Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles 223 Remington reloading

Thank you very much for that info.

Does seem like a lot of commonality in powder selections here with the 308 Winchester, which means I may point my copy of Quickload at a few of these and run some numbers, then do likewise for the 308 (my daughter's new-to-her deer rifle is a 308) and see if there's one that I like in both and buy into an 8lb jug of it. 4320 is one I'm eyeballing hard. I have a real good load for my 35 Whelen with that already. It's liked in the 308 to a degree, and now appears here. I like simplifying my logistics if I can.

I also have a few lbs of Benchmark in stock already. I could always shoot that up to start, too.

Thanks again...I really appreciate. I probably won't have the rifle for another couple of weeks, but once I get it, I'll try to get some range work in and post some results.

I don't think you said how old your daughter is, that Benchmark would be good for slightly reduced loads in the .308 if that is desired.

My daughter is 16. She hunted with my 30-06 last year and isn’t terribly recoil-sensitive. I’m not sure she’s ready for me to put the pedal to the metal on a 308 yet, but moderate to warm loads shouldn’t present any issues.

When she needed reduced recoil loads, I used H4895 with good results.

If you want a really solid choice for a 1:9 twist - the 69gr SMK is your huckleberry. That bullet doesn't get a lot of press lately because at long range it falls behind the 75/77gr stuff, but it's a very accurate bullet. It's really easy to get that one to shoot itty bitty groups with a wide variety of powders, and sometimes a bullet that's easy to work with is more valuable than something more streamlined that's picky about loads. My preference for the 69 SMK is to use X-Terminator with a max load for high speed, or use Benchmark or 8208 XBR for a little milder load that still runs faster than Varget.

Also of note - I did not find the same flexibility and ease of load development in the newer Sierra tipped matchkings (TMK); they were definitely more picky about good loads.

One other option if you want more of a game bullet is the 65gr Sierra Gameking; it loads and shoots similar to the 69 SMK and likes similar loads, but is a soft point for shooting meat.

That 69gr SMK sounds like a good place to start.

I guess nobody shoots 50-55 grainers anymore...

50 grain Bergers shoot great in mine with TAC powder.

50-55’s with either LT32 or Benchmark are dandy loads.

55 gr Hornady or Sierra and a near-full case of TAC is one of my go-to loads.

That's pretty much all I shoot in the 223. If I want to shoot a heavier bullet, I'll shoot a 243. I know I'm pretty old fashioned, but I still look at the 223 as being a cartridge for varmints, not bigger game, and the 223 IMO performs best with bullets in the 50-55 grain weight. I have loaded and shot a few of the 75-78 grain bullets, and probably will try some more at some point in time, but otherwise I'll stick to the old tried and true bullets.....the 50-55 weights.

New bullets have changed the 223. Guys that want improved ballistics have gone to 40 grain bullets and have made the 223 a 22-250. Then there are the guys shooting heavier bullets and made the 223 a 45-70...

At 500 yards it’s easier to hit a sage rat (circa a skinny dollar bill) with a 75 ELDM (bc .467) than a 50 BT (bc. 238).





P

That is like throwin a rock. If you throw far enough you can hit anything. A 223 isn’t a very good 500 yard gun with either bullet...

If I'm going to be shooting at something 500 yards away, a 223 would not be my first choice......or second......or third.....and so on and so forth.

When you’re shooting sage rats 300 yards and in gets boring. I practice out to 600 yards, it makes closer shots seem easier. And you might be surprised at how good a .223 is at distance. BC of .467 and mv of 2934 is a good combination. My brother won the dollar this year for the farthest first-shot kill, 650+ IIRC. First shot only, you don’t get to walk them in. The farthest kill was using the 50 grain BT.






P

Varget .... Works great in the 308 as well

If you think a 9 twist is going to stabilize a 75 Greiner in a 223 you better live on top of a very tall Hill

I have a Stevens 200 .223 with a 1/9 twist which is stabilize a 75 gr Hornady HPBT out to 500 yards with authority at 500' ASL. That same barrel won't stabilize a 75 gr AMAX at 100 yards. It's all about the length of the bullet as well as weight.

Crazy as it sounds, I have a Tikka .223 1/10 twist which will stabilize the same Hornady 75 gr HPBT bullet at 100 yards. I have not shot it at distance but it was able to give me < 1 MOA groups @ 100 yds. I have not measured the barrel twist to verify the 1/10 that's stamped on the barrel. It also stabilizes 69 gr SMKs out to 500 yards.

My 1-10” won’t shoot the 75 ELDM load worth a hoot.




P

I have a Remington 700 with the 1-9 twist, and have shot 75 and 78 grain bullets out to 300 yards accurately.