R700 223 Wylde/80.5 Berger/N540

[Chilly807]

So, does anyone get good es/sd with the .223 and heavy bullets? I've used a lot of Varget and now N540 with 73 Bergers and 77 SMK. I guess I am spoiled with the 6BR where it is 'easy' to get under 10sd and under 20es (I try for 5/10 es/sd but that's a bit harder ). I have tried crimping with the Lee die but it just opens groups up.

Funny part is the darn bullets are still pretty accurate out to 600yd. A little vertical, but, not any more than my .308 had with 155's.

Well, I guess it depends on what you call good.
I'm using N140 under both 80.5 Bergers and Sierra 80 Match Kings.

The rifle will shoot the 85.5 Hybrid Bergers, but it's starting to push the limits of good stability with an 8 twist barrel.

SD is usually under or at 10, I've seen as low as 7 fairly regularly.

The 223 is a hard case to get good SD and ES with in my experience. The more neck tension you have to promote a good powder burn, the better.

I anneal my cases, even with 4 thou of neck tension it wasn't enough. A light crimp cut my SD/ES in half, and accuracy is good enough for casual F-class. The rifle is quite capable of sub-moa accuracy with crimped case mouths. Usually about .7-.8 moa under good conditions, maybe a little better.

It isn't a benchrest gun by any means.

You won't win any big matches with a 223 anyway, so IMO any minor loss of accuracy is outweighed by having consistent velocity for ranges beyond 500m. Any spread over 30 fps means high and low shots at long range.

 

[charlie b]

Thanks for that. I need to try harder to get better performance. Not a match shooter, just like smaller groups at longer ranges

 

[DLT]

I've struggled with 80.5s for a long time. They just don't group like the 75 ELDs do. I have a 26" 7.7 bartlein wylde that I just couldn't get them as tight as I wanted too.

Only thing I can think of with your velocity change is did you weigh the bullets?? Maybe a lighter one slipped in. I haven't had it happen with Berger yet, but every other commercial manufacturer has sent me other diameter or weight bullets. No manufacturer is perfect.

I had decent results with AR Comp of all powders, velocities around 2900 fps.

My rifle was exact opposite. It would shoot most bullets well except for the 75eldm which I wanted it to bad

 

[kyotekiller25]

It's definitely a warm load, I would guess it to be in the 60-62K area based off velocity and QL. Bolt lift is still ok, no bolt face/ejector marks, primers look ok. Bolt has been bushed, which has helped a ton. I pierced 3 primers with middle of the road loads in the beginning, and it was also cratering bad when I first got it. No issues since bushing the bolt.

I'd rather shoot the 75g ELDM also. Its what I had this built for. It was a lot more picky than the 80.5 Berger to get to shoot decent I will say. The 75 onlt likes a certain seating depth and thats it, very short window. I have 15 boxes of the 75s so I'll continue to use them. I just wanted to try a box of the Bergers and see what all I was leaving on the table accuracy wise. Not a whole lot really, both loads are very comparable when it comes to accuracy. Bur to be honest, i never did a seating depth test with the Bergers. Just started around 20 off and went with it. So Im sure they could do a little better. The 75s are still just a hair bit better ballistically and I'm betting they work better on coyotes also, plus they are $15/box cheaper. For steel and coyotes, they're still the way to go if your rifle will shoot them.