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

[Billy Goat]

I've enjoyed getting back into shooting .223s thanks to this thread. I am curious though, what kind of accuracy do you see out of the RSS shooting 77 TMKs?

I can't decide if I'm asking way too much out of my rifles or if maybe I need to take everything apart and put them back together again.

For the rifles that shoot them well, my Gen 2 Ruger American Ranch will occasionally print a 5-shot group at 100 yards under 1", but never better than 3/4".

That will kill well enough, but where I hunt, Virginia, the smallest we can go is .243...

Am I expecting too much or should I take everything apart and start over?

I was disappointed in the accuracy of my RSS. It's routinely 1.5 moa 10 shot groups, don't think I have ever seen it drop below 1.25 with TMK's. It was pretty ugly with cheap frontier ammo. Played with some different powders, but it seems that's all it would do.

I was going to rebarrel it as I was expecting better accuracy, I kept shooting it. Accuracy didn't improve, however I did realize that it didn't effect it's lethality. With a scope that dials reliably, I'm killing groundhogs out to 400 yards without issue. It just works, in my mind I'm thinking I'm only in a 6inch circle at that range, but it just keeps working. It's the spend more time shooting less time worrying with things that don't matter. For a 400 yard gun, 1.5 moa is just fine.

 

[wind gypsy]

Prices are coming down a lil.

I have noticed that a few sites will bump up the cost per round if you order the larger lots. Cheaper to order 10 20 round boxes than it is to order 200..

Look at fastammo's listing..

View attachment 758647

Fast Ammo and Gman's schtick is to have the lowest price on ammoseek and then eff you on shipping. There are usually options with a little higher per rd cost but much better shipping that ends up being a better buy.

@TimberHunter @Lawnboi - my hornady factory 73 ammo does not have crimped primers.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Fast Ammo and Gman's schtick is to have the lowest price on ammoseek and then eff you on shipping. There are usually options with a little higher per rd cost but much better shipping that ends up being a better buy.

I almost bought from Gman over the weekend but having never heard of them decided to do a little research. Saw where people stated they were charged anywhere from 60$ to 130$ for shipping of ammo orders. Couldn’t close that page out fast enough.

 

[The Guide]

I almost bought from Gman over the weekend but having never heard of them decided to do a little research. Saw where people stated they were charged anywhere from 60$ to 130$ for shipping of ammo orders. Couldn’t close that page out fast enough.

Look at Target Sports USA if you want a reliable and reputable company. Free shipping on cases. Makes the prices the other guys are offering look poor when you add in shipping.

Jay

Hornady Match 223 Ammo 73 Grain ELD Match - 80269

Hornady Match 223 Remington Ammunition 73 Grain ELD Match - 80269 at Target Sports USA with free shipping available. Enjoy deals on 223 Remington ammo|^||^|

www.targetsportsusa.com

 

[sierracharlie338]

Look at Target Sports USA if you want a reliable and reputable company. Free shipping on cases. Makes the prices the other guys are offering look poor when you add in shipping.

Jay

Hornady Match 223 Ammo 73 Grain ELD Match - 80269

Hornady Match 223 Remington Ammunition 73 Grain ELD Match - 80269 at Target Sports USA with free shipping available. Enjoy deals on 223 Remington ammo|^||^|

www.targetsportsusa.com

Good info thanks man

 

[Hummerdawg]

Midway has TMK’s

 

[fwafwow]

I hear you on shipping. I include a shipping filter (better than “x” rating) when doing an ammoseek search.

 

[eoperator]

Yup their website says 1-8" which is why I ordered 500. But the box says 1-7" which is why I confirmed it on the barrel twist calculator. I shot a sub half inch with them today during load work up and took them out to 800 yards. I'm at 2230 feet elevation but others at sea level might have issues.

The guy I spoke with this morning at hornady said all of the test data that was available to him was with 8 twist barrels and all showed good consistent bc. So he expected in all but extreme situations they would be good to go in 1/8 barrels.

