Heavy 223 Bullets in 20" Barrel

[Hugger-4641]

Op already said he was happy with 16" barrel, but I'll add that my 16" chrome vanadium 1/7 is giving me 1-1/2" groups at 300yds with Hornady black 75gr bthp. I haven't even tried to reload and see if I can improve that yet, but I would also think a 20" barrel should do better with the right load.

 

[someguy2800]

Maybe I asked the question backwards. Will the longer barrel suffer accuracy loss with the lighter bullets, or will the faster twist cause accuracy loss with the lighter bullets and higher velocity?

Every barrel has its own personality so it is impossible for anyone to answer this question. A 1:7 20" barrel "should" shoot well with 50-75ish grain bullets, but who knows if it will shoot well with your specific bullet or load. Only one way to find out.

On a side note you can sometimes have issues with fast twist barrels and light high velocity bullets because the centrifugal force of the bullet spinning so fast will tear the bullet apart. Usually only an issue with bullets with very thin jackets.

 

[DMW1116]

Curiosity is going to get the better of me. I plan to load a couple rounds with the heavy bullets for the 20" barrel to see how they do.

 

[BigBore44]

Works well even with 24” barrels.

 

[Jerry M]

1-7 twist should shoot 77 gr. OTM loaded to magazine length very well. It should shoot 80 gr. and 90 gr. if loaded long.
My experience is that 77 SMKs (and now 77 Nosler OTM) shot much better than Hornady 75 gr. OTM. IMHO

 

[GooseGestapo]

Don’t condemn the barrel till you have 300-400rounds through it.
My RockRiverArms National Match AR 1/8” Wilson barrel, shoots Sierra 80gr MatchKings to 1/2 moa (10 shots). I single load these @2.555” for 600yds high power matches.
Hornady 75gr match are 3/4-7/8 moa at 2.26”. I use these for 200-300yd CMP matches.
It took ~300rds to break in and settle down.

I have a PSA A2/3 upper I use for practice and hunting that has a FN 1/7” barrel. It is right on the heels of the Wilson barrel. I actually enjoy shooting it more as it’s 8lbs vs 12lbs for the RRA.
IT took the PSA FN barrel about 250-300rds to “shoot-in”. Aka “break in”.

 

[DMW1116]

Mine is also the FN PSA barrel. I have some 75 gr Hornady already so that's what I'll try. FWIW, my 16" barrel shoots the 55 gr 223 FMJ from Frontier very well. If I could find any I'd try them in the 20" barrel. It doesn't do as good with the 5.56 55 gr Frontier version.