I'm short on time and won't be doing a lot of test loads. I'm going to load 62gr. Bear Claws for a 16 inch Ranch rifle and will give it a test drive on deer and pigs in Mississippi.

Anyone have a favorite load for this weight or bullet. It will be helpful to to keep in mind that the powders I have to use for this project are; H335, TAC, CFE223 and X-treme. My shots will be less than 150 yards, so varmint accuracy is not required.

I use 26 grains of CFE 223 with 62 Bear claws or 24 gr of Varget. Both shot really well. The Bear claw will kill deer and pigs easy. I have a Ranch Rifle also. I load to factory length. I used Nosler partition data, bullets look the same.

Good info. Thanks hanco.

First, thanks to Hanco for sharing his experience and information.

I got to the range for a quick function and load test. It would have been nice to chronograph them, but I was dealing with sleet and rain. This is a brand new gun and I was able to put forty rounds through it.

Hanco's load and the next fastest load in the Speer manual using Ramshot X-Terminator was tried. Federal 62gr. Fusion was used as a control.

Given today's limited test, I'm going to use the X-Terminator load for this trip. Further testing will be done in the future when I have more time.

Interesting, I have yet to find good accuracy with CFE 223. Gave up and will use up the remaining on plinking loads. X-Terminator is my go to for bullets 55 gr. and under, over that I switch to TAC, H4895, or Varget.

I'm not satisfied with either powder/load. I needed to find a usable load to hunt with in Mississippi. I am not disappointed that CFE223 didn't shoot as well in this instance. It's my powder of choice for 35 Whelen with 225gr. bullets. Not using it for this .223 saves it for the Whelen.

I'm not even disappointed with these results given this was two totally random loads thrown together for a brand new rifle. In the coming months I've got several .223/5.56 rifles that I'm going to have to work up loads for with these TBBC bullets and a brand new Tikka that I'm going to work up 77gr. TMK loads.

I'll have CFE223, X-Terminator, H335, Tac, PP2000, LVR and as a last resort, Varget to work with.

Wasn’t very good, hopefully you will find a good combination. Varget did well, switched to CFE 223, because I had a bunch

Here's a picture of the first game taken with this load. A 95 lb. doe @ 125 yards. Through the left shoulder and exited the right ribcage.

That wound looks terminal.

It does

It was...

It is

Dropped where it stood. Looked like iit bled out where it laid.

That wound is typical of what we were seeing with a 60 grain Partition from my 22-250.

Very deadly on the deer we killed with it.

A partition should be just as good as a Bear claw, wish they made a 70gr Partition

10 grains won't make much difference if any.

No issues punching through high shoulders on 200# deer.

I always wished they had made a 50 or 55. Something that would shoot through 14 twist .22 calibers. Even a 12 is on the edge for a 60 grain Partition.

Varget works extremely well in all my .223's using 55 - 75gr bullets. I was kinda saving what Varget I had because it works so good in .308 but now it seems to be readily available.

Family member in WVa use to have several bigger caliber guns, that he used for hunting... he use to take 15 to 20 deer a year on his property, by getting a $2.00 Orchard Permit from the county. His boys grew up on venison and ham, all wild game. beef tastes funny to them to this day.

His wife's family all moved from WVa to Florida, but use to come up to hunt each season on Ben's Property.

One time they were short some rifles, for their kids who were getting hunting ages, and figured they would just use some of Ben's guns.
They ended up borrowing them ALL... except a 22.250 that Ben ended up with, from a guy who owned him some money and just couldn't pay it, so he offered Ben the rifle...which he took " to get something out of the work he'd done"...

So Ben carried that rifle that one season... shot a deer at 200 to 250 yds with it.... Bang Flop....to say the least, he was impressed...

after that season, he never hunted with anything else but that 22.250.. for 30 plus years... Ben's now 72 and has hung up his hunting and shooting days...he has passed on his rifles to other family members, particularly to kids...but he has kept that 22.250, told me this summer when I was back there... one shot from that gun on a deer and I decided I never needed anything else...and he never used anything else..

he's got it gifted to one of his grandsons when he passes... but told me he was going to keep it UNTIL he passes...

its taken 15 to 20 deer a year for over 30 years...and probably an equal number of wild hogs... Ben certainly got his money worth out of that Remington 700....its always been with Factory Ammo, 55 grain SP...

A 55 in a '250 or Swift is a for sure fast killer on deer.

Some of the fastest DRT behind the shoulder lung shots I have seen on our Midwest whitetails have been with these 2 hot .22 calibers.

More specifically a 55 Gameking, others work too but will draw a little to much criticism from some here.

The grandson didn't get a shot, but my brother was more than happy to test the bullets. He's taken quite a few with his American using the TBBC, Fusions and handloads with Hornady 55 SPs. I've always been skeptical of using the .22 calibers.

I've got a new Tikka .223 to work up loads for with these TBBCs and 77gr. TMKs. I'll try to put it to use next year. I did like these bullets enough to order another 1,000.

I'm going to try these in my A-bolt .223, but it has a 1/12 barrel so it probably won't do well. Not the end of the world, I have a ton of Hornady 55s that it shoots well.

Not a 70 grain partition, but the been around forever SPEER 70 SMP, is not a bad alternative...it along with the Sierra 63 grain SMP, are a step up in performance for lighter 224 bore bullet weights... due to their profile, they are short and open up very well, have high sectional density to penetrate well, and they will work very well in 1 in 12 twist rifles.. in a 22.250 they are a big step up.. I've taken a number of black tails over the last 25 years here in Oregon with the 70 grain Speer, and each one has been a bang flop scenario.. they are also usually available, because a lot of folk prefer newer technology bullets, or the old traditional 55 grain bullets...

Put it in the right spot, a deer is usually down for the count right where it stands, or runs...

I use Benchmark for 50 grain, Varget for 64 grain, and TAC for 75 grain bullets.

Tikka T3 Varmint .223.

I’m a little aggressive with the TAC load but I haven’t seen pressure signs. 75 ELDM at 3100 fps is a screamer.




P

Pharm,

I must be the only handloader in America that is not a Varget fan. In this and other threads, Varget has been often recommended. The best use I've found for it was 150gr. 30-30 loads for my brother and nephew's Marlin rifles. I loaded and delivered 800 rounds to them recently.

I've still got 4.5 lbs. of Varget and will give it a try when I start loading for my T3. I'm also going to add LVR to the list.

I'm using 26.2gr CFE223 and CCI primers with 64gr BSB. It's plenty accurate for the distance these work well at. They work best above 2250fps or so. If you're shooting farther I'd recommend finding some 77gr TMK or 73gr eldm or x with IMR 8208xbr.

Nate,

The longest shot opportunity on our lease is about 200 yards. I do have 77gr. TMKs that I'll be working up a load for

you're not the only one... I'll use it, but I'm not replacing it... plenty of other powders in the same burn rate...that work just as well or better in my rifles....

I'm also on the list that doesn't care for H 4895 either... I am well aware I am in a small minority...