223 cartridge ?

C

cornhusker

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 10, 2012
414
2
75
Towandaa,Pa
#1
I recently built a wylde on a savage action with 7 twist bull barrel.Haven't been able to really
give it a try except for getting it sighted in close enough for now at 200 yards...Bad weather
and all this rain..
Anyway,on doing some searching on the web all I find is information about this cartridge
for semi actions. Wondering why there is nothing for a bolt action rifle. Unless I just over
looked it..I see Hornady has loading info for the 5.56 so this is what I am going to use
instead of the regular 223 info...Any information will be appreciated...
 
#3
Pick any reasonable powder and heavy bullet combination then find at what OACL your lands are, you'll likely be constrained by mag length first, subtract .020" either way. Like Varget and 80' or 90's, and start low in charge weight, while doing a ladder test at 300Y on a calm morning (google ladder testing). When you see a flat primer first/warm pressure, ejector smear next/high pressure, and finally a sticky bolt/above max pressure. Stopping at ejector smear and backing up is usually where my rifles shoot best and usually where a node is just with a flatish primer for that combo. Often there are two nodes, a low and a high. You can pick the low node if there are any concerns.

I just did another ladder test last week "done many with fantastic results" on a big magnum this time with a new combo of components. In 6 shots I had my load, shots 4 and 5 landed into half inch at 400Y. I loaded 50 cartridges and put in ridiculous low vertical further at 675Y and 810Y later in the week.

You can google OCW testing too, about the same thing but can be done at 100Y.

There's this https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/forum/...t/145-223-5-56
 
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#5
I use one in LR competition. 75gn Hornady HPBT's and Berger 70's gave me great performance for years. Lighter bullets really hated the fast twist from my 9 twist and with my new 7 twist they're even worse. Now that Hornady released the 75gn ELD-M I'm using those pretty heavily. All 3 bullets seem to love being run hard. All of my loads are over book by at least half a grain but don't even show flat primers yet. Personally I load them all to jam hard and back them with CCI 450's or #41's with Benchmark or BL-C(2). My gun is set up with zero headspace and I neck size only. Best brass I've gotten for consistency and results so far has been, surprisingly, PPU.
 
#6
Yes I reload
Are the rifles you mention bolt action or semis?
I'm saying that I find little or not much in on the 223 wylde chamber in bolt action rifles..
I have all of Hornady heavy bullets just looking for other people that may have this
type of set up..
 
#7
Most people running a .223 for long range have a fast twist a Wylde style chamber with a longer free bore for the heavier bullets. It's nothing out of the ordinary. Might not be called a "Wylde" so don;t get hung up on that name but they have longer freebore than a standard .223. I just had one made for using the 75 ELDs. You need to make a dummy round for your chamber and bullet you are using to find the OAL. You can use .223 load data and just work up. You can find data here http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

The link above that Steve posted has load data for bolt guns and semi autos. Just go through it.
 
#8
The Wylde chamber has a longer freebore which lets you run higher charges before encountering pressure problems; just work up the charge safely. You should be able to push 75gr bullets 3000fps for great trajectories out to 1000yd. 80gr too, but don't try 90gr unless you're prepared for lengthy load development. I like 75 Amax for steel and 80.5 Berger for Fclass. Lake City brass shoots as well as any after proper prep, and has the highest capacity which is your friend.
 
#9
spamassassin said:
I use one in LR competition. 75gn Hornady HPBT's and Berger 70's gave me great performance for years. Lighter bullets really hated the fast twist from my 9 twist and with my new 7 twist they're even worse. Now that Hornady released the 75gn ELD-M I'm using those pretty heavily. All 3 bullets seem to love being run hard. All of my loads are over book by at least half a grain but don't even show flat primers yet. Personally I load them all to jam hard and back them with CCI 450's or #41's with Benchmark or BL-C(2). My gun is set up with zero headspace and I neck size only. Best brass I've gotten for consistency and results so far has been, surprisingly, PPU.
Click to expand...

What kind of LR competition? Thanks

 
#11
I am just saying or asking why there is not much info on this on the net. Seems like everything is about the black
rifles.AR'S I have all the loading data I need and my chamber is cut longer to shoot up to 90 gr bullets.
Just seems there would be more information on the wylde in bolt rifles..Mine is a single shot anyway so no worry
about a magazine fit...Thanks for your replies.I plan on doing some shooting Wed. if it isn't raining again..Anxious to try it at
500 yards...
 
#13
I ran a 223 last year in a match because that's all I had. I used 69 gr TMK, and performed better than I expected. My rifle only has a 20" barrel - Rem 700 SPS TAC - but I was thinking if I had a 26" 1/7 twist I could run something like the 80 gr Berger and may do much better than expected. I am curious if I push the load and use a 26" barrel if I can get 75 or 80 grain bullets close to or over 3000 fps.

Spamassassin what are the specs on your rifle?
 
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#14
The Hornady 10th Edition Handbook of Cartridge Reloading has three sections devoted to the .223/5.56 cartridge. The .223 section has loads for up to 60 gr bullets and is likely intended for Bolt Action Varmint loads, likely with twists of around 12". The Service Rifle section has loads to 80gr, is intended for gas guns, and can likely be effective with twists of around 1:8". The 5.56mm section covers a similar range of bullets and likely the same twist, formulated for the 5.56 case.

I use the same load for my 24" barrels; one a 24" 1:8" Stag Super Varminter AR, the other a 24" 1:9" Savage 11VT bolt rifle. It uses unprepped Winchester brass, the Hornady 75gr HPBT-Match seated to USGI magazine length. 24.4gr of Varget (24.6 is Hornady listed max), and the CCI BR-4 primer. It performed well in both rifles in F T/R 600yd MR competition earlier this year. The Winchester brass is a departure from my usual PPU brass, which I purchase as PPU 55gr FMJ ammunition, and intend to continue using. I use the 55FMJ as trainup ammo at 100yd, where accuracy is less varied from the match handload, then recycle the PPU into match Handloads.

I use the Hornady 75gr HPBT-Match because it i the longest bullet I like for use in the 1:9" twist, and it may not stabilize in shorter barrels. The 75gr A-Max and possibly the ELD-M are too long for that twist and may not feed from USGI length magazines. I have not tried the 77 Sierra and probably won't; the Hornady works quite well enough for my needs.

While I see that some shooters use the .223 for distances of out to 1000yd, I stop at 600yd, and use the .308 and/or 260 for the full length course. As such, the 1:7" twist, while having the higher potential, is unnecessary for my goals.

Greg
 
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#15
Just received my T3X varmint 223 today, can't wait to start sending some rounds down range... I gotta round me up an optic first and some good ammo... From all I've read about this rifle, I'm excited to get started..
 
#16
I also have a Remington 700 SPS Tac, which has a 20" 1-9" Remington barrel. I did load dev this spring with the Nosler RDF 70 grain and AR Comp. I had 1k wolf cases primed that I picked up a few years ago cheap, so just neck sizing and using a VLD chamfer, I dump in 23.0 grains AR Comp, set it 0.020" of the lands and it's about .4 MOA out to 300 yards. It's only 2850fps, but has an SD of 5.3, and the fill is about 98-99%.

I have a Wyatt's DBM set up, COAL is 2.370".

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 
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