Hi,
I just picked up a fast twist 1 in 8 223 a few weeks ago. The rifle is Tikka T3 with a 22" bbl. (I know, I know,
) I was fortunate to kill a buck with it the first week of our deer season with factory 64 grain power points.
Received my reloading dies yesterday so I loaded a bunch of rounds up last evening using WSR primers, virgin WW brass, VARGET, and 64 grain PPs at 2.27 in OAL.
Here's how the velocities looked:
Winchester Factory 64 gr Power Point 2801 fps
24 grain Varget 2663 fps
25 grain Varget 2810 fps
26 grain Varget 2922 fps
The accuracy of the various Varget loads was excellent with 3 shots running 0.6-0.7 inches at 100 yards. For the 64 grain power point, I am very pleased with the accuracy.
From a lot of the threads I have looked at regarding the 223 REM it seems that hitting over 3000 FPS with a 60-64 grain bullet is very common. However, given the fact my factory loads are only getting around 2800 fps maybe the low 2900's is all will be able to achieve.
What do you guys think? at 26 grains varget there were no pressure signs and velocity was in the low 2900's. Would you give you push it a bit more or leave as is?
I have been reloading for 8 years and have lots of experience with 308, 30-06, and 22 250 but this is my first time loading for the 223. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Colin
