bullets

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

i have come to the conclusion that I can not obtain the desired accuracy I want with 55gr fmj bt hornady.

I have some 55 gr vmax i am going to try then I'm going to shop around

I realized I was getting more accuracy out of my 10/22 firing mini mag ammo

I then came to the resolution that why would I expect to get high grade accuracy shooting the cheapest bullets I could find out of my 223

is my realization correct? looking back on my reloads the most accurate ones were the 10 rounds I made in class which were not hornady but a dogtown make (about 1/2 moa and a couple flyers)

I've been kicking myself scratching my head trying every charge and length possible. Im set at 2.270 oal the longest that can fit in my chamber and allow my bolt to close

anybody else have less than outstanding results with hornady fmj bt? i get about the same results as remington bulk ammo.

what bullets do you like, don't like and what is your accuracy?

Private Joined: Oct 06, 2009 Posts: 225

I have not tried Horniday bullets in my .223.
I do like Nosler. I can shoot a very tight group with a 50g Balistic tip Varment round.

Corporal Joined: May 24, 2010 Posts: 320

Honestly, it depends on the gun. I have personally seen quality bullets shoot worse than cheap bullets in some guns. In fact, my brother and I both have Rem 870s with rifled barrels. His prefers a different slug than mine...go figure. Experiment to find the best, then buy a train load of that kind.

Corporal Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 583

There is more to it? What rifling? length of barrel? Charge? Cases (mixed headstamp?) Are they all trimmed and resized? Have you worked up the most accurate load? Have you tried seating out to the lands? Hows the crown on the barrel, is it braked? I mass produce 223. mixed headstamp, cheapest fmj I can find, imr4195, 20.0gr. I can hold well under 1/2 moa. Savage 12fp, Heavy contour 24" bbl 1:10 twist , glass bedded action, lugs lapped, and target crown. Accuracy is nowhere near as good from an AR platform.

Hornady makes an outstanding product, so does sierra. My .308 loads ar 168gr hornady amax. I take a bit more care into assembling these, so the accuracy is a bit tighter.

Corporal Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 583

Sorry, i just re read your post. So you ar out to the lands, have you tried backing it down a little? Every firearm is different. Some like that "jump" into the rifling some don't. Post up a little more info?

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

ive tried every charge with varget for the bullet weight. tried h335 same results.

Length I don't know if it made a difference or not i picked what i thought looked the best, it may have looked better because i knew it was engaging the riffling

platform rem 700 1x12 ive shot 400 rounds and have not obtained desired accuracy still looks like factory ammo results

brass remington trimmed chamfered to withinn tolerance of loading manuals also flash hole deburred and cleaned

Dies full length carbide lee for sizing

seating rcbs competion seater

it is a factory riffle no after market smithing done on it

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

I will say that the bullets I made under the instructor supervision that were amazingly accurate i had to stand up and push down on the bolt hard to make it close. I'd assume I don't want to recreate that load exactley correct?

Corporal Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 583

1:12 twist may be a bit too slow to stabilize the 55gr you are using. 1:12 should stabilize a 55 gr fine but maybe the hornady is a bit too long. Check the length of the bullet. Maybe drop down to 52gr vmax. It is the length of the bullet vs rifling and not the weight. Run all your numbers through a greenhill formula calculator. The 52gr is just a touch shorter then the 55. My savage handles the 52 better than the 55gr. I would have to think it is the bullet length that is giving you the problem.

Is it a heavy barrel? Free Floated? The barrel has a lot to do with it. The skinny sporter barrels have a lot of "barrel whip" and "resonance" and is detrimental to accuracy. What kind of accuracy are you actually getting from your reloads? It sounds like your reloads are good! With my heavy barrels I have to clean them every 20rnds or so, if I don't my groups go from 1/2" to 3".

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

my current accuracy is with in the appleseed 4 moa which I now am telling myself is good.

the 10 rounds which I reloaded first under instructor supervision which i had to stand up and force the bolt closed I had 6 shots touching 4in one tight 1/2moa group high to the right and another 2 almost dead center 4 flying flinchers (last 10 rounds of the day maybe i didn't flinch but thats what i told myself)

i realized i need help, im tired of my 10/22 with minimag being my more accurate riffle 1/3 the price riffle, 1/3 price ammo factory ammo I must change this I know im capable of accurate shooting with my 10/22 i've got that at least

it is not a bull barrel, iv'e seen bull barrels and this in not one of them.

is it free floating? I looked in my owners manual and it did not say, looked in the product catalog it did not say, it is an sps varmit if that helps.

I wrote remington one day and asked them which bullets would be best still have the email.
they said I can shoot 45-62g but I will find best results with 50-55g guess i never explored anything other than 55g my fault.

guess i have to blow through the 100 rounds i still have loaded with 55g and try moving to the light stuff

Whats your opinion with my new info

and thanks for everything so far

Corporal Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 583

Is this it? http://www.snipercentral.com/remspsv.htm

Looks like a heavy varmint contour barrel. Wrap a dollar bill around the barrel and slide it all the way up to the recoil lug. if you can do that it is free floated. I would still have to think it is the bullet length. higher the twist the shorter the bullet. Try running a boresnake through it every 20-25 rounds and see if the accuracy stays consistent. Mine fouls easy and has to be cleaned every 20 rounds. I dont care what ammo you are using the accuracy should be less than 1 moa in a rifle like this. even if you are a poor marksman. Something is wrong if you are opening to 4" inches!!! And it probably isn't the ammo. Check the action screws and optics also.

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

thats it

Corporal Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 583

Here is my savage 12 fp. I have glass bedded the action, lapped the lugs, and floated the barrel. It has a real nice target crown on it. It also has a heavy contour barrel. I have been thinking about pullin the barrel and throwing it on my lathe and cutting a muzzle brake for it, but I like it how it is.

Here is a close up of my paint job.

This my custom savage 10 with all the bells and histles. This was a scratch build i did a couple years ago. Custom bull barrel. I built the brake for it. lapped the lugs to 90% contact and then headspaced it. Glass bedded action, blah blah blah.

The point is it doesn't matter what i run thru these to rifles i never get groups over 1". With my hand loads and a calm day I put up awesome groups. Your rem7 should do the same. Even with bad ammo.

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

I guess i have to write remington again

Quote:

The point is it doesn't matter what i run thru these to rifles i never get groups over 1". With my hand loads and a calm day I put up awesome groups. Your rem7 should do the same. Even with bad ammo.

Corporal Joined: Mar 07, 2010 Posts: 583

I'm sure your not the first person! make sure nothing is loose. Try a smaller bullet. I just can't see why the accuracy would be so off with the loads you are making.

Lieutenant Joined: Nov 12, 2009 Posts: 2429

I went through my owners manual looking for "action screws" could not find them. is that slang for something else, what exactley are you refering to ?

the only 2 screws that seem to be of any possible importance are the 2 screws one holds in the trigger assembley the other holds in the magazine floor plate