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

[mt100gr.]

Question on PSA ammo. I'm going to have a Tikka factory SS lite 223 barrel cut and threaded at 16". For ammo, I'm looking at aac 556 75bthp and the aac 556 77tmk.

Do you think I should go ahead and buy a boatload, or should I buy 20 of each and then decide? I know availability has been spotty the last couple years, and I likely won't have my barrel done for a few weeks.

My Tikka shoots the AAC 77TMK load very well. Though the ammo in hand isn't all that impressive....some are a little wonky even to the naked eye. I haven't tried the AAC 75gr offering, but my rifle has done well with other 75gr bthp, 73 eldm, 73 otm, and some others in that realm. I'd gamble on the rifle liking it, personally.

 

[rabbithuntr]

Question on PSA ammo. I'm going to have a Tikka factory SS lite 223 barrel cut and threaded at 16". For ammo, I'm looking at aac 556 75bthp and the aac 556 77tmk.

Do you think I should go ahead and buy a boatload, or should I buy 20 of each and then decide? I know availability has been spotty the last couple years, and I likely won't have my barrel done for a few weeks.

I’ll bet if you get a bunch and your rifle doesn’t like it you could probably get your money back if you sell it when it’s out of stock.

 

[justinspicher]

Question on PSA ammo. I'm going to have a Tikka factory SS lite 223 barrel cut and threaded at 16". For ammo, I'm looking at aac 556 75bthp and the aac 556 77tmk.

Do you think I should go ahead and buy a boatload, or should I buy 20 of each and then decide? I know availability has been spotty the last couple years, and I likely won't have my barrel done for a few weeks.

I say buy a boatload of both. Then you have training and hunting ammo.

 

[ElPollo]

I say buy a boatload of both. Then you have training and hunting ammo.

Agree. My 18” Tikka shoots the AAC TMK load with only marginally larger groups than Black Hills for less than half the cost. At $0.60 per round for the 75 and $0.80 for the TMK, buy a thousand of each.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Agree. My 18” Tikka shoots the AAC TMK load with only marginally larger groups than Black Hills for less than half the cost. At $0.60 per round for the 75 and $0.80 for the TMK, buy a thousand of each.

Oddly enough my daughters tikka shot the AAC 75s slightly better than the black hills but nothing drastic

 

[HighUintas]

Thanks for the advice. I'd planned on buying both for sure, at least to test, but didn't know if it was likely enough to be accurate to warrant buying a large amount immediately or if I could have just a good of chance of being stuck with a ton of 3moa ammo

 

[Jbone62]

im sure this has been asked or addressed on one of the previous pages but if some
Of us are hunting in California IE lead free is the .223 still optimal or should it be bumped up to the 6.5 creedmoor?

Are their lead free bullet recommendations for both calibers?

 

[Steve300xcw]

Question on PSA ammo. I'm going to have a Tikka factory SS lite 223 barrel cut and threaded at 16". For ammo, I'm looking at aac 556 75bthp and the aac 556 77tmk.

Do you think I should go ahead and buy a boatload, or should I buy 20 of each and then decide? I know availability has been spotty the last couple years, and I likely won't have my barrel done for a few weeks.

I wouldnt overlook the aac 77gr OTM stuff either. Has been around $0.50-$0.55 per round for a while now. Have been pretty happy with the stuff

 

[Tahr]

im sure this has been asked or addressed on one of the previous pages but if some
Of us are hunting in California IE lead free is the .223 still optimal or should it be bumped up to the 6.5 creedmoor?

Are their lead free bullet recommendations for both calibers?

There are some excellent lead free projectiles for the .223. Ive posted about the Maker and Hammer projectiles. Others' use Barnes. Use lighter weights and drive them fast. 55-65 grn class. Don't become so enamoured by the 77TMK that it blinds you to other 223 cal options. There are plenty of .223 bullets in solid copper and traditional configuration that wont let you down without stepping up to a bigger caliber.

 

[Poe]

Question on PSA ammo. I'm going to have a Tikka factory SS lite 223 barrel cut and threaded at 16". For ammo, I'm looking at aac 556 75bthp and the aac 556 77tmk.

Do you think I should go ahead and buy a boatload, or should I buy 20 of each and then decide? I know availability has been spotty the last couple years, and I likely won't have my barrel done for a few weeks.

I would guess that if by chance your rifle didn’t like them it wouldn’t be hard to resell the ammo and get your money back out of them

 

[BigNate]

im sure this has been asked or addressed on one of the previous pages but if some
Of us are hunting in California IE lead free is the .223 still optimal or should it be bumped up to the 6.5 creedmoor?

Are their lead free bullet recommendations for both calibers?

I'm not familiar with big game regs in CA, but I have used 50gr ttsx out of a .223 on a couple does without drama. I've also used 45gr tsx out of a .22-250. They worked fine but even with the higher velocity, I think the 50gr ttsx made a better wound channel in spite of being a little slower.
All of these were close shots. I have not tried copper at longer ranges.

