Range Report Help w/ the .223.

[Striker1]

I picked up my first M-16 when I was 17 yrs. old down in Ft. Polk in 1973 and did quite well w/ it.

Now I'm 53 and to be honest I haven't a clue as to what this round at 55gr. is capable of as far as a tactical long range round. I know it's not much but I've got my eye on standardizing w/ NATO in case we have to start scrounging for ammo.

I am no longer in any shape to be anything but a burden to a fire team except maybe for precision cover fire. I can't afford to buy .308 ammo and my friends all shoot .223 so I have decided, pending input, to go w/ Savage's 12FV 26" .223 heavy barreled Varminter which is identical in every way except for the finish and an x-tra sling swivel to their FP-10 Tactical and a two inch longer barrel. I am told by Savage techs that it will handle the 5.56 Nato also.

My questions center around the killing effectiveness out past 350mtrs. as pertains to personel.

I'm not a novice shooter but I don't reload and usually use heavier rounds while hunting etc.

Any thoughts? I'd love to get into the minds of some of you shooters out there. This board seems to be full of talent. How 'bout a hand?

 

[JCH]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

I would make sure and get a quicker twist so you can shoot the heavy bullets. I shoot the 69gr SMK's in a 20" sps tactical (1-9 twist) but have yet to work a dope for them.

I also have an 8 twist 223Ackley that will shoot the 75 gr amax out to 800 and beyond. So yeah they are effective if you match the barrel and bullets.

 

[Striker1]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

Are you saying that a 69gr. w/ a 1in 9 aren't compatable?

 

[JCH]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Striker1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Are you saying that a 69gr. w/ a 1in 9 aren't compatable? </div></div>

Nope quite the contrary...they work very well.

 

[Striker1]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

Thanks.

 

[coldboremiracle]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

I shoot a 223 in an ar platform, 24" 1-8 twist. I shoot 75 gr amax's almost exclusively, and the accuracy/ killing power is quite impressive. Practical ranges for this outfit would probably be out to not quite 1k. for little critters, big ones would be much closer.

 

[Striker1]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

With a 62gr. penetrator, what would the maximum effective anti-personel range be. I know there are a lot of variables but for a non-armored target what would I be looking at generally speaking?

26" 1 in 9 twist Savage varminter.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

I've never considered the .223 to be an effective varmint round beyond 300yd, and used .22-250 for longer distance. My 55gr Nosler BT loads no longer produced exit wounds beyond 250yd-ish. DRT, but no exits.

For antipersonnel purposes, it may help to define 'effective'.

The question is whether we are seeking to create a casualty (WIA), or a dead casualty(KIA). I think a termnal energy level of about 250Ft/Lb might be a reasonable breakpoint.

Greg

 

[coldboremiracle]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greg Langelius *</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've never considered the .223 to be an effective varmint round beyond 300yd, </div></div>

Last summer my brother and I were shooting a steel target at 800 yds, I was shooting my Ar with handloaded 75 Amax's, he was shooting his 700 22-250 with handloaded 53 smk's after watching me bang the hell out of the steel, he gave it try, but we never saw any hits. after retrieving the target(that had been hung from an old fencepost) we found out why we never saw any hits from the 250. even though his dope was on, the bullets struck so softly that they barely poked into the fencepost, they could have fallen out from a stiff breeze.
Now, if you shot the same 75 Amax from a 22-250, you would have the same if not better results than those of my .223. so then, I dont think its fair to consider one cartridge effective and one not unless you compare them fairly. a long range loaded .223 will out do the average 22-250 load (50-55 gr bullets) at long range, but that doesn't mean the 250 wouldn't do the same if loaded to do the job.

 

[Sig685]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

If he shot the 75 A-Max out of his 22-250, they would probably never hit a target much past a hundred yards they would bo be tumbling so badly. He probably has a 1:14 or maybe a 1:12 twist in his barrel.

 

[GCMxVeGeTa]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

I have a Savage 12fv in .223. It has a 1:9 twist and will handle 68 gr and 75 gr bullets, I handload Hornady 75 gr A-Max for mine and shoot 500 yards pretty easy. Wind drift at that range is about 1.2 mils @ 10 mph.

If you're only shooting 350 yards, it will do great. And if you don't like loading your own ammo I'd go with Black Hills, they have a lot of different loads, especially reloaded, in .223.

 

[nomad 1]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

Not sure of your of your rate of twist but in the 1-12 or 1-14
shot the 64 gr win power point on deer at less than 100 yards
out of a bolt gun still had 1000lbs of energy, never any problems
with 52-55gr and H-335 powder great groups.
Have shot past 400 shooting wood chucks or in our area rock chucks with 55gr Vmax and Nosler win cases 205m primers.
Have a tikka 1/8 twist shots past 500yards on rockchucks, this
is a stock rifle. 75gr bthp hornady, win cases, RL15 and 205M
Friends have shot AR's out to 750yards on steel several hits
69gr bullets.
A man on Long range hunting web site shoots a 75gr Amax out to 1 mile on a 55gallon drum......
Luck on you labors to find what your looking for........
The wind is NOT you friend with a 223.............

 

[coldboremiracle]

Re: Help w/ the .223.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sig685</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If he shot the 75 A-Max out of his 22-250, they would probably never hit a target much past a hundred yards they would bo be tumbling so badly. He probably has a 1:14 or maybe a 1:12 twist in his barrel. </div></div>

Thats exactly my point, a .223 with a 8 twist and 75's is a better long range varminter than a 12-14 twist 22-250. But a 8 or 9 twist 22-250 would be even better. The original question was about killing power at distance, for that, bullets bigger than 55 are a must. and the wind is not your friend EVER, whether its a .223, 22-250, or .408, it effects them all.