Minimum .223 bullet weight for 300 yards
- Thread starter dnmccoy
- Start date
The long for weight 53 V-max is the ideal load out to 300+. Speed and accuracy for most any varmint. 290 BC
For target shooting the 68's and 69's with the 1-7 do well, the Hornady 68's have a .355 BC
Ballistics Information:
•Sectional Density: 0.194
•Ballistic Coefficient: 0.355
•Recommended Twist Rate: Between 1 in 7" and 1 in 10"
For target shooting the 68's and 69's with the 1-7 do well, the Hornady 68's have a .355 BC
Ballistics Information:
•Sectional Density: 0.194
•Ballistic Coefficient: 0.355
•Recommended Twist Rate: Between 1 in 7" and 1 in 10"
Since you asked for a response from NRA highpower Rifle shooters.....
I wouldn't be afraid to shoot the 68 to 69gr Variants from hornady, Sierra, Nosler or who ever else is making good match bullets in that weight nowa days. I could shoot the 52 to 55gr on my range as its pretty easy and not alot of wind changes between strings of ten. With that being said I have been shooting the 77gr since they pretty much came out. ( used the 69's prior to that) and like to keep everything simple so its just the same load all the time no switching back and forth... train like you are going to shoot in a match. Getting to know your ballistics for one loading might be important if your chasing leg points.
used to shoot Varget and N135 but now pretty much R15 across the board but all had good results with up to and including the 80gr SMK's.
Finda deal on anything from 68gr to 77gr and buy a ton of them and go to work. This isn't a reloading competition its a Shooting Competition and until your shooting in the 95 percentile, just picka good load and get lots of trigger time.
If you have questions about reloading for your Service Rifle and want to email me please do, I will be happy to help.
Russ T
I wouldn't be afraid to shoot the 68 to 69gr Variants from hornady, Sierra, Nosler or who ever else is making good match bullets in that weight nowa days. I could shoot the 52 to 55gr on my range as its pretty easy and not alot of wind changes between strings of ten. With that being said I have been shooting the 77gr since they pretty much came out. ( used the 69's prior to that) and like to keep everything simple so its just the same load all the time no switching back and forth... train like you are going to shoot in a match. Getting to know your ballistics for one loading might be important if your chasing leg points.
used to shoot Varget and N135 but now pretty much R15 across the board but all had good results with up to and including the 80gr SMK's.
Finda deal on anything from 68gr to 77gr and buy a ton of them and go to work. This isn't a reloading competition its a Shooting Competition and until your shooting in the 95 percentile, just picka good load and get lots of trigger time.
If you have questions about reloading for your Service Rifle and want to email me please do, I will be happy to help.
Russ T
Yep what Russ said! We are seeing that at 600 yards the Berger 80.5 bullet is working real well in a lot of rifles in Highpower too!
When I was shooting XTC, my load was 25.0 grs of Varget, R-P brass and a Sierra 69 MK. Neither of my AR's liked the 77's. But they are a great choice if your rifle likes them. Check Midsouth Shooters Supply, they usually have good deals on bulk purchase of Nosler Competition Match bullets.
When I was shooting XTC, my load was 25.0 grs of Varget, R-P brass and a Sierra 69 MK. Neither of my AR's liked the 77's. But they are a great choice if your rifle likes them. Check Midsouth Shooters Supply, they usually have good deals on bulk purchase of Nosler Competition Match bullets.
IMO, for service rifle no there is not any difference. Maybe, and I do mean maybe, the 69SMK's shoot a little better in my SR off the bench, but offhand and prone, no difference that I can see. Whatever you can get the best price on, and I'd say usually that is the Hornady's.
dnmccoy said:
The Army AMU shooters use SMK 77 bullets (last time I checked, anyway) or equivalent at 200 and 300 yards in their AR service rifles for XTC matches. You can be assured that they have done extensive testing over the years with different bullets. If there were any advantage to using lighter bullets, I'm sure that they would use them. The bullets in the 75- to 77-grain range are pretty much standard for use at 200/300 yards and even 600 yards by service rifle shooters in XTC HP competitions.
The following are wind drift calculations (inches, 10 mph crosswind) from www.jbmballistics.com. The BC’s used are Brian Litz’s observed BC’s for the SMK 52, 69 and 77. Velocities are 3200, 2900 and 2700 for the SMK 52, 69 and 77 gr. bullets, respectively.
...................... 52 ......... 69 ............ 77
200................ 5.6 ........ 4.1 ........... 4.0
300............... 13.6 ....... 9.8 ........... 9.5
600............... 73.9 ....... 46.8 ......... 44.9
Your 1-7 twist barrel will handle the 77-grain bullets perfectly, and the 77's can be loaded to magazine length. What's not to like?