 

[xsn10s]

The guy I spoke with this morning at hornady said all of the test data that was available to him was with 8 twist barrels and all showed good consistent bc. So he expected in all but extreme situations they would be good to go in 1/8 barrels.

Good to know, thanks for the update. They shoot well from my 8 twist. I can't wait to try them on some yotes or badgers.

 

[PistolPete]

The guy I spoke with this morning at hornady said all of the test data that was available to him was with 8 twist barrels and all showed good consistent bc. So he expected in all but extreme situations they would be good to go in 1/8 barrels.

Does that include the 88s?

 

[eoperator]

Does that include the 88s?

Didnt ask about 88's.

I do know at 1200ft ~30deg accuracy was very poor in my 1-8 with 88's.

 

[TimberHunter]

Deleting question. Found the answer

 

[SouthPaw]

Mind sharing the load?

23.2 8208xbr, cci450.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Guys that are running cci 450s….

Traditionally the 223 hasn’t needed a mag primer so I’m curious as to the justification there or if it’s just because I want to? Or is it because you hunt in freezing temps?

Just curious.

 

[Kimmo H]

Guys that are running cci 450s….

Traditionally the 223 hasn’t needed a mag primer so I’m curious as to the justification there or if it’s just because I want to? Or is it because you hunt in freezing temps?

Just curious.

I use 450 on hot loads to avoid pierced primers. My go to load with the 75gr Hornady HPBT works great with the 450s, but standard primers can't handle the pressure and most are really on the edge of puncturing especially from a hot barrel.

Federal AR gold medal primers seem pretty pressure tolerant aswell.

 

[Billogna]

23.2 8208xbr, cci450.

What COAL?

 

[SouthPaw]

What COAL?

2.42ish. I use the Waters mags for extending COAL.

Guys that are running cci 450s….

Traditionally the 223 hasn’t needed a mag primer so I’m curious as to the justification there or if it’s just because I want to? Or is it because you hunt in freezing temps?

Just curious.

Like said above they handle pressure better, and I use 450s for all my Creedmoor size guns too. Thus 95% of my shooting can be the same primer and it happens to be available more often than others.

 

[FB Trout]

Guys that are running cci 450s….

Traditionally the 223 hasn’t needed a mag primer so I’m curious as to the justification there or if it’s just because I want to? Or is it because you hunt in freezing temps?

Just curious.

Same here, I use 450s because of the thicker cup, they are also more available here locally.

 

[sierracharlie338]

I use 450 on hot loads to avoid pierced primers. My go to load with the 75gr Hornady HPBT works great with the 450s, but standard primers can't handle the pressure and most are really on the edge of puncturing especially from a hot barrel.

Federal AR gold medal primers seem pretty pressure tolerant aswell.

2.42ish. I use the Waters mags for extending COAL.


Like said above they handle pressure better, and I use 450s for all my Creedmoor size guns too. Thus 95% of my shooting can be the same primer and it happens to be available more often than others.

Same here, I use 450s because of the thicker cup, they are also more available here locally.

Makes sense all. I’m not seeing any pressure with my initial loads so guess I’ll keep an eye on them. Sure wish I could load them longer than a factory mag but don’t want to jump on the Water bandwagon just yet.

 

[IDHoundsman]

2.26” coal compatible and generally available:

77gr TMK
69gr TMK (sufficient, but less penetration)
73gr ELD-M (sufficient but TC isn’t as long)
77gr Berger OTM (higher upset velocity required)
85gr Barnes MatchBurner (good wound channels with a longer neck length)
62gr Federal Fusion (lower BC)
62 and 75gr Speer Gold Dot (62gr identical to Fusion, 75gr very good wounding)

Potentially the AAC 75gr Saber.


Not 2.26” compatible:

88gr ELD-M
80gr ELD-M
75gr ELD-M
80gr ELD-X



That’s about it for the major ones, though I’m sure there are one or two I am missing. The 77gr TMK is more like the high water mark for all around performance, though it is not the sole good .224 bullet.

Might be a dumb question, but what do you mean by TC when referring to the 73 ELDM?