53gr V Max? .223

black lab

Well-Known Member
Hi

Is there anybody out there used 53gr V Max out of their .223? i am looking for some result's.

I have ordered a few boxes of 53gr V Max bullet's to reload, hopefully i will get them this week coming.

Hornady say the BC is .290 which is really good.

I have tried 40gr, 50gr, 55gr V Max all very good.

But the write up's the 53gr V Max is getting is the dog's dangly bit's, or maybe Hornady just doing good "advertising" job! Hence any result's would be very grateful.


ATB
Wullie.
 
Last edited:
I have sako 85 1/12 twist 20"inch barrel. After load testing the 53gr Vmax I've settled on 25gr h322. It's doing 3300 just a smidge quicker than my previous go to load which was with 52gr amax. Still to test in the field but @ 100yrds it looks promising. Going out tomorrow to stretch its legs.
 
I have read the 53gr is very good but you need the faster twist barrel so not for me with the 1/14 22.250 but I use the 55gr on targets to 500yds with very good results .

ATB
 
Cheer's for the come back guy's

I am looking forward to receiving them in the next week or so and give them a try.

ATB
Wullie.
 
Any of these will shoot in a standard 1:14" twist. The .22-250's higher velocity makes the results the same as a .223 1:12" but it's not an issue anyway.

It sounds like hype. Check it out for yourself on the Norma website calculator:-

http://www.norma.cc/en/Ammunition-Academy/Ballistics/

The V-Max figures at 3300 FPS - 100yd Zero - 10mph crosswind are:-

53gr (.290).....@200yds......2622 (fps).......807 (fpe)............drop -2.4".....drift 4.0"

55gr (.255).....@200yds..... 2533 (fps).......783 (fpe)............drop -2.5".....drift 4.6"


53gr (.290).....@300yds......2313 (fps).......629 (fpe)............drop - 9.8".....drift 9.5"

55gr (.255).....@300yds..... 2195 (fps).......588 (fpe)............drop -10.5".....drift 11.1"
 
i know a couple fo the lads on different forums that have tried them in 22/250 with 1 in 14 twist barrel and they wouldnt group very well. it does state on the site a 12 twist should be used for them.
 
i know a couple fo the lads on different forums that have tried them in 22/250 with 1 in 14 twist barrel and they wouldnt group very well. it does state on the site a 12 twist should be used for them.

Strange, but I can't find this warning on the Hornady site. If it is there, they obviously don't want to sell their bullets to .222, or .22-50 shooters. How very peculiar. Hornady obviously doesn't want to stay in business, and millions of shooters of these calibres must be wrong.

All this talk of twist-rates usually makes a fool of whoever raises it. Logically, every bullet is stabilised by a given rate of spin. It seemed to me obvious that much the same rate of spin is imparted to a bullet fired at 3300 FPS in a (.223) 1:12" twist-rate barrel, as that given to a bullet fired at 3700FPS in a (.22-250) 1:14" twist-rate barrel.


http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2008/06/calculating-bullet-rpm-spin-rates-and-stability/


Obviously anecdotal impressions are more important than facts sometimes. After a lot of dickering around I've found the link above. I haven't seen it before, but it's given me a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. Hopefully it'll stop some of the claptrap that's posted on this topic on SD for a while, but that's probably a forlorn hope.
 
Strange, but I can't find this warning on the Hornady site. If it is there, they obviously don't want to sell their bullets to .222, or .22-50 shooters. How very peculiar. Hornady obviously doesn't want to stay in business, and millions of shooters of these calibres must be wrong.

All this talk of twist-rates usually makes a fool of whoever raises it. Logically, every bullet is stabilised by a given rate of spin. It seemed to me obvious that much the same rate of spin is imparted to a bullet fired at 3300 FPS in a (.223) 1:12" twist-rate barrel, as that given to a bullet fired at 3700FPS in a (.22-250) 1:14" twist-rate barrel.


http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2008/06/calculating-bullet-rpm-spin-rates-and-stability/


Obviously anecdotal impressions are more important than facts sometimes. After a lot of dickering around I've found the link above. I haven't seen it before, but it's given me a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. Hopefully it'll stop some of the claptrap that's posted on this topic on SD for a while, but that's probably a forlorn hope.

That's us all told. I must try those 90gr Bergers now, i obviously just need more powder behind it.
 
Strange, but I can't find this warning on the Hornady site. If it is there, they obviously don't want to sell their bullets to .222, or .22-50 shooters. How very peculiar. Hornady obviously doesn't want to stay in business, and millions of shooters of these calibres must be wrong.

All this talk of twist-rates usually makes a fool of whoever raises it. Logically, every bullet is stabilised by a given rate of spin. It seemed to me obvious that much the same rate of spin is imparted to a bullet fired at 3300 FPS in a (.223) 1:12" twist-rate barrel, as that given to a bullet fired at 3700FPS in a (.22-250) 1:14" twist-rate barrel.


http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2008/06/calculating-bullet-rpm-spin-rates-and-stability/


Obviously anecdotal impressions are more important than facts sometimes. After a lot of dickering around I've found the link above. I haven't seen it before, but it's given me a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. Hopefully it'll stop some of the claptrap that's posted on this topic on SD for a while, but that's probably a forlorn hope.

+1 thanks Sinistral for the link.

I've been using this bullet stability calculator to help me choose a new barrel for my .222:
http://www.cbal.eu/stab.php

B
ullet lengths are from here:
http://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistics/lengths/lengths.shtml

From what I understand for a given weight of bullet, say a 50gr, and at a set muzzle velocity it is the bullet length that determines what the optimal twist rate is. A 50gr V-max is longer than a 50gr spire point standard soft point and has a faster optimal twist. Perhaps the 50gr V-Max should have a faster 1:9" twist, but the 50gr soft point is better with a slower 1:12" twist. And then each barrel is different....
 
My 1:12 and 1:8 .223 shoot these fine, usual v-max performance. My friend's 1:14 22-250 launched them all over the place. Fact/anecdote, it happened.
 
Last edited:
And my old VSSF .22-250 shot well with 50gr Nosler BTs and 55gr V-maxs, but hated 52gr A-max. Who knows....
 
Back
Top