.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

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You can practice and kill with the 73 ELDM and gather Hornady brass but your @~$1.20 to $1.30 per shot. AAC Sabre Blade Black Tips are about $0.60 each and you still get uncrimped brass but of unknown quality.

Jay

The Sabre blade black tips are 556 correct? Do we know much about the bullet?


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Marbles

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For like $0.05 is there a reason you dont just shoot the 73 or 75 elds and have the option to just use them hunting?
Because I have about 700 of the 77 gr TMKs on hand and load them for hunting. So prefer the cheaper bullet for practice.
 

fwafwow

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For those that don't reload - as I see the Black Hills 77 TMKs becoming scarce as hen's teeth (the most recent availability was Creedmoor Sports for $1.50 per, before taxes or shipping), I'm wondering why I don't just load up on Hornady 73 ELDs and save quite a bit (at around $1.10).
 

Lawnboi

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After far too much analysis, the koolaid has been drank!

I went with the tikka lite with a 22” barrel (will thread and cut depending on my velocity). Ordered up some sport match 30mm rings (sorry UM!) from Airgun AZ and hopefully they’re not shipping from the UK lol. Also got a mountian tactical trigger spring and tikka vertical grip. Will also get a longer mag so I can load the COAL further out

I will be loading 77 TMKs or 75 ELDMs for this rifle when it comes to hunting and practice but for the first 100 or so shots through the gun for speed up and to build up my brass storeage, should I go with AAC 556, ADI 223 or Hornady frontier 223? Also wonder about starline brass?

Thanks for the info!


I have both. Both okay brass.

I’d do adi in your case just because I like to check function with factory ammo before I go nuts. I’m at 5 times fired on my adi and it’s worked well. The 55bk adi ammo also blows about any other factory ammo away.

You may or may not have to size the Starline.

75 eldm will not fit in the mag. You will need aftermarket for it.

73 eldm or 75 bthp will work fine, along with the 77smk.
 

Lawnboi

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You can practice and kill with the 73 ELDM and gather Hornady brass but your @~$1.20 to $1.30 per shot. AAC Sabre Blade Black Tips are about $0.60 each and you still get uncrimped brass but of unknown quality.

Jay
Not crimped? Everything Hornady 223 I have ever shot has had a crimp.
 

Lawnboi

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For those that don't reload - as I see the Black Hills 77 TMKs becoming scarce as hen's teeth (the most recent availability was Creedmoor Sports for $1.50 per, before taxes or shipping), I'm wondering why I don't just load up on Hornady 73 ELDs and save quite a bit (at around $1.10).
Did you get xbr when it was around.

The 73 with xbr or Benchmark, will be stupid easy to load a heck of a lot cheaper than you can buy factory ammo.
 

Lawnboi

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According to Berger's Barrel Twist calculator they a "marginally stabilized". So yes a faster twist would be most likely better. At my altitude they seem fine under current conditions. If it gets colder or I go to lower elevation then who knows.
Run it on Hornady too, they do some different stuff with determining the gyro of their tipped bullets.

I’m pushing it on 75eldm at my home range when it gets cold (~1.3 gyro) and havnt had issues. Not sure I’d push it anymore though.
 

fwafwow

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Did you get xbr when it was around.

The 73 with xbr or Benchmark, will be stupid easy to load a heck of a lot cheaper than you can buy factory ammo.
I don't reload. Whether I should is a different story, but I just don't see it happening for me.
 

xsn10s

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Run it on Hornady too, they do some different stuff with determining the gyro of their tipped bullets.

I’m pushing it on 75eldm at my home range when it gets cold (~1.3 gyro) and havnt had issues. Not sure I’d push it anymore though.
Got a link to their barrel twist calculator? I did a search and couldn't find it.
 

Lawnboi

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Learn something new. Hornady's app says 1.23 gyro. That's even worse than Berger's twist calculator.
Yea that’s pushing it. When I asked the Hornady guy on the hide he said he will use stuff in the 1.2-1.3 range occasionally.

I’m in the same boat with the 75 eldm. Back home, when it’s cold, it’s pushing it. But once I break 4000 feet it’s fine in all weather.

The obvious solution is to buy a 7 twist barrel! Wish mine was, but when I bought the blank I didn’t know.
 

The Guide

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Not crimped? Everything Hornady 223 I have ever shot has had a crimp.
So I'm not super familiar with crimping. My Black Hills is fairly obviously crimped.
1000003354.jpg

The AAC does not look crimped to me.
1000003353.jpg

I'm not sure about the Hornady as it looks normal so if they crimp the primers it is done very concentric and close to the primer.

1000003352.jpg1000003351.jpg

If it is crimped, I'll quit saving it. I'm not really interested in messing with crimped brass.

Jay
 

Lawnboi

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So I'm not super familiar with crimping. My Black Hills is fairly obviously crimped.
View attachment 758773

The AAC does not look crimped to me.
View attachment 758774

I'm not sure about the Hornady as it looks normal so if they crimp the primers it is done very concentric and close to the primer.

View attachment 758775View attachment 758776

If it is crimped, I'll quit saving it. I'm not really interested in messing with crimped brass.

Jay
Hornady does a crimp that is continuous. Not staked like the black hills, Pop a primer out and it will be obvious.

I wouldn’t waste my time (and I have) with mixed lot crimped Hornady brass again. Especially when Starline and adi can be had so cheap. Atleast not on stuff I’m shooting out of a bolt gun.
 

Stocky

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Learn something new. Hornady's app says 1.23 gyro. That's even worse than Berger's twist calculator.
The hornady is actually based on the bullets point Mass and is way more accurate. Google "4dof SG gyro" there's a document on all the 4dof terms. But in summary everything with a gyro over 1 is stable. I just make sure the bullets stable at the worst case situation I might hunt in ie sea level and cold.
 

xsn10s

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The hornady is actually based on the bullets point Mass and is way more accurate. Google "4dof SG gyro" there's a document on all the 4dof terms. But in summary everything with a gyro over 1 is stable. I just make sure the bullets stable at the worst case situation I might hunt in ie sea level and cold.
I was trying to find if that term meant something else but couldn't find their glossary. Thanks for clearing that up.
 
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