First .223 reloading results

[KRW]

Evening all, finally managed to get out and do a little more experimenting with load testing,
I made some 22gn, 22.5gn and 23gn to get an idea of where I needed to be from the initial 21.5gn loads previously made.
The 22gn shot very similar but slightly tighter group than the previous 21.5gn, 23gn put two on the 3" target with third above, 22.5gn put all three rounds on target and not a million miles away from similar results with Federal 53gn factory, all at 100yd
Will now knock some up with 0.1gn increments either side of the 22.5 to attempt to achieve tighter groups before extending ranges.

 

[DVS1]

If you don't mind me asking what size are the orange stickers your aiming at? What mag on the scope do you use?

What primers are you using also? I first tried federal primers in my 223 loads with groups around the 1moa mark, switched to BR4 CCI primers and groups shrank considerably! Maybe worth trying a different primer if your not happy with any results or struggle to get under 1moa.

I'd also be inclined to use a fine aiming mark and with higher mag, I shoot on around 10x but load dev is done with 15-20x for a refined aiming point. Perhaps try dry firing 5-10 rounds to get in the groove prior to shooting for groups.

Also what neck tension are you using...1 thou, 2 thou, or more??

 

[Will the chippy]

The group you shot with the hornady superformance is a testament to how you and that rifle can shoot, but the results from your reloads arnt even close. If your keen to reload I'd be buying some of those 53g vmax bullets and go from there, they obviously suit your gun. I tried some ppu softpoints and got similar results to you, best group was 1.5inch. hopeless, swapped to hornady softpoint and all my test loads were around 0.5 inch, it made a massive difference.
My foxing gun has an 8 x56 s+b scope which is not the best for load development, not enough mag and a fairly thick reticule. Ive found a diamond shaped target so much better as I can line my cross hairs with the points of the diamond and I'm not having to guess where the centre of the target is.
Best of luck,

 

[KRW]

If you don't mind me asking what size are the orange stickers your aiming at? What mag on the scope do you use?

What primers are you using also? I first tried federal primers in my 223 loads with groups around the 1moa mark, switched to BR4 CCI primers and groups shrank considerably! Maybe worth trying a different primer if your not happy with any results or struggle to get under 1moa.

I'd also be inclined to use a fine aiming mark and with higher mag, I shoot on around 10x but load dev is done with 15-20x for a refined aiming point. Perhaps try dry firing 5-10 rounds to get in the groove prior to shooting for groups.

Also what neck tension are you using...1 thou, 2 thou, or more??

75mm disc 12 x mag @ 100yd, CCI Primers, hand loading with Lee Classic one at a time.
Not too disappointed with results so far and way things are going , next stage is a little more fine tuning of loads

 

[KRW]

The group you shot with the hornady superformance is a testament to how you and that rifle can shoot, but the results from your reloads arnt even close. If your keen to reload I'd be buying some of those 53g vmax bullets and go from there, they obviously suit your gun. I tried some ppu softpoints and got similar results to you, best group was 1.5inch. hopeless, swapped to hornady softpoint and all my test loads were around 0.5 inch, it made a massive difference.
My foxing gun has an 8 x56 s+b scope which is not the best for load development, not enough mag and a fairly thick reticule. Ive found a diamond shaped target so much better as I can line my cross hairs with the points of the diamond and I'm not having to guess where the centre of the target is.
Best of luck,

Yes the Hornady look to be well suited, I just lost faith with the brand due to 2 x misfires out of the first seven rounds out of the box, I also fancied getting back into reloading so as to future proof myself should the impending Lead ban come into fruition, I'll buy enough kit to see me out once satisfied with a decently accurate combination .

 

[jimo]

Reading back through the thread I can’t see any mention of seating depth. If the 53grn Hornady are shooting so well are you setting your home loads at the same length to ogive? I found I used to loose track of adjustments to my Classic Loaders so I put a bit of tape with a pen mark on both halves.

 

[User00044]

Bit of a faff achieving this , your 53 gn group .

Don't be afraid of getting more powder behind them , consistency is important at this stage stick to tuning the load .

#22 + #23 , some good advice in there .

 

[75]

Is it a new rifle or old? May explain your misfires.

I’d be sticking with the superperformance with a 4 shot <1/2” group rather than the hand loads at 3 shot 3” group!

 

[wabbit warren]

Hi
Im loading 53gn vmax in .223
ive a 20" barrel Tikka t3 x lite
it loves the hornady rounds anyway but
so 24.3 gn of Viht N133 gave me consistent sub 1/2 MOA groups
setting the bullet length to the same as the factory superformance rounds
enjoy your shooting
Ian

 

[trickie]

Just use a ruler and pen, draw a cross on the 75mm target, aim small miss small.

 

[KRW]

Is it a new rifle or old? May explain your misfires.

I’d be sticking with the superperformance with a 4 shot <1/2” group rather than the hand loads at 3 shot 3” group!

