Best Bullet Weight for 1:7 Twist?

[MegademiC]

Any good bullet, vmax or good otms should get you right at 1.5 to 1 moa. Getting past that may take some work. Vmax always shot the best in my gun until I tried prvi 75gr match, which grouped significantly better than 75gr tap, but I don't know why other than my gun likes it more.

I also shot some winchester 69gr match that grouped right there with wolf. Worst money I ever spent. Ymmv.

[wingspar]

For those of you that mentioned Varget being a stick powder that is difficult to measure, I’m used to that. I’ll keep on buying cheap range ammo for plinking, but for my reloading I want to improve my accuracy and for that I meter under the target load and trickle the rest, so hard to meter powders are no big deal. I’m using a single stage press and speed is of no concern.

I just placed a large order for a bunch of stuff and tossed in 100 of 55 Grain Hornady V-Max and 100 of Sierra 77 grain Tipped MatchKings to start with.

Does anyone ever use A-Max bullets in .223? Flat base bullets or boat tail bullets?

[markm]

For those of you that mentioned Varget being a stick powder that is difficult to measure, I’m used to that. I’ll keep on buying cheap range ammo for plinking, but for my reloading I want to improve my accuracy and for that I meter under the target load and trickle the rest, so hard to meter powders are no big deal. I’m using a single stage press and speed is of no concern

It's just that there are much easier powders to work with that shoot as accurately or better. And Varget's bulk density makes it tough to get enough in a .223 case if you're looking for high velocity. If you run a long (18" or more) barrel, I suppose Varget's slower burn rate would be beneficial.

[markm]

If a barrel will not shoot OEM Hornady 55g V-Max well, something is wrong with the rifle.

That's true too. Those bullets are crazy accurate. If I never shot outside of 200 yards, I'd probably shoot that bullet a lot.

[wingspar]

It's just that there are much easier powders to work with that shoot as accurately or better. And Varget's bulk density makes it tough to get enough in a .223 case if you're looking for high velocity. If you run a long (18" or more) barrel, I suppose Varget's slower burn rate would be beneficial.

I have some IMR 4895 and some Varget on hand, so that’s why I mentioned those powders. I’ve yet to use the Varget for anything yet. It’s just one of those powders like Unique that everyone seems to love as an all around powder. I’ll most likely start with the IMR 4895 which is horrible to meter and the reason I bought a trickler. My barrel is a 16-inch barrel.

I’m not sure if velocity is important to me. Accuracy is. I’ve not been reloading for very long, so I’ve yet to learn the importance of velocity VS accuracy. I’ve not Chronoed anything from my AR yet, but I probably will just to get an idea of the different factory ammo I have on hand, which is a lot.

[Molon]

Does anyone ever use A-Max bullets in .223? Flat base bullets or boat tail bullets?

The 52 grain A-MAX shoots quite well from my AR-15s at a distance of 100 yards. The 53 grain V-MAX does even better.















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[Kansaswoodguy]

I keep around 2000 55gr flat base amax's on hand at all times they are great out to 300 yards maybe 400 yards as long as I'm not trying to shoot eggs at that range if I am then the 75gr-77gr are king of the hill. If your not against buying more powders to try get some IMR 8208 XBR it's the bomb for the heavy bullets in 223 and I've shot some great groups with it and the Hornady 53gr vmax's as well. If your loading for accuracy trim your brass to uniform length this one small step is often overlooked by beginners and makes a large reduction in group size all other things being equal. I'm not 100% sure but those 77gr tipped bullets may not be mag length loadable. I will sometimes load 75gr or 80gr amax bullets but they are not mag length either and will get single loaded for long range shooting only.

[wingspar]

The 52 grain A-MAX shoots quite well from my AR-15s at a distance of 100 yards. The 53 grain V-MAX does even better.

Well, it seems apparent that any weight bullet between 50 grain and 77 grain works well in a 1:7 twist barrel. I thought the selection would be a little narrower, so I guess I’ll start with the 55 grain and 77 grain bullets I have on order and work with those for now.

I do have to wonder how there can be much, if any, difference between a 52 grain and a 53 grain bullet?

[Molon]

I do have to wonder how there can be much, if any, difference between a 52 grain and a 53 grain bullet?

Every Barrel Is A Law Unto Itself.



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[Kansaswoodguy]

52gr and 53gr I can shoot sub MOA no problem with 53gr vmax bullets and struggle to shoot MOA with the 52gr match bullets don't know why but it's a fact. As Molon has said each barrel is unique in what they like to shoot. One very good combination I have found is 55gr vmax bullets and 55gr GMX with the same load data have the same POI I use this little jewel of info to good effect makes getting ready for hog hunting or deer a snap