need some load recommendations for 223 bolt action for competition "please"

[waldo1979]

First determine what range you're shooting at and under what conditions. This and your twist will determine what bullet weight to use.

In Zediker's AR books he recommends a lighter bullet for inside 100 yards and heavier as you go out. For example he recommends a 52gr Hornady HPBT @ 100 yards which works well with Benchmark or H322. For midrange a 69gr to 77gr, SMK or Hornady, IMO Hornady 75gr A-Max and HPBT are great.

For longer range your looking at 80/90gr SMK or VLD bullets. The problem I've had with VLDs is they require a lot of tuning and on an AR platform it seems like an unsurpassable task (haven't tried in a bolt gun yet).

I'm had good luck with 80gr SMK and 50gr Z-Max in my Krieger 24" 1:7.7 w/CLE chamber. For 80gr SMK I'm using 22.0gr of N135 @2.410" COAL in Lapua brass as prescribed by compass lake (actually in the process of switching to lake city brass). 50gr Zombies I'm using 25.3gr of Benchmark at 2.21" coal.

I'm switching to Lake city from Lapua because others whose knowledge I respect say they're more durable in a gas gun. Lapuas are far more consistent out of the box and I'm not looking forward to culling my lake city brass.

 

[chevytruck_83]

Like mentioned several times before. 1x12 twist will not get you what you want unless you are happy running a flat base 52 grain bullet. In which case you'll be limited to 100 yard benchrest type shooting. I love the 223 caliner but 1x9 and 1x8 are where you want ti be. My 1x7 was fussy.

 

[OneHoleWonder]

First of all I can't believe the number of erroneous replies. The man has a Winchester Model 70 (bolt action) with a 24" barrel and a 1 in 12 twist. A barrel with this twist will not stabilize the heavy bullets most of you recommend! One person even stated something similar and then recommended a 69gr bullet?????

Safest bet is 52-53gr bullets. Sierra Matchking, Hornady Match, or Nosler Custom Competition work well. I have had luck with Benchmark, H322, Varget, IMR 8208 XBR, and Accurate 2460. For me brass and primers haven't had as much impact as bullets and powder.

As for dies, I defer to those with more experience...not the ones who have posted earlier on this thread!

 

[rover31]

savage 223 with a 26in McGowen
Win brass
CCI SR primer
80g SMK
25g Varget
2930fps

Same as above but different powder
Power Pro 2000MR 24.5g 2670fps
Both very accurate!