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Thread: .223 updates and testing

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    .223 updates and testing

    This sounds very promising. Can't wait until it becomes available. It may just become my new barrier round.

    http://www.federalpremium.com/produc...le.aspx?id=797

    I like the TSX bullet and am glad to see a major, high quality manufacturer offer this projectile in a .223 product. Hopefully, it becomes widely available.
    Last edited by DRT; 02-10-09 at 21:36.

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    COR-BON has had .223 TSX loads for some time now.




    This COR-BON load uses the Barnes 62 grain TSX bullet which has an all-copper construction. The bullet is much longer than a typical lead core/copper jacketed bullet of the same weight. This load had a muzzle velocity of 2963 fps from the 20" Colt barrel with a NATO chamber and 2850 fps from a 16" Colt barrel with a NATO chamber. The 10-shot group of record fired from a Krieger barreld AR-15 had an extreme spread of 1.75" and a mean radius of 0.61".














    I also fired two 10-shot groups of a handload of the Barnes 62 grain TSX for comparison. The smallest group had an extreme spread of 0.98" and a mean radius of 0.295".


    Last edited by Molon; 02-14-09 at 17:11.

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    We need a 5.56 load... That fedral stuff looks close but the Cor-Bon is SAAMI.
    Last edited by RyanB; 02-11-09 at 01:01.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RyanB View Post
    We need a 5.56 load... That fedral stuff looks close but the Cor-Bon is SAAMI.

    The Federal load isn't even close to being a NATO pressure load. Federal uses 24" barrels for their velocity figures.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RyanB View Post
    We need a 5.56 load... That fedral stuff looks close but the Cor-Bon is SAAMI.
    Why do we need it loaded to 5.56 pressures? Will it penetrate barriers better going ~100 -~150 fps better, or will it start to break up at the higher speed and penetrate less?

    Hornady downloads their 75gr LE TAP in comparison to their general usage 75gr TAP, as it handles autoglass better running slightly slower.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Molon View Post
    The Federal load isn't even close to being a NATO pressure load. Federal uses 24" barrels for their velocity figures.
    Ah. I was comparing it to M193@3200fps via a 20" tube.

    NATO pressure ammunition is required to cycle many weapons, particularly LMT.

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    Yeah, I know corbon loaded them but my personal opinion is their QC isnt the best. I've seen more than one DPX test where the velocity ES has been pretty high (>100fps). I expect a little more for almost $2/round.

    I suspect the Federal load will be a little more consistent. Can't wait for a test.

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    Nathan_Bell

    Hornady downloads their 75gr LE TAP in comparison to their general usage 75gr TAP. . .
    Nonesense. Hornady .233 75 grain TAP LE has a muzzle velocity of less than 20 fps slower than the hottest lot of Hornady 75 grain TAP FPD that I have chronographed and the 75 grain TAP LE load runs 33 fps faster than some of the slower lots of Hornady 75 grain TAP FPD that I have chronographed. This is due to nothing more than lot to lot variation. There isn't 30 fps difference between .223 75 grain TAP LE and the hottest Hornady 75 grain match load that I've chronographed and the 5.56 75 grain TAP LE runs 122 fps faster than that.


    Hornady 75 grain 223 TAP LE versus 75 grain MATCH





    Hornady’s 75 grain BTHP Match ammunition (part #8026) is loaded with the same 75 grain boat-tail hollow point bullet that is available from Hornady as a reloading component (part #2279). The case mouth of the Match load has a slight taper crimp on it which puts a small crease in the bullet itself. The Hornady 75 grain 223 TAP load (part #80265) uses essentially the same 75 grain BTHP bullet as the Match load with the addition of a cannelure. Unfortunately, the cannelured version of this bullet is not generally available to the public as a reloading component.












    Previous lots of both the Match and 223 TAP load have been charged with a short-cut, charcoal colored extruded powder, while the most recent lots that I have purchased (including the ones used in this test session) are charged with a greenish/yellowish colored short cut, extruded powder resembling those powders found in the Hodgdon lineup of powders. Both loads use traditional brass cases and the caseheads from both loads are head-stamped “Hornady 223-REM” and neither load appears to have sealed nor crimped primers. The case mouth of the 223 TAP load is crimped into the cannelure of the bullet.














    previous powder





    recent powder





    Chronograph testing was done using an Oehler 35-P chronograph with "proof-screen" technology. All strings of fire consisted of 10-shots each. All velocities listed below are muzzle velocities, as calculated from the instrumental velocities using Oehler’s Ballistic Explorer software program.














    Accuracy testing was performed using my 24” Krieger barreled AR-15. Shooting was done from a bench-rest at 100 yards. All groups were 10-shot groups. Prior to testing the Hornady ammunition, I fired a 10-shot control group using handloaded 55 grain Sierra BlitzKings. That group had an extreme spread of 0.63”.










    Starting with the Hornady 75 grain 223 TAP load, I fired five, 10-shot groups from 100 yards and used the best three groups for analysis. Those three groups had extreme spreads that measured:

    1.17”
    0.87”
    1.05”

    for a 10-shot group grand average of 1.03”. The three 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group that had a composite mean radius of 0.32”.


    best 10-shot group of 75 grain 223 TAP







    In the same manner described above, I obtained three 10-shot groups of the Hornady 75 grain Match load. The extreme spreads of those groups measured:

    0.89”
    1.03”
    1.16”

    for a 10-shot group grand average of 1.03”! Over-laying those three groups on each other using RSI Shooting Lab yielded a 30-shot composite group with a mean radius of 0.36”.



    best 10-shot group of 75 grain MATCH






    For additional comparison, I obtained three 10-shot groups from 100 yards using hand-loaded Hornady 75 grain BTHP bullets. The extreme spreads of those groups measured:

    0.78”
    0.71”
    0.52”

    for a 10-shot grand average of 0.67”. The mean radius formed from over-laying those three groups on each other was 0.23”.


    best 10-shot group of hand-loaded 75 grain BTHP






    Here’s a pic of the composite groups side by side for comparison.






    Lastly, in a tribute to the Internet Commando, I fired two, 3-shot groups in a row from 100 yards using the control load. Both groups were sub-QUARTER-minute-of-angle.














    Last edited by Molon; 02-12-09 at 08:48.

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    Quote Originally Posted by DRT View Post
    Yeah, I know corbon loaded them but my personal opinion is their QC isnt the best. I've seen more than one DPX test where the velocity ES has been pretty high (>100fps). I expect a little more for almost $2/round.

    I suspect the Federal load will be a little more consistent. Can't wait for a test.
    The COR-BON load using the 62 grain TSX had a standard deviation of only 18 fps for a 10-shot string fired from a 20" Colt M16A2 barrel. Federal's 62 grain Tactical Bonded load using the TBBC fired from the same barrel had a standard deviation of 22 fps.
    Last edited by Molon; 02-12-09 at 11:54.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Molon View Post
    Nonesense. Hornady .233 75 grain TAP LE has a muzzle velocity of less than 20 fps slower than the hottest lot of Hornady 75 grain TAP FPD that I have chronographed and the 75 grain TAP LE load runs 33 fps faster than some of the slower lots of Hornady 75 grain TAP FPD that I have chronographed. This is due to nothing more than lot to lot variation. There isn't 30 fps difference between .223 75 grain TAP LE and the hottest Hornady 75 grain match load that I've chronographed and the 5.56 75 grain TAP LE runs 122 fps faster than that.

    SNIPPED by NVB

    I was trusting what Hornady printed on their boxes. It was a 100 fps difference between the LE load and the non-LE load. Will see if I still have the boxes and photo them.

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