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Posted: 12/31/2013 6:54:49 PM EDT
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Which of the "heavy" .223 bullets can be loaded to mag length? I don't want to single load the bullets.
I'm wanting to stretch the distance on my AR (18" SS Douglas, 1-8 twist) as far as possible. So, I'm looking at the bullets that are between 65gr and 90gr. Thanks |
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If there was one bullet that I had to choose, and this is going to sound totally against conventional wisdom, it would be hard for me to ignore the 75gr A-MAX. Next would be the 77gr Scenar-L, and 75gr Hornady BTHP, along with 77gr SMK & 77gr NCC.
Performance from a 16" barrel is simply awesome with the 75gr A-MAX. I didn't believe it could be mag-loaded since I had seen that feedback about it all over the place, after "mistakenly" ordering some when they had them on clearance at Midway, thinking I was ordering 75gr BTHP. After looking at the bullet, its bearing surface, and ogive length, I wrote it off and considered it an inexpensive lesson.... Until a fellow arfcommer showed up at one of my DM Courses in March with 200 of them loaded up on top of 8208 XBR, with a taper crimp to help transition the mouth over the slightly buried ogive. I immediately thought to myself, "Oh no, this dude is going to have major problems in this course, and we are going to have to provide him with ammo." Not a good start for the day. Then he proceeded to make hits from 200yds to 600yds like it was easy, and this was his first formal course where wind-reading and trajectory were being introduced as new subjects, and the conditions were abhorrent, with temp at 17 F, winds coming down the mountain at full value, 15-22mph and inconsistent...howling, snow blowing sideways at times. Not only was he hitting everything with at least an 85% hit rate, but he was doing it from positions as well. He didn't have a single hiccup either. BC is .435, and his measured mv average before showing up was 2700fps from a Criterion barrel, with 1.5 MOA accuracy, which is all you really need for 600yds on 18" plates. If you're looking for X count, then it's probably a single-loaded COL affair, but if you are looking to impact plates at distance, they are fun. 
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Quoted:
I'd be very nervous loading 75gn A-maxes to mag length. Only about half the neck is touching the bullet and that part is slightly tapered. I wouldn't think it would take much pressure to shove the bullet all the way into the case Except that the base of the bullet is likely up against the powder and can't |
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Here are the B.C.s of the under 80gr bullets available:
77gr Berger Open Tip = 0.376 77gr Nosler Custom Comp = 0.340 77gr Sierra Match = 0.362 75gr A-Max = 0.435 75gr Berger Target = 0.423 75gr Hornady Match = 0.395 70gr Berger VLD = 0.371 Of these, the 75gr A-Max has the highest B.C. Presumably, that means that it will be the "better" bullet for longer ranges. Right? I'm suppressed that the 77gr Berger Open Tip and 77gr Sierra Match have such a low B.C. |
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Quoted:
Here are the B.C.s of the under 80gr bullets available: 77gr Berger Open Tip = 0.376 77gr Nosler Custom Comp = 0.340 77gr Sierra Match = 0.362 75gr A-Max = 0.435 75gr Berger Target = 0.423 75gr Hornady Match = 0.395 70gr Berger VLD = 0.371 Of these, the 75gr A-Max has the highest B.C. Presumably, that means that it will be the "better" bullet for longer ranges. Right? I'm suppressed that the 77gr Berger Open Tip and 77gr Sierra Match have such a low B.C. They have a very poor shape. The 75 Amax and all the 80+ grain bullets have much sleeker noses and long boat tails. |
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Quoted:
I'd be very nervous loading 75gn A-maxes to mag length. Only about half the neck is touching the bullet and that part is slightly tapered. I wouldn't think it would take much pressure to shove the bullet all the way into the case There's a guy on Sniper's Hide who used an inertia puller to try to create a change in OAL with the 75gr A-MAX seated to mag-length. He couldn't. That was one of my biggest concerns when I accidentally ordered them. I took one look at it when I went to make my initial dummy cartridge and was like, "WTF? Put those on the bottom of the pile...too bad, such a sleek bullet. No wonder they were so cheap..." Then the guy showed up to the course with them. The biggest issue isn't really the seating depth, but the jump. Being as sleek as it with a secant ogive nose profile, there is a lot of jump, but for hitting 18" plates with a .223 Wylde, it has more hit probability than your lower BC pills because of wind deflection error forgiveness in the BC. You can get good speed from it as well, since it has short bearing surface, and isn't much heavier than a 69gr SMK. It would be scary in a 20" gun. In the shorter wildcats based off other cases, you can push it to over 3000fps easily, with short jump into the lands. What we have seen in gel testing, as well as on animals, is that the A-MAX in other calibers behaves like a Nosler Ballistic Tip, so it's actually a pretty good hunting bullet, as long as you don't shoot medium game above frag threshold velocities, assuming you're looking for a pass-though. |
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