Range Report 223 Bolt vs 223 Semi-Auto

Brand new Thompson Center Venture II bolt versus proven older Colt Match Semi-Auto

All groups 10 rounds or more, as noted. All groups at 100 yards. 71 deg F. 5100 feet elev. 5-15 mph breeze. Mixed range pick up brass & CCI-400 primers for all hand loads. I traced around a quarter to make target.

All groups for T/C bolt shot sitting, sand bags front and back, slow fire, bench rest style, red targets.

All groups for Colt Match shot sitting, bipod and elbows, rapid fire, 10 round groups in 30 seconds, blue targets.

I learned a few things during the comparison.
1. The T/C will make a fine coyote gun with the Athlon Illuminated Reticle.
2. I will have to clean the T/C bore about every 100 shots because accuracy drops off.
3. The T/C magazine needs some work.
4. I can use factory ammo for coyote hunting with the T/C out to 300 yards.
5. A well set up AR is tough to beat, even when the rules are slanted.

Going forward, I plan to use CFE 223 exclusively, because I have a bunch. I will miss Varget, BL-c(2), IMR-3031 and LT-32.

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Milt1 said:

On #2 above you must mean every 100 shots?

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Yes, thank you for the catch, fixed.

Wreck-n-Crew said:

So these were just a random mix of handloads and factory loads?

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Yes. Targets 1 thru 12 various handloads, targets 13 thru 22 various factory loads.

BigBore44 said:

You should be able to send the TC back. They have a sub MOA guarantee. That’s the worst I’ve ever seen a Venture shoot. Is the Venture 2 a 1:12 twist like the original Venture?

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The Venture II in 223 is 1 in 9 twist. Tell me more about the sub MOA guarantee.

The groups above are 10 rounds each. If a rifle shoots sub MOA for three rounds, what would you expect MOA to be for 10 rounds?

BigBore44 said:

I didn’t realize you were shooting IMI FMJ.

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Agree, the IMI 193 isn’t the most accurate. And it’s super hot 556 - about 3400 fps. But it’s darn fun to plink with, and I have lots of it.

The IMI 855 steel core shot ok. The IMI 77 gr HPBT-Match shot ok too, and will be my coyote round, because I have a bunch of it and I won’t worry about picking up my cases.

BigBore44 said:

So what are your impressions of the rifle overall?

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The rifle will serve my purpose. Hunting. Work it hard and won’t worry about it, scratches, dents, etc. Snow, mud, dirt, rain. Something I wouldn’t do with a wood stocked Ruger, Winchester or CZ. I’ll put a can on it and have fun!

Dibbs said:

That's an interesting gas block and hand guard on the Colt. Is the match series barrel still 1:7 twist ? Is the gas block stock?

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The gas block, gas tube and barrel are all Krieger supplied. I sent the gun to Krieger a few years ago and the original H-bar barrel was replaced with a Krieger heavy.

Unfortunately the Nosler 64 grain protected tip bullets with IMR-4166 powder didn’t do well in the Venture II.

That is a good coyote bullet.

entropy said:

We have a winner! #10.

#17 is a great group for factory ammo.

I'd say either will work for field use, and like you say, you don't have to worry about the T/C's finish then.

I use 55 gr. V-max for coyotes, as well as deer. I loaded some 60 gr. Partitions for deer, haven't got out to see how they shoot yet, maybe Thursday.

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I agree. Should be a fine hunting rifle.

Update. Hand lapped the T/C barrel. Disassembled the box Mag and reconfigured the flat spring to fix a magazine feeing issue. Shortened and strengthened the magazine latch mechanism.

Result. Now shoots factory round IMI Razor Core 77 gain HPBT-Match 10 rounds into 1 inch group at 100 yards. No more magazine feeding issues. No more “bumping” the Mag out of battery.

Time to take it hunting.

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South Prairie Jim said:

@Ru4real

How did you arrive at those charge weights?

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Good question, and it’s pretty obvious you see my “error” - neither gun has really been “tested”.

Years ago I did ladder testing with the Colt match when it had the factory barrel. A particular load used 25.7 grains of Varget. When I got the Krieger barrel, I shot those 25.7 gain Varget loads up and upped the charge to 26 grains because just about everything shot well (sub MOA) out of the Krieger barrel with Wylde chamber. Same “switch to whole number powder charges” for the BL-c(2), LT-32, IMR-3031, etc. charges.

So, my handloads are not custom to either gun in this thread. Just what I’ve had on hand to shoot through the T/C. And none are up to the standard you set for your 6BR. I handloaded thousands of 223 about 3 years ago and I should be in a spot to have to handload more in about 2 years.

I will probably ladder test the T/C then, and just shoot the results in the Colt, because like I said, it shoots just about everything well.

MarshallDodge said:

@Ru4real Those targets look familiar

My experience with CFE223 has been decent. It seems like it wants to be loaded on the hotter side, similar to 8208XBR.

Benchmark and H322 don't always give the highest velocity but my experience is they can be very very accurate in the 222 and 223.

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Now that I look a little closer at your avatar, it looks like you are shooting off the mechanical rest at Wasatch. True?

My limited experience in a couple calibers is similar to yours regarding CFE223.

Fill the case up, brush off the excess, tap the case on the bench a couple times to settle CFE223 and seat the bullet, LOL. (I’m kidding, but not far off)