new gun

[dragman]

I just picked up a Howa 223. It is an older one that from what I can tell has the hand checkered walnut stock, the Mark 5 weatherby trigger and a 24" heavy barrel 12 twist. Action is bedded and the barrel floated saw some targets it printed @ 100 with 50 grain TNT hollow points and it looks really nice. I have never had one of these rifles and also have no experience with small calibers. I had a 22-250AI once and sold it quick cuz I got a really nice offer for it. any suggestions on playing with this gun or a 223 would be great.

 

[K22]

The 223 is my favorite cartridge and have been shooting it for many years. Low noise, low recoil, economical to shoot, easy to reload and capable of outstanding accuracy.

The 50 and 55 grain bullets work best in my guns which all have 12" twist. My favorite bullet is the Nosler Ballistics Tips, they shoot very consistently. Another excellent bullet is the Hornady V-Max in 50 and 55 grain.

My favorte powder is Varget. It's very clean, temperature resistant and works very well in all my 223's (I have seven). Others I've tried that work well also are: Benchmark, H335, and IMR 4895.

I use mine for varmint hunting and have taken over 1000 groundhogs, several foxes, and a few coyotes.

Good shooting,

 

[SS427]

I have a Wby Vanguard .223 which is a Howa action and barrel with the Wby name. Great gun and quite accurate. I have two other .223s and for the money is my favorite caliber to shoot.

I've had great luck with Sierra Blitzking 50 and 55 grain bullets, Sierra Matchking 52 and 53 grain bullets, Nosler 55 grain ballistic, and the Nosler 52 grain custom competition bullets. Just about every bullet I've tried shoots good out of all three, but all three do have one or two that shoot the best.

I've also had luck with just about every powder I've tried. Varget is still my go to powder cause it works great in lots of different rifles, so I buy it 8lbs at a time. Other powders that have worked great are H322, N133, H335 and H4895. Even IMR 3031 has worked really well.

.223 is still one of my favorite centerfire rounds, and I've gotten quite a few people hooked on target/varmint shooting with this caliber. Little recoil and inexpensive to reload and shoot. You should enjoy your new rifle.

 

[dragman]

Thanks all,
So far I have two loads shooting pretty well the first the guy I got the gun from gave me: 50 grain TNT HP with 27 grains of WIN 748 with a CCI 400 primer. The other is 40 grain Vmax with 21 grains of H4831 with a CCI 400. I can't wait to try some more loads and it is great that it doesn't cost me like my bench guns!!!

 

[RJinTexas]

You'll be hard pressed to find another powder that will consistently perform much better then Win 748 with either 50 & 55 grain bullets. Both Vmax & Nosler bullets shoot well but the Vmax's win the red mist contest hands down. Over the past 10 years we've killed many a prairie dogs with this power. It does burns a little on the dirty side but meters exceptional well and flow effortly into those small case necks with ease.

You'll enjoy shooting a 223.
RJ

 

[6BRinNZ]

I have the Howa in .223 - it is the extreme varmint...I use BM2 (benchmark) and 55 v-max with cci 400 primer and Lapua brass...I have just fitted a suppressor for this season so I am real keen to try it out.

I'm keen to try out the 40 v-max but will shoot through the 55s first.

The .223 took a back seat to the 6BR last summer...not this summer

 

[dragman]

Should I clean it after each trip out like I do my bench guns??? I cleaned it after the last trip 25 shots or so and it didn't seem dirty at all. sorry for the newbie questions but I have never delt with the small stuff.