try it. it’s not like your trying to win a world champion

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I think you need a trigger similar to your rimfire, at least to take advantage of your muscle memory.

 

[Bill K]

If your 223 is shooting this well and you are really going to do 90% of your shooting at 100 yrds, with maybe some 10% at 200, just stick with the 223. Ammo, etc is less costly and recoil, etc. is less than say the 6mmCM and some other cartridges use in Bench shooting.

 

[Pareto]

I'd steer away from bulk FMJ ammo if your looking for accuracy and don't reload.

I just use it as a bench mark. I have a bunch of different match ammo to test. And I'm not competing anyway. But I have stuff from 62 and 63 grain all the way up to a box of Black Hills 77 OTM.

Bench rest and no reloading? not the best recipe for success. Factory ammo puts you at a very big disadvantage. No matter what you do you will only be able to shoot as good as the ammo will let you. You may have a consistent half moa or better shooting rifle but your ammo will only let you shoot .75. If you are serious about bench rest, reloading is going to happen sooner or later. better find the time and make the best of your new hobby.

Before I get serious, I have to decide how much I like the discipline. So I take from all these comments, that I should stick to .223 to see how much I can squeeze out of it. If it's enough for me and it's fun, that's all I need. If I want to get serious, I can then think about reloading and spending serious bucks.

It's more than likely that centerfire will be just fun for me, and I'll focus more on serious rimfire.

 

[Ned Ludd]

If you are not planning on reloading, there is a limit to how far you can go using commercial ammo in BR, regardless of the cartridge you're using. Simply, handloading will be essential for obtaining the best possible performance. Nonetheless, you can still go out with the .223 Rem, learn about shooting BR, meet new people, and have some fun. Nothing wrong with that at all.

If you aren't planning on reloading so that you can tailor the ammunition to the rifle, the obvious thing to do with commercial ammunition is to buy one box of as many different brands as you can afford that have an appropriate bullet, and test for precision. Then simply buy more of whatever brand works the best. It is not the same as rolling your own, but may allow you to find one brand of commercial ammunition that shoots better in your setup than the others.