Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Barnes 55g TTSX in 223 Rem

I'm trying to use the 55 gran TTSX in a standard 223 Remington. So far, it's surprised me it hasn't come together quicker as I've had good luck with both Barnes in other calibers and most other bullets tried in this rifle.

So far I've tried:
LC 14 brass, Remington 7 1/2 BR primer, Ramshot TAC
R-P brass, CCI 400 primer, Ramshot TAC, Hodgdon H-4895, Hodgdon Varget
COAL of 2.250" (0.052" off the lands in my rifle) for all loads

Nothing has really stood out and some of the data listed by Hodgdon has given anemic velocities. For instance, Hodgdon shows 24.0g as max for Varget giving 3,134 FPS for a 55g Barnes TSX FB. That load didn't even hit 2,900 FPS in my rifle! Their max charge for H4895 is 22.6g (for the same bullet) and shows it generating 3,110 FPS. That load didn't quite hit 2,700 FPS! And Barnes shows 24.5g of H4895 grains for the 62 grain bullets, so it would seem Hodgdon's data is quite low here (Barnes only lists IMR 4895 with their 55g bullets and H4895 with their 62g bullets)...

Granted, these are two different bullets and it's quite possible the TSX FB has more bearing surface and generates more pressure than the TTSX boat-tail. But that's a huge difference!

So far the most promising load looks like 24.8g of TAC with both the LC 14 / Rem 7 1/2 combo or the R-P / CCI 400 combo.

What's your 223 Rem load with the 55g TTSX and what kind of performance (velocity & group size) have you achieved with it?

Oh, and the rifle in question is a Ruger Hawkeye All-weather with a 22 inch barrel sporting a 1:9" twist.

Not sure what twist rate a Hawkeye has but that bullet is rumored to need a 10 twist to run well. Myself and a few others run 27-27.4 grains cfe 223with that bullet

Try inching your load up by 2/10 of a grain at a time. Watch for pressure signs. Your rifle might require more powder as rifles are different. You should be able to easily get 6 shots from a new case & still have decent primer pocket tension. If not you know you have exceeded safe pressures. There are those rifles for what ever reason handle a bit more powder than others. This can result from a generous chamber or a bore a bit larger .

I use 28.0 CFE223 in IMI brass, CCI450 primer with the 55 gr. TTSX. It gives me 3300 out of my Ruger American and 3/4" groups.

I'd forget about Varget with that light of a bullet. Go with something like TAC, CFE223, N133 or Benchmark.

27.4gr CFE-223 (below max in Barnes online data)
CCI BR 4 primer
Hornady, Winchester, Remington, Fiocchi, or LC 11 & LC 14 brass
C.O.A.L. 2.250"
No crimp.

1/2" - 3/4" five shot groups @ 100 yards out of three different .223's, all 1:8" twist. Two 16" barrels and one 18" barrel.

They kill whitetails, hogs, coyotes, and bobcats very, very well.

Ed

Yeah, I tried Varget because I have it and because Hodgdon listed a decent potential 3,134 fps with a 55g Barnes... I know it's generally better suited to heavier bullets in the .223.

The powders I have already that may work:
Ramshot TAC
Hodgdon H4895
Hodgdon Varget
Hodgdon Benchmark
IMR 4198
Reloder 15

I'd rather find something that will work with what I have, but I'm not completely opposed to buying another pound to try. CFE 223 seems to have become a commonly recommended powder in the short time it's been on the market.

Here's the Barnes online data. The 55gr TTSX is on page 6 of 8.

LINK

Ed

TAC and/or Benchmark ought to get you there.

On a side note I notice you're using CCI400 primers, I'd switch to CCI450's or BR4's. 400's have a thin cup (.020") and are really meant for use in older low pressure rounds like the 22 Hornet. The 450's and BR4's have thicker cups(.025") and will handle the pressure much better. I found this out when I was working up a load in my 20 practical and pierced some primers using CCI400's. Switching to 450's fixed it. The remington 7 1/2's have .025" cups so should be fine too.

Here's an article I came upon when trying to figure out my pierced primer problem that explained it:

Primers and Pressure

I use the 62 Barnes in mine. It has a 1 in 8 twist. Fine groups!!

From a 1:9 twisted Marlin X7S, I settled on:

25.5 grains H4895 for
Either 53 TSX (30180) or 55 TTSX (30187)
Hornady brass
CCI 400 primers
53 TSX COAL = 2.250, V = 3,197 fps
55 TTSX COAL = 2.265, V = 3,188 fps

A previous lot of H4895 was sending them about 40 fps faster.

Both bullets group < .75”, and I can often get close to .4” if I don’t have a 3rd cup o’ coffee.

N = 1 on a boar was caught under the hide on the far side of the skull.

Neither CFE223 nor TAC would group these bullets in this rifle, though velocity was good. Kinda like how some of my kids love my cooking, and the others could just take it or leave it. Takes a little tweaking to see what things each of them will eat.

FC

Were you using 400's when those ball powders wouldn't group?

Yup.

Hadn’t even thought about it ‘til you mentioned it.

FC

My Speer # 13 manual lists the CCI 400 for all 223 loads and the 450 for ball powder. I have an old brick of 400s but have never used any. I do use Win SRs and they are only .021 vs .020 for the 400. That link also shows that the Fed is only .019.

Question, does thickness really equate to strength or is it the material also? I did find out the hard way about Rem 6 1/2. I had no idea they were for low pressure only. They sure as hell aren't marked to that effect!

I googled CCI 400s and find many people use them in 223, even ARs. Now I don't know whether to use mine or not.

Same here but getting a touch over 3200 in a 1 in 8 twist Tikka...

I use 27.0grs of Varget, for bullets from 50gr to 69gr, works really well with the 55gr ttsx

I honestly don't think you can get enough Varget in the 223 case to exceed it's pressure limits with a 55 gr bullet. I used 26 grs of Varget for years in my service rifle and a 69 SMK, and loaded my LC cases many, many times without a problem. The chamber was a wylde with a long throat, so that might have influenced pressures a bit.

I think the 400 & 450's are the same material just thicker for the 450's. I couldn't tell you for sure but all I know is that I got pierced primers with the 400's and don't with the 450's.