223 recommendation for 14.5" 1:7 barrel

I've got a 14.5" Daniel Defense cold hammer forged 1:7 barrel chambered in 5.56 Nato on a custom built AR flat top carbine. She's been performing extremely well with the iron flip up sights but I want to see how she can REALLY group. I should have a mount and scope in the mail by the weekend. I recently picked up a set of Hornady 223 dies for my LNL progressive press and have run a thousand or so once fired Lake City 5.56 cases through FL sizing, cleaned and reamed primer pockets and flash holes, and re-primed with CCI small rifle magnum primers, now I need to settle on a bullet and powder combo. Just wondering if anyone has a good published load they have had success with through a tight twist shorty like this. I would assume 62gr and up bullets with powders on the faster side are probably a good direction to lean but experience rules out guesswork so let me know if you have something working well for you. Mind you I am looking for max accuracy out to 300 yards, I don't have anywhere to shoot any further than that. Please only published loads, I will drop back to starting loads and work up to your recommendation.

Thanks Folks!!!

Certainly not, but I do have a 2" muzzle brake welded on . But thanks for policing my build sir, you never know when you're going to catch an enthusiast educated enough in his discipline to build his own ammunition and sharp enough to establish his own purpose for a custom built rifle and develop a component list to fulfill it and locate a builder reputable enough to pull it off yet DUMB enough to post the stats of an illegal firearm that would land said enthusiast in a federal penitentiary far away from his beloved obsession for ten years in a row...but you keep tryin bro

Now...waddya know about a recipe for me?

That kind of strong reaction reminds me of when I asked my wife how her diet was going.

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That wasn't a strong reaction dear boy, you should have picked up on that but omitted the smiley in your quote. I didn't assume any mal-intent and fell long short of implying any illegal activity. I merely invited the snickers of you and others at the implication in your question hoping to draw your own attention to your quick and short sighted assumption. If, in your judgement, my reply constitutes a strong reaction I might suggest applying those same standards to your question which included no smiley's or LOL's. Either there is a hint of implication or you have an extremely dry sense of humor. I would like to believe, and would applaud, if it were the latter. Assuming the latter and a sharpenned sense of humor you can certainly spot the irony that I'm struck with when digesting the intensley patriotic excerpt from the Declaration of Independence in your signature then also your nickname...I, being a true patriot, married American. Then 14 years later divorced american, hahaha. Lighten up my friend, it's all for fun right?

Seriously husband...lets remain on topic and stifle the drama. My OP is an honest question and pursuit, surely your patriotic ethos permit me the ability to pursue it free from persecution.

Jim and mntcreek: thanks a ton for useful and practical replies, I will order some of each of the suggested weights of SMK's and a good dose of Varget. That powder seems to carry the general nod for loading this caliber so I reckon it's a good steer.

rcmodel: I'll give the V-max a look too and a big thanks for the steer away from the military 62gr FMJ-BT. I was about to order a big box of collet pulled surplus bullets for loading as plinkers...no sense plinkin around my target...I'd prefer to hit it...everytime.


Be Well,

-BunnMan

Isn't the standard 20" HBAR a 1:9?

Thanks for the direction folks. I got enough here to do some decent experimentatn with. I've heard tales of stripping the jackets off light bullets but never actually heard anybody say they saw it happen. It does shoot 55's pretty well, best groups being around 3" at 100yds through the iron sights. Those weren't surplus rounds but ammo produced by the same folks that built my rifle. They are also a licensed ammo manufacturer. I know it's lake city brass and hornady bullets but not sure about primers and powder. I know they aren't CCI, they had gold primers in them.

Now I gotta go and order a chrono, this is just too interesting to not know. I want to get one anyway so I reckon I'll move that plan to the front burner. I've got a Kalashnikov in 223 with a 20" 1:9 heavy barrel and this shorty AR. I'm dying to know the difference in velocity between the two firing the same cartridge. I don't suppose the different twist rates should influence it that much. Do you really think it's going to cost 550fps out of the shorter barrel? Certainly there will be a reduction but I didn't think it would be that drastic.

I've done some reading about the MK262 out of the M4 in the recent past and the Navy Seal Snipers in the middle east seem to have a lot of praise for that cartridge. If I remember the text right I believe they were engaging targets out to 300 with excellent accuracy and effect out of the little M4. The book is a great read and included alot of detail on ballistics of various rounds in use by US snipers. You need a stomach and head for it because the various authors don't spare much of the psycholigical organ physical detail. If you want to sharpen your shooting knowledge and build a whole new dimension of respect for what our fighting forces are doing for us its well worth your time...book is called Trigger Men. It shocked me that the Seal Snipers over there are employing the M4 as a viable tool when they have so many other weapons at their disposal but its a consistent choice for high volume scenarios. This is the line of thinking that got me leaning toward heavier bullets, I just figured faster powders because I don't have the last few milliseconds of pressure behind the bullet before it clears my handy little carbine.