Criterion 223 Remington match chamber

EODsniper

EODsniper

Private
Minuteman
Nov 28, 2020
58
36
Wisconsin
#1
Looking at a criterion prefit shouldered barrel for a Zermatt action chambered in 223 Remington match with a 1:7 twist. It will be fed from mdt .223 aics mags. My question is will this chamber shoot 69gr/
77gr SMK loaded at 2.26” just fine with the .090” freebore? I also intend to shoot heavier reloads which is why I am leaning towards the match chamber vs the Wylde. Anyone have experience with this?
 
#3
I have had two criterion 223 rem match chamber barrels

My COAL's with bullet jammed for my new one are.

berger 75vld 2.473
berger 80vld 2.464


In my old barrel I have shot probably a dozen different bullets from 69 to 80 and have had good
accuracy.

77 Sierra MK bullets are designed for a AR15 magazine there are way better bullets for a
bolt action rifle.
 
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#4
whatsupdoc said:
I have had two criterion 223 rem match chamber barrels

My COAL's with bullet jammed for my new one are.

berger 75vld 2.473
berger 80vld 2.464


In my old barrel I have shot probably a dozen different bullets from 69 to 80 and have had good
accuracy.

77 Sierra MK bullets are designed for a AR15 magazine there are way better bullets for a
bolt action rifle.
Click to expand...
Yeah I get that there’s better but I have a large stockpile of 77gr so was just curious
 
#7
I’ve been getting mine dialed in and it eat the 73gr GMM like a champ while throwing rounds through it before going to deep into load development with a fresh barrel. I’ve even run hornady 55 fmj’s through it with pretty good results considering the jump they are doing.

The couple powder charges I’ve run through it with 75 ELD-M’s have been pretty solid, not exactly to my standards (I’m used to the easy button 6BR stuff) but the barrel had less then 100 rounds through it at that point.
 
#8
King_beardsly said:
I’ve been getting mine dialed in and it eat the 73gr GMM like a champ while throwing rounds through it before going to deep into load development with a fresh barrel. I’ve even run hornady 55 fmj’s through it with pretty good results considering the jump they are doing.

The couple powder charges I’ve run through it with 75 ELD-M’s have been pretty solid, not exactly to my standards (I’m used to the easy button 6BR stuff) but the barrel had less then 100 rounds through it at that point.
Click to expand...

That’s good to hear. My main concern was basically getting a barrel that wouldn’t allow me to use factory ammo but from the sounds of it there is no issue whatsoever. The only deciding factor is that having criterion make a Wylde chambered barrel is a 18 week lead time and northland has the 223 rem match in stock. I have a Krieger 6arc barrel in another bolt gun and 220 rounds is where it finally shrank groups and sped up about 60-75 fps. Everything has still been less than an inch but now we are getting cloverleaf groups. Time to start the handloads.
 
#9
Northland is a great company to deal with and they keep a good variety of stuff on the shelf. I wanted a bull contour in 24” but didn’t want the lead time, so I called up northland and had a 26” to my door in under a week.
 
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#16
King_beardsly said:
I’ve been getting mine dialed in and it eat the 73gr GMM like a champ while throwing rounds through it before going to deep into load development with a fresh barrel. I’ve even run hornady 55 fmj’s through it with pretty good results considering the jump they are doing.

The couple powder charges I’ve run through it with 75 ELD-M’s have been pretty solid, not exactly to my standards (I’m used to the easy button 6BR stuff) but the barrel had less then 100 rounds through it at that point.
Click to expand...

What were the results you were getting with the 75 eldms? The price seems too good to be true on those. My biggest challenge is finding a bullet to go with before buying in bulk. Everything will be over varget since I have a very large amount of that and it already shoots great in my 6arc. So far I’ve narrowed it down to
75gr Berger vld
75gr Hornady eldm
77gr Sierra matchkings
77gr Hornady aeromatch
80gr Sierra matchkings
 
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#18
EODsniper said:
What were the results you were getting with the 75 eldms? The price seems too good to be true on those. My biggest challenge is finding a bullet to go with before buying in bulk. Everything will be over varget since I have a very large amount of that and it already shoots great in my 6arc. So far I’ve narrowed it down to
75gr Berger vld
75gr Hornady eldm
77gr Sierra matchkings
77gr Hornady aeromatch
80gr Sierra matchkings
Click to expand...
I’ve been able to get .5” groups if do my part with the ELD-M’s but most have been like .7” or smaller. I haven’t really worked up a load since I just hit 150ish rounds down the barrel, so I’m thinking it’ll shirk a bit more once I get them dialed in better.
 
#19
When the SMK 80s were unobtainable a few years ago I started shooting 80.5s. I'll never go back to the 80s.
Also the Berger 80VLDs when jammed I found to be very accurate.
 
#21
EODsniper said:
Are you talking about the Berger fullbore? I’ve heard that the vlds are nitpicky about seating depth.
Click to expand...
Yes, the 80.5 are the fullbore. I found them easy to tune.
Like I said about the VLD.. I believe I started at touch and worked my way in. I can lookup the recipe later if you like.
 
#22
TommyD11730 said:
Yes, the 80.5 are the fullbore. I found them easy to tune.
Like I said about the VLD.. I believe I started at touch and worked my way in. I can lookup the recipe later if you like.
Click to expand...

I am looking up the difference between the hybrid target, fullbore and vld from Berger.
I’m always down to see a recipe to tune in my starting point.
 
#23
EODsniper said:
I am looking up the difference between the hybrid target, fullbore and vld from Berger.
I’m always down to see a recipe to tune in my starting point.
Click to expand...
80.5 Bergers, Lapua Brass CCI 400,
CBTO 1.891" ( Measured with SAC comparitor) or 2.472" COAL. 23.70G VARGET , 2820 FPS on a 28" barrel.

The 80VLDS (Berger) 24.92 Varget at 1.907" CBTO or "touch plus .009"". 2960FPS.

YMMV
 
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#25
TommyD11730 said:
80.5 Bergers, Lapua Brass CCI 400,
CBTO 1.891" ( Measured with SAC comparitor) or 2.472" COAL. 23.70G VARGET , 2820 FPS on a 28" barrel.

The 80VLDS (Berger) 24.92 Varget at 1.907" CBTO or "touch plus .009"". 2960FPS.

YMMV
Click to expand...

Do you see any benefit using the 85.5 hybrids over the 80.5 fullbore?
Both show stability over 1.5 on the AB app over 2500fps
 
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