update # 3...
I tried the 20 grains of H 335, and then 19 grains of H 335, and then 18.5 and 18... with a 20 grain V Max and 25 gr HP..
with both S & B primers and CCI.... all of them didn't impress me much at all..
however that did have me try out, CFE 223, W 748, BLC2... they did much better for accuracy and groups..
The barrel seems to be more fond of a 19 gr charge vs a 20 gr charge..
19 gr charges of IMR and Hodgdon 4895, it seems to like very well...
threw some 15.5 gr NTX bullets into the mix.... the barrel liked those just as well, and it really made no difference in accuracy over the 20 VMax or the 25 HP.
with 600 rounds down the barrel, it's accuracy does to seem to be improving, or else me and the rifle are getting along better...
for lighter loads using 4198 ( both), 10, 12 and 14 grain loads seem to be both fun and useful... the 10 grain load with a 20 VMax, kicks like the Daisy Red Rider I had in my youth... but further, flatter and more accurate...
was over in Klamath County shooting squirrels the other day.... in a constant 40 to 45 mph wind...was perched on top of a knoll shooting downward,
my 223 with 40 gr V Max and 14 grains of Blue Dot still did real well....120 shots in 3 hours. missed only about 20 times...
considering the wind, and the fact of I was shooting a specie of pygmy sage rats ( like 4 to 5 inches in length at most), this years new crop, but didn't see many adults, but bouncing many a V Max in front of them, had them doing all sorts of acrobatics, as they disintegrated in all directions..
rifle was an ADL with a 24 inch barrel, which has saw a lot of sage rat field duty, with a high round count, most of it Blue Dot loads...
a 2.5 x 10 Bushnell scope on top, the Engage series... was connecting from 25 yds out to about 200....I was hitting a lot of them way out there, to find out I was doing so, with the magnification set on just 5 x.. when I thought it was on 10 X...
must have been doing okay, as I had several young Bald Eagles and a couple of older ones, just landing in an area while I was shooting, and then when I moved, they started having lunch...
once again, the hot time was between 5 Pm and 6 PM...
glad I left the 17 Fuzzball at home with that wind tho... the 40 grain V Max did alright in the wind tho...which kept on switching in all directions...
the high winds was because the temp was like 25 degrees than the day before... but the sky was clear...
