.223 powder recommendations for 69 gr. MatchKing's in a 1 in 9" barrell

G

Gene Pool

Guest
I have a Remington LTR in .223 caliber. The twist is 1 in 9". I am getting excellent 100 yard accuracy using 60 gr. Sierra HPBT bullets and Varget. When I use 69 gr. Sierra MatchKing bullets and Varget, the groups open up.

What other powder(s) would you suggest I try for the 69 gr. MatchKing bullets? My goal is under half inch groups, which I am doing with the 60 gr. bullets.

Thank you.

Gene
 
Gene

Is your bullet seating depth limited by the magazine with the 69 MK?
 
Tony,

Thank you for responding.

No, I am not using the magazine--I load them one at a time. Cases are Lapua, neck sized only, and bullets are seated approximately .005 from the lands with a Forrester bench rest seating die.

Gene
 
Tony,
Pardon me but I really did not answer your question. At the dept I am seating the bullets, if I were to use the magazine, it would not be a problem.

Gene
 
Well, it is kind of general, but

http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.html

I've had good luck with 4895 and VV N-540. I'll allow they've worked better with the Berger 73-grain FB than the 69 Sierra -- except, I haven't worked with the Sierra much, as I have so many of the Bergers.

This in a Savage with a 9-twist.
 
G'day Gene

I have a Savage 16FSS with a 22" 1:9 twist barrel. I have successfully used Varget [ADI AR2208 here in Oz] as this is one of the powders approved by the National Rifle Association of Australia. My load is: Lapua .223 Remington Match Batch brass, Sierra 69 grain HPBT Matchking, CCI BR–4 Small Rifle Bench Rest primer, ADI AR2208 [Varget], Charge Weight 25.4 gr, Cartridge Overall Length 2.260 in. The usual caveat of exercising caution when developing a load based on this information applies.

Load development started at 24.0 gr with 3 rounds being loaded at each .2 gr increment up to 26.0 gr. The mean POI of each subsequent increment moved around quite a bit as did the group size. The three closest mean POIs as well as the smallest groups occurred at 25.2, 25.4 & 25.6 grains of Varget. Each group size from my rifle was under your goal of half an inch group size.

Hope this helps,

Regards
 
Over the years I have had good luck with the 223 using H-4895. Not the fastest velocity but very good accuracy.
 
Gene

Before giving up on the Varget/69 MK combination you could try seating the bullets a little deeper - jumping them slightly more.

So far as powders, H322 Extreme and Viht N540 are worth trying, also.

I've had very good results with 50 grain v max bullets and H322.
 
I have a savage model 12 BTVS 223cal 1:9 twist consistent .500 or under with 52gr match, using H322,335,Varget and BLC2 however groups always open up when I use heavier bullets, 69gr, 68 and 74. I will try h4895 next.
 
Reloder 15 is a great gunpowder for 69 grain bullets in .223 Rem. Your best load will be about 25.0 to 25.2 grains; don't start there.

If you plan to shoot this in an AR type rifle with a stock barrel, don't waste your time trying to get close to the lands, the bullet will fall out of the case first. You might have better luck if the gun has a custom barrel and chamber. So, load to 2.26 inches COAL, or 2.25 if that suits you, the shorter length will compensate for the variation in the lengths of the bullets.
 
I shoot F-Class in Oz with a savage LRPV 1-9"

If possible, try increasing your neck tension.

If you must change powder then h4895 is to next choice.
 
Hi Gene

I have a Savage 12FCV .223 1/9 twist. I've found the following combination to work very well for me. Sierra MK 69, CCI small rifle 450 mag primers, 23.7 grains IMR 8208 BXR powder, Nosler prep'ed & weight sorted brass, and for my rifle an COAL of 2.360". When reloading, I do necking only on fire formed cases, and check concentricity with a Hornady lock-n-load concentricity tool, which can also is used to correct for bullet run out. Hope this helps.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Gene,

Do you use your 223 Rem for benchrest competition? If so how have you been doing with it and what kind of groups are you getting?

Thanks,
Lefty
 
Hi Gene

Yes, I use it for benchrest competion. I won the last benchrest competion 4 weeks ago. Although it was 200 yards, F targets, The score was 200 out of 20 rounds with 11 X's. At 600 yards in practice I usally get 190+ and a few X's. Groups at 100 yards are less than 1/2".
BTW, I'm using a Leipold 8.5-25X scope with a 3X optical booster. You can check out the optical booster web site at http://www.bulzeyepro.com.

Good luck on your shooting

Gina
 
gina.....
how do you like the booster ???
i have the same scope..i think......and was considering a booster for 1000yd br.....
mike in co
QUOTE=Gina1;628894]Hi Gene

Yes, I use it for benchrest competion. I won the last benchrest competion 4 weeks ago. Although it was 200 yards, F targets, The score was 200 out of 20 rounds with 11 X's. At 600 yards in practice I usally get 190+ and a few X's. Groups at 100 yards are less than 1/2".
BTW, I'm using a Leipold 8.5-25X scope with a 3X optical booster. You can check out the optical booster web site at http://www.bulzeyepro.com.

Good luck on your shooting

Gina[/QUOTE]
 
Mike in Co,

Thanks for a very good post. I had not thought about the spring back recoil effect on the scope. Now that you have stated it I think I know what has happened to some of my scopes. Usually I use a Leupold 36 D or a Burris Black Diamond 8-23 when I am shooting off the bench. And I have had to send several back for repairs over the years.

I have shot quite a few of the Berger 30 gr and Hornday 45 VMax tips in my ARs and my 222s. Usually I shot moly coated bullets. These short light bullets do very good at 100 yards and are quite explosive out to about 300 yards on critters. I have generally had better precision with these light bullets than I ever expected. With the higher velocity they do very good in the wind out to 100 yards.
 
Mike....

Its great, It will make a difference. I would not shoot without it. The guy at Bulzeyepro, called me back after I sent him an e-mail. We talked and we figured out what lens would work best for the Leipold I have and my eyes. I wear glasses. Once you try it I don't think you would want to shoot without it.

Good luck

Gina
 
thanks gina.....
i did the same filled out the form and he called...mine on its way.

the funny thing is i shot a 20 rd 200yd match a while back with my ar........also shot a 200..but 17x....i had all 20 shots on the x, but when they saw my target, they changed the rules and required a full dia hit to be an x...i just laughed...no one has come close to the x count.
thanks

mike in co
 
at the end of the day, Varget is hard to beat,

but with 23 Gr of H4895 shooting a Nosler 69 in my 20 inch 1-9 AR -15 I got 1.5 inch group at 200 in a 10 mph cross wind.

with mixed brass,, lucky? yes but the paper tgt tells no lies!

Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top