The .223 is a 2009 CZ527 that is in very good condition, after the first Hornady Superformace misfire the bolt was stripped cleaned and inspected and nothing untoward found, but with a second misfire and round seven also failing, the remainder of the box was used up on targets, no further issues with Federal, PPU or home loads to date so strongly suspect a bad batch/box of Hornady.

The first round that failed fired on the second attempt, the second round that failed refused to fire after three attempts.

I do have some replacement Superformance on the way courtesy of Hornady USA customer services via Edgar Bros and will test those on paper and see if I can repeat the accuracy on paper...no pressure there then

 

[KRW]

Hi
Im loading 53gn vmax in .223
ive a 20" barrel Tikka t3 x lite
it loves the hornady rounds anyway but
so 24.3 gn of Viht N133 gave me consistent sub 1/2 MOA groups
setting the bullet length to the same as the factory superformance rounds
enjoy your shooting
Ian

Working my way up Ian

 

[KRW]

Just use a ruler and pen, draw a cross on the 75mm target, aim small miss small.

Just using these orange stickers as had some left over from a job and they can be clearly seen (as a target aim point) with my old eyes at 100yd, might have to look at a higher mag scope as DVS1 mentioned earlier.

 

[Lancaster]

Thanks for all of your input guys, as above, the plan is to start low and work my way up and so as to be able to also see improvements along the way.
What I didn't realise is how quick just a few rounds can heat up the barrel, the fifteen shots taken on the targets in the image posted at beginning of the thread was probably over a 10 minute or so period and the barrel was quite warm when finished and removing the mod.

I will be shooting a remaining 6 x 21.5gn loads that I have already made up on the same targets first off and when I next get out and see if the heat may have affected anything as they were last shots on target last timearound.

Re: cooling your barrel.
When testing a load I shoot a 3 shot group, or 5 shots if I am final fine tuning, then go for a wander down range and mark the target.
Before I go down range I remove the bolt and stand the rifle up resting on the butt, the barrel acts like a chimney with the warm air rising to the muzzle and cooler air entering the chamber and replacing it, using an IR thermometer you can see that it cools down much quicker than if just left horizontally on bags etc.

 

[KRW]

Managed to get out yesterday evening with the the latest batch of N133 & 55gn Speer reloads for testing.

3 shots on each 75mm target @ 100yd with powder charge either side of the previous 22.5gn (22.3gn to 22.7gn) and as the previous 23gn was all over the show.

Not quite completely sure how to interpret yesterdays result as first 22.3gn grouped well along with last 22.7gn group, Conditions were not as calm as would have liked with a pretty consistent left to right steady breeze.

Plan now is to put some more 22.7gn together along with some 22.9gn and some 31.1gn and see how we go on a calm day with no wind or breeze which didn't help me yesterday.

The bottom target is the remainder of the factory PPU 55gn for comparison

 

[bakereloadprune]

Hi KRW, just wanted to say I've been following this thread and really like the updates and suggestions from other members...keep it going!

Thanks

 

[trickie]

It is difficult trying to find the best load for your rifle, especially in variable conditions. We have access to a 100 yard indoor range at Rifleman, however it’s a few hours from you. It does make choosing your load easier.

This was my 6.5 CM load test. I’d marked the cartridges with marker pens to identify the different loads, then left my list on the reloading desk. That explains the seemingly random order as the details were added after returning home.

 

[Foxyboy43]

The .223 is a 2009 CZ527 that is in very good condition, after the first Hornady Superformace misfire the bolt was stripped cleaned and inspected and nothing untoward found, but with a second misfire and round seven also failing, the remainder of the box was used up on targets, no further issues with Federal, PPU or home loads to date so strongly suspect a bad batch/box of Hornady.

The first round that failed fired on the second attempt, the second round that failed refused to fire after three attempts.

I do have some replacement Superformance on the way courtesy of Hornady USA customer services via Edgar Bros and will test those on paper and see if I can repeat the accuracy on paper...no pressure there then

Hmmm.
A few issues reported with Superperformance

53grn hornady super performance misfires

Don't put grease in the bolt anywhere as suggested! Only the lightest of oil if any! Dump the superformance junk and move on, as others have suggested. A light coating of oil and wipe down is all I done, there getting binned after this if the same problem is there, the rfd is only a 10 mile...

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

In this case bolt strip and clean sorted it.

 

[KRW]

Oh the luxury of an indoor range…..
as mentioned, I need to get out when a tad stiller conditions or find a more sheltered area, present one is off the farm track shooting into an earth bunded area for a muck heap which is bang on 100yd and ideal apart from when the wind picks up.

 

[DVS1]

You say the conditions weren't as still as you'd have liked (totally get the need to itch a scratch lol) but was the wind from left to right?

22.3gr has a POI further right than the 22.7gr so you may be having to take into account a poi to the right at longer ranges IF that POI is consistent.

The 22.7gr is marginally right and looks to be in line with the PUU bench mark so seems a constant plus you have a lovely group. May be worth trying them out too distance to check if the group opens considerably.