.223 1:8 Twist - Bullet Recommendations

[6.5-06 TIKKA]

I found great success with Sierra matchking 77gr and Hornady 75gr Amax.
Berger 70 gr VLD were brilliant too.
Hope this helps

 

[nick.308]

I like the 60gr hornady V max in my 1:8.
The 75g Amax / ELD shoot well but the longer bullets dont fit in the magazine so Im sticking with the 60gr vmax

 

[6.5-06 TIKKA]

Have you considered the Hornady 68gr hpbt Match bullets. They are shorter and might be ok for the magazine and better in the wind too ?

 

[JTO]

80 Gr A-Max goes well in mine, but so does 40 Gr Nosler BT.
Just started to work up a load for 40 Gr V-max.

24" barrel.

40 gr Nosler ballistic tip bullets worked OK with Benchmark but having trouble with 40 gr V-max and BL C-(2).

 

[long_range_rob]

Berger 73gn Match (used to be called the length tolerant bullet) I’ve used it successfully to 600 yds and is designed to be seated to 2.250” OAL

 

[6.5-06 TIKKA]

Yeah the 73gr LTB was developed with Berger and the British Army I was told.

 

[C h r i s]

Got a strong feeling of deja-vu here....

My Tikka T3x 22.5" 1 in 8" will happily shoot most stuff from 40gn Vmax to 75gn.

 

[Scotty99]

I am currently shooting Winchester Silvertips 55grn in my Tikka 3X with 1:8 twist and they group 3/4 inch at 100 yards. So ok and acceptable having said that I’m about to start working up a load for 60 grn VMax to see if I can get it to group 1/2 inch. Generally the 1:8 twist should shoot well and stabilise heavier bullets in the 60 to 75 grn range. Trial and error is the only way to be sure for your individual rifle.

 

[Bowland blades]

This is the sort of answering I was hoping for. From what I had picked up reading was that heavier bullets will stabilise better in a faster barrel. But I wasn’t sure if this meant lighter bullets wouldn’t?

so long as you dont get enough rotational speed as to destroy the bullet in flight " dusting " the round your all good , effectively you cannot over stabilize but you can spin a bullet too fast for it to hold together ( very much doubt a 223 could do that at its regular velocity, real fast twist 22-250 / 22 swift/ 22 creedmore might but then - why would you? ) .

 

[Laurie]

( very much doubt a 223 could do that at its regular velocity, real fast twist 22-250 / 22 swift/ 22 creedmore might but then - why would you?

Fast twist 223s regularly cause bullet blow-up. Their MVs and hence bullet rotational speeds are more than high enough with some bullet weights/designs.

Having said that, 8-twist is such that it's a rarity in this case. I once blew up a bunch of 53gn Hornady AMaxes in my first 8-twist barrel, a match grade Lilja, with what were unexceptional MVs for the bullet weight in 223. I'd worked the loads up in winter without problems, but they failed at around 90 yards in a grey puff of smoke on a hot summer day after the first few rounds built fouling up in the barrel. (The first five rounds from a clean barrel would be fine; the next few saw accuracy collapse; from around round #12 every one disintegrated - so a fox shooter replicating that load with the near identical VMax might well not have noticed a problem taking fewer shots between barrel cleans.)

In the US where 223 Rem is widely used in F/TR competition, especially 500/600 mid-range matches, very long 90gn bullets are the norm. A 7-inch rifling pitch is the minimum, but twist rate calculators say 6.75 gives better stabilisation and some bullet companies recommend 6.5. Most competitors have reverted to the 7-inch pitch or just a small fraction below, because bullet blow-up has become such a major problem with some bullet makes/models even at 90gn MVs. Ambient temperatures are often higher much higher than we'd ever see, and competitors 'string shoot' in the US version of the discipline, so 20+ shots often go downrange very quickly indeed, especially now that electronic target marking has become the norm. Hot barrels + fast twists = bullet stress even at 223 MVs

 

[Bowland blades]

Fast twist 223s regularly cause bullet blow-up. Their MVs and hence bullet rotational speeds are more than high enough with some bullet weights/designs.

Having said that, 8-twist is such that it's a rarity in this case. I once blew up a bunch of 53gn Hornady AMaxes in my first 8-twist barrel, a match grade Lilja, with what were unexceptional MVs for the bullet weight in 223. I'd worked the loads up in winter without problems, but they failed at around 90 yards in a grey puff of smoke on a hot summer day after the first few rounds built fouling up in the barrel. (The first five rounds from a clean barrel would be fine; the next few saw accuracy collapse; from around round #12 every one disintegrated - so a fox shooter replicating that load with the near identical VMax might well not have noticed a problem taking fewer shots between barrel cleans.)

In the US where 223 Rem is widely used in F/TR competition, especially 500/600 mid-range matches, very long 90gn bullets are the norm. A 7-inch rifling pitch is the minimum, but twist rate calculators say 6.75 gives better stabilisation and some bullet companies recommend 6.5. Most competitors have reverted to the 7-inch pitch or just a small fraction below, because bullet blow-up has become such a major problem with some bullet makes/models even at 90gn MVs. Ambient temperatures are often higher much higher than we'd ever see, and competitors 'string shoot' in the US version of the discipline, so 20+ shots often go downrange very quickly indeed, especially now that electronic target marking has become the norm. Hot barrels + fast twists = bullet stress even at 223 MVs

yeah true but its very rare to blow a bullet going 1-8 and you need to be right up there to a degree that's achievable with a true sporter length barrel that's usually shorter as a hunting rifle than gerally used to suit moderators ( am running 20" myself ) , running 7 or 61/2 twists in a long barrel it might be good to stick with the heavies and i suspect any who might have that set up are doing it to shoot long high bc bullets of greater length not 35 v -max and such. personally if i was chasing speed in a fast twist i would be thinking 22 creedmore , 22-250 Ai not a short barreled 223 rem .

 

[scrumbag]

I am currently shooting Winchester Silvertips 55grn in my Tikka 3X with 1:8 twist and they group 3/4 inch at 100 yards. So ok and acceptable having said that I’m about to start working up a load for 60 grn VMax to see if I can get it to group 1/2 inch. Generally the 1:8 twist should shoot well and stabilise heavier bullets in the 60 to 75 grn range. Trial and error is the only way to be sure for your individual rifle.

I like the look of that 60gr VMax

 

[Scotty99]

I like the look of that 60gr VMax

So do I, I’m really keen to see how they shoot in my Tikka. It’s setup with NV for foxes, I expect the 60grn Vmax to be really effective.

 

[long_range_rob]

73gn LTB’s

 

[trickie]

Got a strong feeling of deja-vu here....

My Tikka T3x 22.5" 1 in 8" will happily shoot most stuff from 40gn Vmax to 75gn.

My Tikka has a 24” (well 23.5 in reality I think) barrel 1 in 8 twist. Loves the Hornady ELD M75gr and N540 600 is a dream to shoot

 

[Fox Red]

77gr TMK’s work well in mine, but I’m tempted to also try the 69gr TMKs too