Suggest a New Caliber for Target Shooting

[skeeljc]

skee, you have a small bolt face. Want to kick it up a notch? Go 223 AI or a 22/204! The target shooting will get very, very interesting to say the least! The AI and the 22/204 give you another 150-200 fps over the std 223, make the barrel as long as you can stand, add a muzzle break. You will know that shooting groups in the 2's is just ho humm.

Match the freebore length with the bullet and twist rate...deal done. Shooting H335 will give you an unbelievable amount of barrel life.

It sure makes a guy feel good to sit down and shoot tiny groups, change powder with more tiny groups, change bullets with more tiny groups.

What is your barrel recommendation for a .223 Rem AI with 50 - 60 grain bullets?

 

[AckleymanII]

12 twist, go .020-.030 FB MAXIMUM. If you want to shoot lapua brass, make sure you use a CIP spec reamer!

My reamer is zero freebore, accuracy with 40-55g is just unbelievable:

H335

AA2015
Benchmark
H322
N133 with 50g'
N135 with 55g-3650-3700 in a 27" barrel
4198 with 40g
N133 and 2015 with 40g is 4100+

You may grow to love a 53g Hornady with it's high bc in a 12T, and sub 1/2" with Berger 55's and N135 is normal on a calm day.

The 50g at 3800 is just loping along, you will never use a full length sizer at this speed in a 14 or 12T

 

[skeeljc]

12 twist, go .020-.030 FB MAXIMUM. If you want to shoot lapua brass, make sure you use a CIP spec reamer!

My reamer is zero freebore, accuracy with 40-55g is just unbelievable:

H335

AA2015
Benchmark
H322
N133 with 50g'
N135 with 55g-3650-3700 in a 27" barrel
4198 with 40g
N133 and 2015 with 40g is 4100+

You may grow to love a 53g Hornady with it's high bc in a 12T, and sub 1/2" with Berger 55's and N135 is normal on a calm day.

The 50g at 3800 is just loping along, you will never use a full length sizer at this speed in a 14 or 12T

Is 5R rifling the way to go?

 

[BCBRAD]

I have a Remington 700 action with a 26" Krieger .223 Heavy Varmint barrel (1 in 12). It is bedded in a Bell & Carson stock and glass is a Vortex 5-25x 50mm FFP. It is a consistent sub 1/2 MOA performer with 52 grain match bullets. I built it for PD shooting.

Looking for caliber suggestions for another build to punch paper at 100, 200, 300 yards. Not particularly interested in fire forming cases.

After checking the external ballistics on several cartridges I went (still at the g smith) with a 7.7 twist 243 Win 26" bbl. braked, 110 class bullets ~3050 predicted with RL-22. The rifle is being rechambered from 6 Dasher and the #6 Benchmark is being reduced ~5-10 thou to make hunter/sporter class.

 

[AckleymanII]

Skee, I like Brux or Krieger 4 Groove, but most of my AI's are button 6 Groove that I have had over the years, Lilja, Hart, Shilen.