[layusn1]

I have read several posts on several forums about Hornady soft point bullets being really good target shooting bullets. Right now I am shooting Speer 52 gr HPBT Match but they are a tad bit expensive. Would these be comparable at such short ranges? What do you guys think of using these instead?

[NuJudge]

How small a group is important to you? For me it is very important. Some years ago I was told to try any 52 or 53gr bullet with 26.5gr 748 and a CCI primer in Winchester brass, and it shoots little knots at 100 yards. For reduced range High Power competition, I've never seen anything better. If there's no wind I can get under 1.25" at 200 yards.

The best I can remember getting with 55's of any sort is about 2".

CDD

[alucard0822]

what rifle do you have, what twist?

[layusn1]

I am getting results like NuJudge's with that load in my RRA AR15 with a 1:9 twist. I want groups as small as possible. I am just wondering how much they will open up if I try to go slightly cheaper.

[Byron]

I have a Remington 700 in 222.The twist is 1 in 14 and a 24" barrel. I have shot differents brands and got what I thought to be good accuracy.I then loaded some Hornady 55 grain SP w/cannelure. At 100 yards it was almost one hole for 5 shots. At 200,it was under 1 1/2 " for 5 shots. It was a perfect day with the temperature about 80 and no wind.That is all I shot now.I get good accuracy in a Mini with this bullet,under 2" at 100 yards. Byron

[alucard0822]

I have had the best luck in my 20" hbar 1:9 with the 60gr v-max, under 1" consistently scoped and off of bags, often getting 5 shot strings closer to 1/2" off of a rest, outside of that I used the winchester 55gr fmj for cheap practice (similar results to the 55gr hdy sp) and get about 1-2" at 100, more than enough to shoot better than I can when I use the irons.

in my bros rem 700SPS bolt with 1:12 anything over 55 gr doesn't do that well, and the best accuracy (mostly outshooting me) comes with 40gr noslers over 27.5 gr of varget, those itty bitty bullets are smokin and hardly drop at all out to 200 yards.

The big difference is that I shoot 100 or so per sitting he only shoots 20-30 at most, so he is not as concerned about cost as you or I

[layusn1]

Like I said, I think I will be very hard pressed to beat the load I have, it is the same as NuJudge's. I use small rifle magnum primers though, but I'm just wondering if I wanted to save a couple of bucks how much would the groups suffer. I'm thinking maybe I should just stick to buying a couple of boxes of 100 every payday and building the 52gr HPBT Match rounds when I can. I certainly don't plan on using my AR for any SHTF scenarios so that is not a concern. Thank you all for the feedback and thank you NuJudge...one more confirmation that if that load doesn't work in your rifle you need a new rifle or a new shooter...lol.

[wcwhitey]

One of the ranges I shoot at is limited to 50 yards for rifle. I usually just shoot handgun there but on occassion the AR will come out. Some time ago I was told by one of the old guys who have shot their for years that in .223 spitzer, meaning flat base bullets, are better for the shorter distances. His reasoning is that Boat Tails take slightly longer distances to settle down or stabilize coming out of the barrel and will be more unsettled than a flat base bullet at 50 yards. At the time I was loading the Sierra 52 BTHP like you and switched to the 53 Matchking HP (flatbase), this is with the exact same powder charge, brass and primer. My groups improved by a 1/8 - 1/4" at the 50 yard line. At 100 yards the groups were basically equal, out to 200 yard the reverse was true and the BT' s gained back the advantage. So the old mans theory was sound and I was able to improve on the groups. As far as savings most of the Sierra's Pro-Hunter and Varminter bullets have the flat base and will save you $1 - $2 per hundred so it cannot hurt to do your own testing. You certainly will not see any major degredation of group size as long as you use quality components. Hope this helps, Bill

[Jim Watson]

Not to get OT or anything, but at 50 -100 yards, a .22 lr does anything I want for a lot less money than buying bullets and burning barrel life of a .223.