H335 and 55 Gr FMJBT accurate load for 100-300 yards

[TC66]

I am looking for a accurate load of H335 and 55 Gr FMJBT. I am not interested in a barrel burner just a very accurate load from 100 - 300 yards. Anyone have an accurate favorite?

It will be shot from an AR-15 with a 24 inch 1/8 twist broach cut Ultra Match barrel.

Thanks
Tom

 

[Rockstar]

Based on my experience, you won't find a "magic" load for your AR that's accurate, without doing some load work for that particular rifle. A load that would work with somebody else's AR with the same barrel might not be accurate in your AR. I'd suggest that you start with the data in the manuals and work up slowly, just like all the reloading manuals recommend.

Even the brand/lot of bullets will affect accuracy in your AR.

 

[dleong]

Given the twist rate (1-in-8) and length (24") of the barrel, a 55 gr. projectile might not yield the best accuracy at the ranges you are considering.

My regular 55 gr. FMJ handloads, which use 22.6 grs. of WC844 (the milsurp equivalent of H335) loaded to a COL of 2.220", were reasonably accurate when shot out of my 16" and 20" ARs with 1-in-9 twist barrels. However, they were all over the target when I tried shooting them through my 24" AR with a 1-in-8 twist barrel.

After a lot of experimentation with different projectiles and powders, I finally found a recipe that yielded satisfactorily tight groupings at 200 yards: a 75 gr. Hornady HPBT projectile atop 21.5 grs. of WC 844 at a COL of 2.250".

As Rockstar has indicated, be prepared to spend a bit of time experimenting to find a load that works in your particular AR.


DL

 

[Grump]

IME, there's a world of difference between any FMJBT and the HPBT match bullets cited by dleong. Decent M193-type bullets will almost always do 3 MOA, and you might find loads to do 2 MOA (I have found several that did so out of 1-12 and 1-9 barrels), and some people report close to 1 MOA with really good lots of FMJBTs and a few legendary lots of surplus M193-type ammo...but only if fired from match barrels. I suspect many of these performances are with 3-shot groups, which reveal amost nothing from a statistical repeatability standpoint, especially if you're shooting 10-shot strings on a typical HP match.

Your HPBTs from Sierra, Hornady, and Nosler should all shoot 1 MOA or less all day long from any decent barrel and every "match" barrel. If not, something's wrong or your got a bad barrel. A good barrel will do 1/2 MOA if you do your part--I've seen others do it with iron sights, too.

 

[TC66]

I am doing 1.25 inch groups right now with factory loaded ammo 55 Gr FMJBT. If I can do that with factory I know I can do much better with my own loads. I was just looking for something that might be a good starting point.

I use 45 gr HP's in my 16 inch barreled AR and am getting 1/2 groups at 100 yards. It has a Match Grade barrel. The 24 inch barrel is better than the 16 inch. It is Super Ultra Match chambered in .223 not the 5.56 Nato. The throat is much shorter in the .223 chamber.

Why shoot anything Less than Match Grade or Ultra Match Grade barrels. It does not cost much to buy and it costs me nothing to assemble.