Another newbie question...

[The Plainsman]

It seems like half the threads in this forum are newbie posts, so I'll add mine. Understand that even at my advanced DOB, if you put what I know about reloading in a peapod, it'd rattle like a BB in a boxcar.

I recently acquired a used Lee Pro1000 and various Lee die sets, etc. I would like to reload 9mm, .38spcl, maybe .357, and finally .223. I plan to start with the .223.

I thought it would be fun to make something a little exotic rather than just mimic the factory loads, so I'm looking at maybe a 35 or 40 gr bullet, like a Sierra BlitzKing or a Hornady V-Max, probably using Varget, something kinda "hot".

Here's my question(s) - has anyone here reloaded .223 with this light a bullet? What kind of results did you get in terms of accuracy? Any recommends, one way or the other, on this idea? Any other recommends that haven't already been covered in this forum?

Thanks,

Kurt

P.S. This ammo would be used in a Savage bolt action rifle.

 

[TrapperReady]

I would think it depends upon the twist-rate of the rifling in your barrel. I checked the Savage Arms web-site, and it looks like their standard bolt-gun in .223 has a 1 in 9" twist.

According to the www.ammo-oracle.com website, the lighter bullets benefit from a slower twist rate, 1 in 12" to 1 in 14".

I don't know specifically how much that would effect the accuracy out of your rifle, but I would think you might do better with something a little heavier.

You may want to double-check the exact stats for your particular rifle, and then peruse the ammo-oracle website. They've got a TON of info on .223.

 

[larryw]

I think TrapperReady is right that your Savage will benefit from a longer (heavier) bullet and probably won't shoot the short bullets well (they may fly apart due to the twist).

If yours differs from Savage's standard 9", and is 12" or 14" like my Rem 700, then I highly recommend the 40gr V-Max bullet. I'm loading it for both my gun and a buddy's. We're both getting 1/2" 5 shot groups. H322, IMR4198 and N133 worked great for the 26" long barrels (4198 was best but didn't meter well, 133 is very close and meters great).

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Here's more good information on twist-rate from Fulton-Armory.