Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 55/62 TSX—12 twist 223

Need some quick advice:

1) What bullet are you shooting at deer if you have a 12 twist 223?

2) anyone actually tried to shoot 62 TSX with a 12 twist? Did it work?

3) Anyone hunting with 55 TSX? How’s it working?

1) 55 grain Hornady Soft Point or 55 gr.Speer Gold Dot

2)Yes..it doesn't stabilize well, especially at lower altitudes

3) Yes. Works great but might need a tighter twist that 12...definitely worth a try.....have shot 53 gr.TXS with no issues out of 12 and 14 twists.

I have a 12 twist CZ527 in .223 that loves the 50 gr. Sierra Blitzking or the 50 gr. Nosler BT. I haven't tried the TSX in my .223, but in my wife's 12 or 14 twist (I forgot which) that 50 grain TSX has been lights out on several 300 pound hogs and some west Texas whitetails.

55g Speer gold dot is your huckelberry, and we have had exceptional luck with the 55g hornady sp with the cannalure...tough accurate bullet, can't prove it but I believe that the cannalure locks the core in the jacket to some degree.

We shoot these two in Rem 700's 223 with a hot load of benchmark and cci 450 at 3450 fps, sub 1/2" groups.

So I don't have a 223 but I do have a higher vel 22-250 and it stabilizes just find. I'm guessing the velocity difference is the deciding factor.

As far as performance on game (I would think caliber who really matter in this sense). This bullet is a little to tough of a construction for what I'm shooting and at the range I'm shooting. The only thing I kill with my 22-250 are Javelina. I like a 55gr V-Max or 52gr A-Max (note I can't find these any more). I've placed it at the base of their heads as far out as 236 yards

55 hornady SP, huh?
I have a few of those lying around.

Had a 1 in 14 223 and tried 53grTSX at near sea level. Here are the results at about 30ft. Rebarreled to 1 in 8.

Yup, as someone said, the ones with cannelure...their performance will surprise you at 223 velocities...pick and choose your shots.

Ive never used the 55 grain SP without cannelure, so cant tell you if it makes a difference.

FWIW, the Sierra 63 SMP is purported to stabilize in a 1:12, and is definitely one hell of a deer/hog bullet.

FC

I've got a H&R in .223 Rem with the older 1:12 twist, I can tell you it will not stabilize 62 gr. bullets. I pretty much stick with 40-45 gr. bullets in it at this time. I forgot what bullet it was, but I had some kind of Hornady 45 gr, factory loaded ammo about 3 years ago, and it loved it. The bad thing, I haven't seen that ammo anywhere since then. If I could find a 55-62 gr bullet that would stabilize and shoot worth a crap in it, I'd probably stick with it.

That aforementioned 63 SMP may well surprised you. If you scroll through the jbm ballistics bullet length table, you'll see it's shorter than even some 55 grainers.


Poobs addressed it well recently over in the deer hunting subforum:





Further down in the thread, Poobs posts a plethora of pretty pictures of porkers he's previously perforated with that projectile.


Just food for thought.


FC

Wow, that's crazy.

The last time I shot my H&R .223, my target looked like that. What’s funny, just last week I was shooting at the local range where you have to bring your own target stands.. two guys shooting on either side of me brought a box and mounted targets to it. At the angle from the bench they were shooting they were pointing down. The gentleman shooting to my right must have hit a rock, and it went though my target stand. It looked like a three blade broad head went through it and shattered the 1x2 my target stand is made from.

I tried the 62 in my 12 twist. It doesn’t work. And I live at pretty high elevation.

Here in Maryland where I live (sea level) and hunt (500-1000ft.), Browning Low Wall single shot .223 1-12 twist, 55gr. Hornady cannelured SP or 50gr. TSX. 40gr. Bergers for general target/varmint.

Probably why Barnes recommends a 12 twist minimum.

One rifle only, but my rifle draws the line at 60 grain for lead core bullets and 45 grain for monolithics. It is a Sako L46 rechambered to 223 from 222 and has (as near as I can determine) a twist rate somewhere between 13 and 14. It may very well be my most accurate rifle when using 50-55 grain C&C bullets and 45 gr TXSs. 60 grain Partitions are ok but the groups are starting to open up to a degree. Forget the 60+ C&Cs and the 53+ TSXs! This is in AL at about 500 MSL.

Well, looks like it’s gonna be Hornady 55 SP.
Thanks!