You can do extremely well with lighter bullets at 100 or 200 yards, but you can see from above wind drift figures that the lighter bullets, especially those in the 52-grain range, start to lose it at 300 yards.
(I tried to post this on the NM forum where your topic was posted also, but there are some technical problems preventing new posts.)
Randy
The following are wind drift calculations (inches, 10 mph crosswind) from www.jbmballistics.com. The BC’s used are Brian Litz’s observed BC’s for the SMK 52, 69 and 77. Velocities are 3200, 2900 and 2700 for the SMK 52, 69 and 77 gr. bullets, respectively.
...................... 52 ......... 69 ............ 77
200................ 5.6 ........ 4.1 ........... 4.0
300............... 13.6 ....... 9.8 ........... 9.5
600............... 73.9 ....... 46.8 ......... 44.9
Your 1-7 twist barrel will handle the 77-grain bullets perfectly, and the 77's can be loaded to magazine length. What's not to like?
You can do extremely well with lighter bullets at 100 or 200 yards, but you can see from above wind drift figures that the lighter bullets, especially those in the 52-grain range, start to lose it at 300 yards.
(I tried to post this on the NM forum where your topic was posted also, but there are some technical problems preventing new posts.)
Randy
jhord said:The price?Serious question IT, have you ever tried the Nosler 77's? I see they can be had for about $160/1000 at Midway, which is about 2/3rd's the cost of the 77SMK's and about the same as the Hornady 68's. A good alternative?
infantrytrophy said:
Jhord,
Good point - always good to consider price. I was thinking of - but didn't explicitly say - of bullets generically in the 75- to 77-grain range. This include Nosler 77's, SMK 77's and Hornady 75's (BTHP, not the 75 A-Max since the A-Max can't be loaded to mag length).
I have no experience with Nosler 77's, but have used Nosler 69 grain bullets and can't tell the difference between those and the SMK 69's, accuracy-wise. Also, Hornady 75 HPBT bullets are equal to the SMK 77's in my rifle. There are probably other good bullets in this 75-77 grain range also.
Many good choices out there.
Randy
InfantryTrophy,
The AMU is currently using Berger 73LTB's according to my current sources.
The AMU is currently using Berger 73LTB's according to my current sources.
A week ago I was shooting in the Midwest Regional Match in Van Meter Iowa, XTC. There were several well known and great shooters there including John H. of White Oak. What I gathered from most of the shooters was that they were shooting Sierra 77's all the way back to 600 where some switched to 80's and some didn't. A few shooters were shooting 77Berger OTM and switching to 80 Berger VLD's at 600yrd. One shooter was shooting 73 Bergers and switching to 80.5's at 600yrds. The common load was 77 and 80grn bullets with 24.0grns of RE-15. I was shooting 77 Sierras and 80 Sierras with 23.0grns of AA 2520.
Dn
I feel your pain...I can tell you first hand that its just not going to be worth it in the long run to change back and forth if your chasing Leg points to get your Distingueshed Riflemans badge. Those Nosler's can be had pretty darn cheap ( thats relative of course) in BULK form and wont hold you back from any of your goals of shooting NRA highpower Rapid fire at 300 yards.
If you live anywhere near Sadilia MO you can drive to the Sierra plant and pick up there blems of 77gr and 69gr for a better price by the pound. ( They dont sell them anyother way other than at the shop) I shoot them with great results and try to pick up 1000 or so at a time.
Do yourself a huge favor and stick to one load if possable and keep getting as much trigger time as your wallet and free time will allow.
Just not enough time or money these days I truely understand that. Nontheless Welcome aboard to shooting Highpower!!! Whats your home range?
Russ T
I feel your pain...I can tell you first hand that its just not going to be worth it in the long run to change back and forth if your chasing Leg points to get your Distingueshed Riflemans badge. Those Nosler's can be had pretty darn cheap ( thats relative of course) in BULK form and wont hold you back from any of your goals of shooting NRA highpower Rapid fire at 300 yards.
If you live anywhere near Sadilia MO you can drive to the Sierra plant and pick up there blems of 77gr and 69gr for a better price by the pound. ( They dont sell them anyother way other than at the shop) I shoot them with great results and try to pick up 1000 or so at a time.
Do yourself a huge favor and stick to one load if possable and keep getting as much trigger time as your wallet and free time will allow.
Just not enough time or money these days I truely understand that. Nontheless Welcome aboard to shooting Highpower!!! Whats your home range?
Russ T
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.