.224 52gr Hornady BTHP Match

B

BigBlack

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Okay not a huge selection at my local supplier so I picked up a box of these to develop some loads for my Remington 700 ADL .223. Initial load development was at 100 yards and yielded a .6” group at 24.5grs of powder. So I set up for group 2 and worked in .1 grain increments forward and back from 24.5 and shot a .6 group again with 24.5 and a .3” group at 24.6. I did a confirm loading and went back and shot a .5” again with the 24.6. So now that I have worked this up it dawned on me that I was using a match bullet and not a game bullet. I will use this rifle for varminting and paper punching. Will this bullet be sufficient for game or do I need to start over with a game type bullet. My varmints include wild dogs, armadillos, possums, coyotes etc..., with coyotes and wild dogs being my biggest varmint.
 
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BigBlack said:
Okay not a huge selection at my local supplier so I picked up a box of these to develop some loads for my Remington 700 ADL .223. Initial load development was at 100 yards and yielded a .6” group at 24.5grs of powder. So I set up for group 2 and worked in 1 grain increments forward and back from 24.5 and shot a .6 group again with 24.5 and a .3” group at 24.6. I did a confirm loading and went back and shot a .5” again with the 24.6. So now that I have worked this up it dawned on me that I was using a match bullet and not a game bullet. I will use this rifle for varminting and paper punching. Will this bullet be sufficient for game or do I need to start over with a game type bullet. My varmints include wild dogs, armadillos, possums, coyotes etc..., with coyotes and wild dogs being my biggest varmint.
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well i would do it over. and next time do .3 grain increments....1 grain is too big for such a small case.

mike in co
 
What powder? Anytime you change bullets you are subject to have to change the load. The bullet you mention is a good varmint bullet but it is not of true match quality. See if your supplier can order some Berger bullets. A retail supplier is likely not going to be able to get bullets from one of the true Benchrest bullet makers. In addition to my Benchrest guns I have a Savage 12BVSS with a custom barrel that shoots Bergers considerably better than the other so called "match" bullets, be they Sierra, Hornaday or Nosler. hth.
Donald
 
H335 and BR-4 primers

Sounds OK. Personally I don't find any difference between the BR4 and the 400, or the Fed 205 and 205M, just price. I shoot the cheapest, 205's. You might also try H4895 and Benchmark. Probably just me but I don't much care for ball powder, seems to burn dirty for me. Also try seating your BERGERS or whatever out to just touch the lands. Might just see an improvement there. Also your might try some of the custom bullet makers listed on this forum. Some will sell you less than 1K. They are really not that much higher. However you may not be able to tell the difference in a factory barrel as it may already be shooting as good as possible, but one never knows until one tries.
Donald
 
the store I have in my area has a very limited supply. When I purchased my small rifle primers all he had were the BR-4 ones.
 
Depending on what varmints you're hunting the Hornady "match" HP bullets expand and work very well on small varmints. In GA I imagine you won't be doing too much prairie dog shooting, but they work well on them and should work on chucks too. Adjusting powder charges by 0.1 gr for a live varmint rifle isn't enough of a change to make a noticeable difference, I'd go 0.3 gr minimum.
 
I did .5 grain increments on first batch, .3 (or .2 I do not remember do not have documentation in front of me) on second and .1 on third
 
BigBlack said:
I did .5 grain increments on first batch, .3 (or .2 I do not remember do not have documentation in front of me) on second and .1 on third
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Unless you're going to weigh every charge it's difficult to maintain an exact powder charge, ±.05 gr even when throwing charges with a ball type powder. Maybe my technique isn't the best with a powder measure, but I work at it pretty hard, and find that if I can maintain ±0.1 gr with ball type powders I'm happy.
 
Hey, BB....

I have to go along w/Larry on the bullets. I use the Hornady 53HP in my .22-250 & find it opens very well on smaller targets. I've shot it @ 300 against the sierra 52 & the Nosler 50BallTip, two groups each, all shot in 3/4" both groups, & the throat on that rifle is long past "goin' south", I just went out & continued bustin' my favorite targets. Have a good time.
 
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