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Posted: 9/25/2012 9:49:24 AM EDT
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I reload for my Varmint AR. I'm getting good groups with 68gr BTHP and 75 gr bthp's. But when I reload I start at the minimum loads and work up almost the max. My rifle, so far, has seemed to like combinations just off minimum.
My intent, hopefully one day, is to take the thing out for some long distance varmint hunting. Do you think that I will be losing too much energy at say 500 yards by using rounds at the low end for say coyote? Or is the energy loss negligible? |
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Quoted:
I reload for my Varmint AR. I'm getting good groups with 68gr BTHP and 75 gr bthp's. But when I reload I start at the minimum loads and work up almost the max. My rifle, so far, has seemed to like combinations just off minimum. My intent, hopefully one day, is to take the thing out for some long distance varmint hunting. Do you think that I will be losing too much energy at say 500 yards by using rounds at the low end for say coyote? Or is the energy loss negligible? Sir, while I may agree that you should stick with what your rifle shoots best with I also ask myself if there shouldn't also be sufficient energy to make a clean kill at what ever distance your target may be. That depends on the energy of the projectile which is a function of the ballistic coefficient (BC) of the bullets you're using and the muzzle velocity. Without some knowledge of the BC and the velocities you are shooting you're only guessing what the terminal velocity and therefore energy of the projectile is. While I don't shoot "varmints" I do find that some of my best performing loads in .223 Rem. come with near or at the maximum loads. FWIW, I used VV N540 with Sierra 77gr match King bullets for distances out to 300yd and Berger or JLK VLD's at greater distances. HTH, 7zero1. |
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Also, you may want to try your group tests out at the distance you plan to cover when hunting.
It isn't uncommon to find that the loads which group okay but not best at 100 or 200, are way better out at 300 - 600. The other thing this can show you is the actual trajectory as compared to some extrapolation based on short range estimates. |
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I don't think energy at 500 yards on a yote is a concern. Trajectory at that range with the .223 (I don't care what bullet your using) is going to be very hard to get a handle on. Hitting a motionless target will require "dail in" hitting a coyote will be a long shot, pun intended.
I varmint hunt with mine. Groundhogs out to 300 yards are in very real danger. Beyond that, it better be calm and my range estimate better be good. My furthest kill to date is 342 yards. I shoot a 50gr V-Max. My zero is 235 yards. (1" high at 100) w/2.8" scope height. IMO Trying to push a .223 beyond 350 in a hunting situation is not a good thing. Many people say that the 22-250 Rem is only reliable to 350 for varmints and it has at least 400 f/s advantage over the .223. |
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Quoted:
I don't think energy at 500 yards on a yote is a concern. Trajectory at that range with the .223 (I don't care what bullet your using) is going to be very hard to get a handle on. Hitting a motionless target will require "dail in" hitting a coyote will be a long shot, pun intended. I varmint hunt with mine. Groundhogs out to 300 yards are in very real danger. Beyond that, it better be calm and my range estimate better be good. My furthest kill to date is 342 yards. I shoot a 50gr V-Max. My zero is 235 yards. (1" high at 100) w/2.8" scope height. IMO Trying to push a .223 beyond 350 in a hunting situation is not a good thing. Many people say that the 22-250 Rem is only reliable to 350 for varmints and it has at least 400 f/s advantage over the .223. Enjoy this if you missed it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81pMVGZNGi0 |
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Quoted:
Also, you may want to try your group tests out at the distance you plan to cover when hunting. It isn't uncommon to find that the loads which group okay but not best at 100 or 200, are way better out at 300 - 600. It's good advice to test at the full distance before going hunting. You don't want to test using live animals as your targets. I have never, ever, not-even-once, seen a poor 100 - 200 yard load get better at longer distances. As the distance increases, the effect of wind add greatly to and eventually swamp out any inherent inaccuracies of the starting load. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Also, you may want to try your group tests out at the distance you plan to cover when hunting. It isn't uncommon to find that the loads which group okay but not best at 100 or 200, are way better out at 300 - 600. It's good advice to test at the full distance before going hunting. You don't want to test using live animals as your targets. I have never, ever, not-even-once, seen a poor 100 - 200 yard load get better at longer distances. As the distance increases, the effect of wind add greatly to and eventually swamp out any inherent inaccuracies of the starting load. Some bullets need a little time to "get to sleep". They wouldn't win a bench rest match at 100 or 200, but they can out shoot many recipes which were cloverleafs at 100 once you go to the MR or LR distances. The epicyclic swerve effect has been observed long before the mathematicians explained it away with physics models. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
I don't think energy at 500 yards on a yote is a concern. Trajectory at that range with the .223 (I don't care what bullet your using) is going to be very hard to get a handle on. Hitting a motionless target will require "dail in" hitting a coyote will be a long shot, pun intended. I varmint hunt with mine. Groundhogs out to 300 yards are in very real danger. Beyond that, it better be calm and my range estimate better be good. My furthest kill to date is 342 yards. I shoot a 50gr V-Max. My zero is 235 yards. (1" high at 100) w/2.8" scope height. IMO Trying to push a .223 beyond 350 in a hunting situation is not a good thing. Many people say that the 22-250 Rem is only reliable to 350 for varmints and it has at least 400 f/s advantage over the .223. Enjoy this if you missed it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81pMVGZNGi0 That's pretty cool. You did notice that he was shooting a 6.8 NOT a .223 ? |
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500yd w/ a 223 should drop a yote,
at 500yds a hornady 75gr bthp still has 1740fps and 500ftlbs of energy using their data from the site. Equates to 55" drop and 25" drift (10mph) If you make good contact should kill, if a bad hit itll still die so who cares. practice and know your tables and you should be fine. |
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