 

[Deere_Man]

im sure this has been asked or addressed on one of the previous pages but if some
Of us are hunting in California IE lead free is the .223 still optimal or should it be bumped up to the 6.5 creedmoor?

Are their lead free bullet recommendations for both calibers?

I’d opt for the lighter copper bullets in a 223, especially in a short barrel. You can get factory Hornady Superformance loaded with 50gr CX.

 

[sierracharlie338]

im sure this has been asked or addressed on one of the previous pages but if some
Of us are hunting in California IE lead free is the .223 still optimal or should it be bumped up to the 6.5 creedmoor?

Are their lead free bullet recommendations for both calibers?

@Tahr

Listen to this guy ^^^^

 

[Thegman]

There are some excellent lead free projectiles for the .223. Ive posted about the Maker and Hammer projectiles. Others' use Barnes. Use lighter weights and drive them fast. 55-65 grn class. Don't become so enamoured by the 77TMK that it blinds you to other 223 cal options. There are plenty of .223 bullets in solid copper and traditional configuration that wont let you down without stepping up to a bigger caliber.

Have you used heavier copper .224 bullets (70+ grains) as well to compare with what you see from the lighter copper bullets? If so, what's your take on the differences?

I appreciate all the different bullets you mess with and your reviews of them. I've got some 30 caliber Makers I want to try. After seeing your .224 Maker performance, figured I might give those a try as well.

 

[Tahr]

Have you used heavier copper .224 bullets (70+ grains) as well to compare with what you see from the lighter copper bullets? If so, what's your take on the differences?

I appreciate all the different bullets you mess with and your reviews of them. I've got some 30 caliber Makers I want to try. After seeing your .224 Maker performance, figured I might give those a try as well.

62 grn is the heaviest mono Ive used on game. I have some 68 Hammer Tipped to try but with the little bit of fiddling Ive done I cant quite get them to shoot accurately enough (using W748 I'm getting 3K fps). 70 grns with the monos seems to be the cut off point for stabilising with a 1:8. I continue to be impressed by the 62 Makers.

 

[ElPollo]

im sure this has been asked or addressed on one of the previous pages but if some
Of us are hunting in California IE lead free is the .223 still optimal or should it be bumped up to the 6.5 creedmoor?

Are their lead free bullet recommendations for both calibers?

If I was in CA and set up to handload, these would be top of my list to try. DRT also sells loaded ammo, but I don’t believe they ship to CA. There have been some posts of kills with these in this thread and the 6.5 thread. They seem to perform about like Bergers.

DRT Terminal Shock™ Elite .224 Diameter 79gr Projectile 50 pcs – DRT Ammo

drtammo.com

 

[Bugger]

I've also used 45gr tsx out of a .22-250. They worked fine but even with the higher velocity, I think the 50gr ttsx made a better wound channel in spite of being a little slower.

Curious to hear more about the 45 TSX in the 22-250. I’ve got a box of them that on first load shot really well, looking to spice it up to the book max of ~4100. How’d the wounds look on deer?

 

[BigNate]

Curious to hear more about the 45 TSX in the 22-250. I’ve got a box of them that on first load shot really well, looking to spice it up to the book max of ~4100. How’d the wounds look on deer?

I didn't have any rodeos, but all shots were through the ribs. I try to take the bundle off the top of the heart. The holes in the lungs were tears and approximately 2" across. Up close I got a exit just less than a quarter, one didn't exit at a little longer distance, probably 140ish. I didn't find the bullet. They did die quickly but very little blood if tracking is going to be an issue.
I can use whatever here, and switched to 64gr BSB for that gun. It's a slow twist m77. The Hornady 55gr spire point works wee to. Velocity matters on the copper.

 

[Bugger]

I didn't have any rodeos, but all shots were through the ribs. I try to take the bundle off the top of the heart. The holes in the lungs were tears and approximately 2" across. Up close I got a exit just less than a quarter, one didn't exit at a little longer distance, probably 140ish. I didn't find the bullet. They did die quickly but very little blood if tracking is going to be an issue.
I can use whatever here, and switched to 64gr BSB for that gun. It's a slow twist m77. The Hornady 55gr spire point works wee to. Velocity matters on the copper.

Thanks, that’s not quite what I was hoping for up close with how fast the velocity drops off that tiny bullet. Already down in the low 2k’s at 300y.

 

[KyleR1985]

Question on PSA ammo. I'm going to have a Tikka factory SS lite 223 barrel cut and threaded at 16". For ammo, I'm looking at aac 556 75bthp and the aac 556 77tmk.

Do you think I should go ahead and buy a boatload, or should I buy 20 of each and then decide? I know availability has been spotty the last couple years, and I likely won't have my barrel done for a few weeks.

Only downside to the AAC is speed.

About 150fps slower than BH for me, and 200 less than my hand loads with 2.39 coal.

If that velocity loss isn’t a factor, load up.