223/5.56 Ammo For Hitting Steel At 500 Yards

[TomPenguin5145]

I am limited to a 500 yard range here. I have a 14.7" BA Barrel. I am not looking to punch 4 leaf clovers. I don't care about terminal ballistics and what it does to gel. I don't really have a lot of experience loading and shooting out to 500 yards. I am talking about hitting steel target, 16" or so, at 500 yards. The object here is to use what I run on the street, which is my 14.7 with a dot on top.

I know everyone favors 77 SMK and the like for "long range" .223/5.56. I know markm has a good load for the 77smk using 21.6 (21.8)gns of H322. What I want to know is would something like a 53 Vmax work just as well or better for this "shorter" distance? I am shooting with a Red Dot/Magnifier. I am kinda thinking the 53 Vmax would shoot flatter then the 77 SMK making it slightly easier to figure out holds.

Or am I just giving this too much thought?

[Ned Christiansen]

That's one of my favorite passtimes, not that I get the time to do it all the time. I gravitate to just about anyone's loading of the 77 SMK and if not that, 69's. I've had outings where I could have got a decent group alternating the two, the POI was so close to the same at 500. I don't think it would be every load every time though. Just so happened that day the CorBon loading of the 69 and the BHA 77 were hitting the same.

Honestly instead of choosing one load and then doing it I think a lot of fun could be had answering your own questions and trying it with a bunch of different loads. I mean theoretically the 77 will have the most advantage at that range. If you want to go heavier the Barnes factory loading of their 85 Match Burner has been very accurate for me.... not sure it has any advantage over the 77 oven in BC 'cause it is blunter in the ogive and not a boat tail. Anyway (talking flatter) even between a 55 and a 77, they track all the way out to 500 within 3-4" of each other.

So that's the stuff I don't know much about, but in shooting at 500 I am an expert in this: missing. My advice then is, don't shoot at a small piece of steel, get a big one. At 500 it doesn't need to be 1/2" AR500. Not sure where the line is because I don't recall shooting mild steel at 500 but I'm darn sure 3/8 would get you by for a long time. So if you could go 36" square and paint little aiming points on it you will learn more quicker missing your painted-on patch but still hitting the steel, than by missing a lot and wondering where they went.

[ggammell]

I’ve taken the 75gr American Eagle out to 475 during competitions on a 1-4x scope. For $0.50ish per round it does a really nice job.

[markm]

The Vmax bullets are awesome. The only downside is if you're dealing with wind. A 77 is going to be much more wind friendly.

If you want the ultimate flat shooting round, I'd try the Black Hills 69gr TMK in 5.56mm pressure load. It smokes anything else in 5.56 at 500 by a long shot. No round I've ever fired at 500 comes close.

[1168]

I shoot Frontier 68gr 5.56 in matches out to 500m (also with a 1-4x) with good results on 18” wide targets. Its what I’ve settled on as a favorite, currently. Its a little over $.50 a round. Anything with a 68gr+ bullet is pretty good for medium ranges.

Truthfully, any good ammo in any weight will be fine, but you have to account for wind more with the lighter bullets. Its a 3 moa target.

As markm said, the 69gr TMK is both flat and slippery.

[jsbhike]

So that's the stuff I don't know much about, but in shooting at 500 I am an expert in this: missing. My advice then is, don't shoot at a small piece of steel, get a big one. At 500 it doesn't need to be 1/2" AR500. Not sure where the line is because I don't recall shooting mild steel at 500 but I'm darn sure 3/8 would get you by for a long time. So if you could go 36" square and paint little aiming points on it you will learn more quicker missing your painted-on patch but still hitting the steel, than by missing a lot and wondering where they went.

Thanks for sharing that tip. A buddy and I have been kicking around doing some 500 yard shooting and feedback without frequent trips down has been something I was trying to piece together.

[TomPenguin5145]

I would love to just get factory loads but its not as easy to get up here. I did get my hands on some of the Frontier 68bthp awhile back, 20 rounds. It seemed like a decent round the price but I have been unable to find it again. I find it alot easier to find the bullets and load up "clones" of some of those rounds.

There is an event coming up which is a competition. I am going to be using my duty rifle as part of the challenge. I don't carry a 308 bolt gun on the street. I have shot from the 500 yard line using my duty rifle and .223 55gn VMAX. I had a spotter and was walked on target in a few rounds. Once I knew the hold, I aimed at the same part of the berm and was getting hit after hit after hit. Odd are I won't have a spotter this time so I am trying to make it easier for myself. Am I overthinking it?


Here is a photo from the 400 yard line during a carbine clinic with a lot of overgrowth.
Attachment 60928

As far as 69SMK; I had a load that was shooting .75" groups with a velocity of 2915fps out of an 18" barrel (5.56 1-7). 26.0gn of Varget lit off by a Sellier & Bellot SR. No idea how it shoots from my 14.7" (5.56 1-7). I know I lose about 120-150fps between the 18" and 14.7". So calling it 2750 fps the Hornady Ballistic Calc shows at 500 yards it still has 1486 fps, had dropped 55.6 inches (10.6 MOA) which is about 10 inches less then the 55vmax rounds I was shooting. (No calculation for the shooting angle included at this point)

[markm]

Odd are I won't have a spotter this time so I am trying to make it easier for myself. Am I overthinking it?

No. A spotter is the most valuable thing in long range shooting. I could dump 20 rounds just a few inches off the edge of a 500 yard target and not know it. One correction from the spotter, and like you said.... hit after hit.

If you can practice seeing a 3.5 mil holdover, you can already know where most .223 rounds will hit at 500. (at least at our elevation.)

[turnburglar]

M193


the 55gr good stuff.

[TomPenguin5145]

Went out and checked my 69gn SMK/Varget load and it shoots well. POI is the same as 55gn Urban TAP at 50 and 200 yards. Chrono shows 2758fps avg from the 10 shot group.

Touch of swipe on the brass and the primer is starting to flow around the pin, looks similar to fired M193 casings.