i have a friend asked me what factory ammo to use for chucks.He has a ruger m77 223 with a 1-9 twist.I suggested the hornady 53gr vmax. Is this a good recommendation or is there better?

Any Varmint bullet would work. They aren’t hard to kill. I’ve used vmaxes, NBTS, and HPS. In 17Rem, 17 Hornet, and 221. If the rifle likes 53vmaxes then that’s what I’d shoot.

Yup..whatever your guns shoots the best will kill chucks. In many areas its wise to use a frangible bullet around populated areas or livestock.

Ky221 said it best; Any varmint bullet will do. I've shot them with 69gr MAtchkings as well as Blitzkings. The Matchkings killed them just as dead. However, the Blitzkings were come apart better and make a mess exiting. The bigger question I'd ask is how far is he planning on shooting and look at ballistic tables from there. A .223 is a fine round for this purpose. Other bullets I'd recommend are: VMAX, Ballistic Tips, Varmageddon and Gamekings.

Yeah, definitely try that Hornady 53 V-Max stuff first. I once was ready to get rid if the only AR I ever owned because (I thought) it would never be accurate. Tried a box of that stuff when I saw it on sale and I was then able to get 3/4” groups and sometimes better, with a flatter trajectory thanks to the high BC of that bullet (plus “Superformance” powder).
Now the only reason I keep a .22 centerfire around in my groundhog gun arsenal is because of those 53 V-Maxes. Those bullets are accurate and deadly when pushed faster out of a .22-250 or Swift, and they don’t blow around as much as bullets of similar weights; make decent splats on big ‘hogs, too.

He got 3 boxes of the hornady 53gr vmax that I suggested he is going to let me know how he likes them he is not into shooting alot . As far as yardage it's under 200 yards

For factory stuff I like the Winchester white box with the 45 or 46 grain hollow point, whatever it is. Comes in a bulk pack. Used to find it at walmart, now the Dunhams in my area carries it. Decent price, holds moa in my bolt gun.

Seems very frangible, no pass-throughs for me so far.

I have been using factory ammo from Fiocchi, with the 40 gr. V-Max bullet, in my 2 .223's. It shoots lights out- .3-.5" groups are the norm at 100 yds. I would definitely give it a try to see if it works in your rifle.

If the gun likes it, the 53 grain VMAX load should be good.

One I've had good luck with is the Nosler factory load using the 60 grain ballistic tips. If I could find it reliably I probably wouldn't handload for my AR. It's good .. scary good. Focus on the crosshairs while I pull the trigger and whatever is at the intersection of vertical and horizontal gets a hole in it, not merely near it. That silly gun, with that load, will compete with any factory varmint rifle I've ever owned shooting preferred handloads ... which is saying something IMHO.

Tom