I am interested in acquiring bolt gun in caliber 223 in hopes of shooting up to 600yds. I need help in deciding between the handy 20" barrel Tikka T3 CTR and the 24" model. Rifleshooter published a comprehensive article which showed a 103ft/sec loss of velocity using Federal XM193-55gr ammo. Several years ago I stocked up on that ammo. Can anyone tell me what difference a 100ft/sec at the muzzle will make at 600yds? Is it significant enough to outweigh the handiness of a 20" bbl?
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Difference at 600yds between 20 inch barrel vs 24 inch barrel in caliber 223?
- Thread starter charliebrown1999
- Start date
you can look up exact numbers using an online ballistic calculator, but if you are only going to shoot 600 yards I wouldn't worry about it. I have an 18" AR that hammers at 600 yards. Once you have good data on the load (velocity, bullet BC) it is really a matter of puching the numbers into a ballistic calculator and dialing the scope. one or two more clicks of the turret won't mean much.
Short of capturing lightning in a bottle, your biggest hurdle will be ammo consistency. XM193 is not exactly match grade, and the 55gr projectile isn't amazing either. Hopefully your barrel shoots it well. If not take the empties and load some 69 SMKs.
what is the rifle for? Are you hunting, punching paper, shooting matches? that is what will determine your exact needs. What kind of scope do you have r plan to use?
Short of capturing lightning in a bottle, your biggest hurdle will be ammo consistency. XM193 is not exactly match grade, and the 55gr projectile isn't amazing either. Hopefully your barrel shoots it well. If not take the empties and load some 69 SMKs.
what is the rifle for? Are you hunting, punching paper, shooting matches? that is what will determine your exact needs. What kind of scope do you have r plan to use?
No one here is doing you a favor by working up the answer for you. You need to learn how to figure this out because being able to figure out a bullet trajectory and wind drift (your biggest issue) is a fundamental part of being able a rifleman.
I don't know anything about your rifle shooting background but I'm guessing you have an AR and have hardly, if ever, shot beyond 100 yards.
Don't put too much of your hope on XM-193's accuracy. It's not meant for precision shooting and its bullet will get pushed around by the wind far more than heavier .224" match bullets.
i will be shooting steel plates only and no matches. At 79 with failing eyesight i need to spend more than i want on a good scope. i have a Athlon BTR AMPR FFP 6x24x50 but it is not is not clear even at 300yds. it is also very heavy. so i was thinking of a Leupold 6x18x40 MIL/MIL,
I have an Athlon Ares BTR that I have been pretty happy with. Assuming you are adjusting parallax, you should consider adjusting your diopter if you haven't already. That should help clear things up hopefully.
If you are shooting steel from a static position, I would probably opt for the longer barrel. You have a little more weight in the system and will gain a little more velocity. Both of these should help you shoot better.
If you are shooting steel from a static position, I would probably opt for the longer barrel. You have a little more weight in the system and will gain a little more velocity. Both of these should help you shoot better.
You're going to want to spend double or triple on your scope compared to the rifle if your eyes are going. Also read about proper adjustments as stated above
Thank you so much. I never knew this existed-have been using Hornady which is not very helpful. I appreciate your help.
If you are shooting from a bench or prone, I wouldn't worry about scope weight.
You'll have to decide the budget that you want to spend on a scope since.
Tangent Theta is generally regarded as being one of the best scopes optically, but is very expensive
Zero Compromise Optics, is generally regarded as having almost as good optics, but better reticles and turrents.
Going down from there, your best value is often to be found in the used market.
A Schmidt & Bender 5-25x56, used in good condition usually goes for around the $2500 give or take a bit range. In that price point, you'd be hard pressed to find anything new that competes with the optical quality.
Now if you are not going to do any matches and are shooting from static positions at known distances, with less than perfect eyesight, some of the new Schmidt & Bender, Second Focal plane scopes are amazingly bright and clear, and you may find you prefer the constant reticle size since you don't need to range with it and can use the windage and elevation knobs instead of using the reticle for that.
@koshkin does a great job reviewing all kinds of optics, both on the site here as well as his youtube:
www.youtube.com
I'm also going to suggest that you look into target specific ammunition which usually is in the 69gr and up range, especially with a bolt gun you can drive the long heavies, and that's where a long fast twist barrel helps. You will probably upgrade the barrel once you get really into it.
Lots of folks offer prefit barrel for the Tikka, so that should be easy when the time comes.
You'll have to decide the budget that you want to spend on a scope since.
Tangent Theta is generally regarded as being one of the best scopes optically, but is very expensive
Zero Compromise Optics, is generally regarded as having almost as good optics, but better reticles and turrents.
Going down from there, your best value is often to be found in the used market.
A Schmidt & Bender 5-25x56, used in good condition usually goes for around the $2500 give or take a bit range. In that price point, you'd be hard pressed to find anything new that competes with the optical quality.
Now if you are not going to do any matches and are shooting from static positions at known distances, with less than perfect eyesight, some of the new Schmidt & Bender, Second Focal plane scopes are amazingly bright and clear, and you may find you prefer the constant reticle size since you don't need to range with it and can use the windage and elevation knobs instead of using the reticle for that.
@koshkin does a great job reviewing all kinds of optics, both on the site here as well as his youtube:
Dark Lord Of Optics
Most of what you will see here are some random (and not so random) thoughts on sporting optics of all sorts. I will also intersperse these with other gun rel...
www.youtube.com
I'm also going to suggest that you look into target specific ammunition which usually is in the 69gr and up range, especially with a bolt gun you can drive the long heavies, and that's where a long fast twist barrel helps. You will probably upgrade the barrel once you get really into it.
Lots of folks offer prefit barrel for the Tikka, so that should be easy when the time comes.
