40gr jacketed HP in 223rem

Status
Not open for further replies.
Tinybob

Tinybob

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Messages
339
Location
South Arkansas
Has anybody tried 40gr HP JHP in 223?

The bullet looks like it's designed for the Hornet and it's .224".

I'm going to try it out with H322, but wanted to ask around too.

P.S.
They're on clearance from Midway CHEAP!
 
The velocity they expand at is MUCH lower than the 223 and the jacket is very thin so if you do use them be sure to reduce your loads to hornet speeds so the bullet will not come apart in flight. Then the POI will be different and you will have to adjust aim point for it. Worth the trouble? I approximate them to levels used in plated bullets for accuracy use. YMMV

The hornet reloaders will thank you for the heads up on the price reduction though.;)
 
Agree on reducing your normal 223 load when using Hornet projectiles. A lot will also depend on your barrel twist rate. If it's 1-12 like the old 223's...you can crank them out pretty decently but if you're running a 1-9 or even worse 1-7 you'll get to the point of 'blue streak' downrange much quicker. Will be interesting to hear about your experiences with them.:)
 
I'll be loading for a mini 14 with a 1 in 9 twist. Hopefully I can get the speed down enough and still cycle.
 
Technical Information
  • These bullets may or may not have a cannelure present. The presence of a cannelure may vary between boxes.
  • The color of polymer tipped bullets may vary between boxes.
  • A generic image of a similar bullet is shown.



Blemished Bullet Reloading Tip: Since these bullets do have slight blemishes it is always better to check bullets for defects in diameter before loading
Click to expand...

"it is always better to check bullets for defects in diameter"

Bought some Blem 60 Gr (XTPs?) from Midway, and a great many were undersized. I am very leery of buying blems now, even though up until then I had great luck with them.

Plus the part about "may or may not have a cannelure" makes me leery as well.

With the addition of "A generic image is shown" I would have a hard time trying Blems from Midway now.

Those are cheap though.

Some great bullets for .223 priced real nice right now.

https://www.midwayusa.com/50-to-65-grain/br?cid=22042
 
I loaded some 40 and 45 gr bullets in 223. Go through the load development process to find an accurate load. Out of a 1:9 barrel you can easily spin the bullets so fast they disintegrate into a puff of grey smoke at about 50 meters, so chase accuracy rather than velocity.
 
I shoot 40's and 45's in my 22-250's but never thought of trying them in a 223. No reason why it shouldn't work, depending on the performance and purpose.
Do a work up and hit the range.
 
I did a little more looking into what this bullet is actually designed for. The closest representative picture of them are Armscore loaded ammo for 22TCM. They measure .2235 in diameter.

I've tried some load development with H322 from 23.5gr up to 25gr. No "blue streak" yet but accuracy is bad(even considering the unaccurized mini14) at 50yds. I'm now starting on imr 4198. First group at 19.5gr was better than the other groups with h322.

I'm having trouble getting these short little bullets to seat straight. Non-concintric even to the unaided eye.

I'm using once fired (by myself) FC brass, WSR primer, a no name 40gr JHP bullet w/cann, OAL is 2.047"(case head to bullet tip) seated to cannelure, also using Lee FCD. I'm firing these in a model 183 mini 14 with a barrel mounted scout scope rail, glass is a simmons pro hunter handgun scope 4x30mm.

Any suggestions so far?
 
Last edited:
I used to shoot 40 grain tipped varmageddons in a 223 with a 1:14 twist. They shot great. I would suggest trying Accurate 2015. You may need to back down to a lower charge weight. You might be over pressuring the bullet or spinning it too fast since its designed for a low pressure cartridge.
 
Update on IMR 4198 trial.

So yesterday I loaded up a function test with 19grs down to 15grs. I found they all fired reliably. 15 and 15.5grs won't feed with a full mag. 16grs completely is functional. I'll load for accuracy test starting at 16grs and go from there.

Also I fixed the seating problem by putting a slight flare on the case mouth before charging and seating.

I'll revisit H322 for a reduced load at some point in time.
 
That bullet appears to be designed to feed through a leveraction rifle. I just ordered 1,500 of them for my Marlin 1894CL in .218 Bee. If they don't prove to be accurate in my rifle, I can at least use them for fireforming .32-20 brass to .218 Bee after sizing them down.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
MidwayUSA now shows them as out of stock.
$29.95/100 AIN'T CHEAP!

I bought 1000 from GRAFS for $58 shipped. 1/5 of what MidwayUSA was initially selling them for. Grafs has been out for over a year, now.

When MidwayUSA first listed them, I sent them an e-mail asking if that price was correct. They replied YES! I sent them a link to Armscor website.
MidwayUSA sent me a non responsive email stating they priced according to their cost, bla, bla, bla.

I hope you got them for under 10/100 shipped.

I really like the ones I've got. I'm using them in both .218 Bee and .22Hornet.
They're about 1.2moa from my rifles. My Marlin 1894CL likes them over 14.0gr of H4198 with a small pistol primer.

If when you run out you want more, ARMSCOR's storefront is ammosupplywarehouse.com
They're $59.97/1,000 plus shipping.
 
Last edited:
I just thought the ones I got were cheap, I was looking through clearance on Midway.
 
Last edited:
GooseGestapo,

They came to $122.00, delivered, for 1,500 bullets. That was after the NRA roundup, so I figured they were reasonable. I bought 1,000 of the Armscor .22 TCM when Graf's had them, but I'm about out of those. A friend has been swaging me 45 gr. .224" bullets using .22 Short brass, but that's in "short" supply around here. These should get me through for awhile, but I've been having really good accuracy in the .218 Bee with AA 1680. Even when fireforming, I'm getting tiny little groups with it.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Interesting thread. I'm going to order 1k of the 40grn TCM bullets from ammosupplywarehouse.com for my Hornet and maybe .223. The check out asked if I had a discount code. Where do I find that if any are available. I did sign up for their email. PS my old 788 in .223 is 1-12" twist so these should be interesting out of it.
 
Last edited:
I've decided on a load for the off label use of this 40gr bullet.

FC once fired brass
16grs of IMR4198
Winchester small rifle primer
OAL of 2.040"(from case head to bullet tip)

This groups 0.8" at 50yds, cycles action, locks back when MT in my mini 14.

As promised I'll go back and do a function test for lower charges of H322.

Thank yall for your interest and support!
 
Accuracy is not good at the reduced charges for H322. I'm also seeing unburned powder and cases are not sealing the chamber, very dirty. That's the end of this pursuit.
 
The only how low can you go and cycle an AR was with SR-4759 & AA 5744, both of which are designed for downloading rifle calibers.

I needed 18.0 Grs of 5744 to cycle and it gave right at 2500 FPS. 17.5 Grs was very erratic velocity wise and didn't always cycle. 18.5 Grs gave around 2600 FPS.

17.5 Grs of SR-4759 gave around 2700 FPS and worked well. I did not try it any lower.

I did not shoot for accuracy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

drband
Bullet selection for .22TCM
Replies
7
Views
1K
drband
drband
A
  • Locked
seirra 60gr HP-discontinued?
Replies
5
Views
435
ArchAngelCD
ArchAngelCD
F
  • Locked
Time to swage 223rem jacketed bullets again
Replies
14
Views
1K
forrest r
F
A
  • Locked
bullet and powder?
Replies
17
Views
722
FROGO207
FROGO207
S
  • Locked
124 RMR jacketed HP expansion test
Replies
12
Views
3K
Dudedog
Dudedog
Back
Top