40gr Nosler Ballistic Tip with Alliant Reloder 7 and Hodgdon Benchmark in .223 Remington. UPDATED 09/27/2018 - All links have been removed to comply with RU-vid content policies. www.patreon.com/reloading
Dragonfly landed on my 100 yard target, when I had the 220 Swift on the bags. Had to do it. Body shot, nothin' but wings left. Proved that a 52-gr hollow point is enough gun for insects.
Love the 40gn Nosler , but here in the UK i use 40gn V-max as they're half the price. Absolutely fantastic for crows , rabbits and foxes with very little risk of a ricochet, important in our crowded isle.
Man I might just try reloading some of these little gem's myself! JOHNNY you have quite possibly the best reloading channel out there...thank you for such awesome video's Amigo!!!...
Great shooting JRB, that WOA barrel has been great for you. Would love to see RE-7 in the 55 grain series. The Sierra Reloading Manuel shows RE-7 as the accuracy powder for 55 grain bullets. Keep up the great work. Thanks for sharing.
I gotta' say...good shooting! Loved the "could we just talk for a hour about these groups" comment!! FUNNY and a good video. Thanks for your work and sharing your findings.
Nice man! That just made my morning. Always love having some nice groups to look at while I sip my coffee before heading out the door to slogg off another day at the office.
Since the mosque shooting and the loss of our semi auto rifles I have taken up a Steyr pro hunter in .223 1 in 9 twist and have a Ruger heavy barrel, same cal 1 in 12 twist. Your videos consist of mountains of info for that I am grateful. I use Reloder 7, AR2207 AR 2206H, IMR 4895, Alliant 2400 and a few others. Now to get the range open for I have had plenty of time to reload. Thanks again.
The “ball cap” trick or “hat” trick works great for not having too run down your brass. Just hook the adjustable band in the back over the scope turret cap and let it hang down over the ejection port.
I can’t lie, I don’t know what I would do without your channel. I have a SLOGW 18” 1:8 twist barrel in an AR and I used ur 73 grain ELD video to make a decision on what to load. Cant wait to shoot some groundhogs at 500 yards!
You just ruined my preconceived notion about Nosler projectiles. Looks like it may be possible that our elders know something we don't. Great shooting!
I was already using Benchmark just from what other people have told me. It's my main powder, along with IMR8208XBR for varmint loads. I also use that Nosler bullet for .223! ^..^~~
I ran outta benchmark and grabbed h335…wow…these 40s are my most bestest at 27gr in 16” doublestar…made right here in Winchester Ky…ol rifle has done things over 15yrs you’d never believe…BM is such a good .308 powder along with tac,n540,4350, and superformance..I have the fn special police 24” and man what a rifle….put 10rds in .64” yesterday..168hornady bthp
I've shot 40gr. Ballistic tips and 28gr. Benchmark for years hunting coyotes with a Bushmaster Varminter 24". Very accurate. Once in a great while the bullet may not penetrate well if it hits at too much angle. But mostly they drop in their tracks. Even at distance. Love your videos.
I prairie dog hunt with a 24 inch heavy barrel AR. Last year I ran the 55 gr. Nosler varmint with CFE 223. So far the my most effective load on “dawgs”! Which is saying a lot as V-maxs are pretty awesome!
I'm another Reloader 7 fan...I use it almost exclusively for 300 blackout..Remember when you use to reload and shoot 300 blackout ? Those were the good old days (;
I've not used Benchmark yet, but Rx7 I've used quite a bit in 7.62x39. I have some 110 loads ready to test. Benchmark looks good though. Nice shooting Johnny! Would have quite a challenge on that fly!😊
Benchmark is my favorite powder. I use it for everything from 40 to 75 grain pills in 223. It always gives the best accuracy in my guns. I can run 30 grains in a R-P case with 40 grain nosler varmageddons in my Stevens bolt without pressure sign. 3850fps!
I had a 77 Ruger bench rest rifle long ago and was actually shooting a fly target. That is a target with life sized house fly's printed all over it if you've never seen one. 200 Yards, a Real house fly lands on the target. My spotter starts laughing and said real fly, shoot it. At the shot he started laughing and got up and said come on, I've got to look at this. I had a hole in the target with blood all the way around it. I'd hit him dead center. The way your were shooting there you would have likely center punched one too. Excellent groups.
Great shooting JEB! I've have great results with the nosler 55 gr bt also. I've seen the same group movement you are showing, the faster I push them the lower the POI. 25.2gr ARComp 55gr nosler BT.
I watch all of your .223 videos. Thank you! I think the quest of AR15 action cycling is a contrived one with lots of variables like barrel lengths, gas system lengths, suppressors and such. You make it, and i will watch it. And happily so. But i don't recommend that experiment. Looking forward to the next Zmax video.
My favorite .223 AR cheap load is HDY 55gr Sp with 21.1 RL7 in LC brass. I have zero function issues with it in my 16" carbine length, and its the only thing I have found to shoot MOA in that barrel.
Reloader 7 works great in .221 Rem Fireball with 40 grain bullets as well. I get under half MOA for about 10 to 15 shots until the barrel starts to get hot. I have had the same results in my Savage bolt action using 40 grain bullets, and RL7 as well. Though with that I tend to stick to 55 grain bullets, and save the 40 grain for the Fireball. (Note Gene Stoner intended for the use of 40 grain bullets when designing the .223 Remington round for his AR15 rifle.)
i doubt its the bullets you love (which most ballistic tips are fine) as much as it is the reloder 7 and benchmark you love. as much as people rant and rave about varget and others these two (bench/rl7) have shown some of the best sims on QL and groupings in my trials.... and i mean with rl7 you get all the good stats while using several less grains of powder per round, and from what ive seen rl7 is usually cheaper off the shelf. so now at the risk of screwing myself out of being able to buy these propellants because the secrets out i'll shut up. for those of you who are hardcore johnnys reloading fans... if you don't own quickload you're missing out. simulate your charge before you even hit the reloading bench. gets you a lot closer a lot quicker.
@Johnysreloadingbench 1) Always shoot the fly 2) I'm stoked about the z max test. I just tried 100 loads. The powder I chose was to fast for my rifle length gas system. Wouldnt feed tge nextvround on any charge. I'm excited to see what you go with as I just bought 200 more. 3) Have you ever showed how you make your targets? What paper do you use?
I personally think your best group was with 22.6gr of RL7 minus 1 flyer it's about 1/4". This is also most accurate powder listed by Nosler for my 221 fireball with 40gr bullet. It's expensive though! $33/lb at local Cabela's, I remember looking for it for the longest time before I found it. Couple years ago Midwayusa had these 40gr Noslers on clearance, they were flat base and black tip I bought 3 boxes and they went even lower in price, should have bought more.
Now that was some outstanding Shooting... The Bullet, Rifle, length, and Marksmanship were Right there... As you mentioned, there's nothing like having it come together with some great groups...! I noticed, as you may have, that having the rail on the table that you can get a consistent pressure against with loading your bi-pod, helps tremendously, compared to the led sled. Using a good rear bag set up can bring about consistence also... ( natural point of aim ) so your not using muscular tension to press the rifle toward the target, that will release the weapon fires... Also, is this your new Larue trigger...? One thing that no one mentioned prior to your change in triggers, is some internal differences... The CMC trigggers usually use a reduced power hammer spring, which accounts for a lighter trigger, but higher Lock time ( the time it takes for the trigger to fall after pressing the trigger ), this lock time can distort your groups, since a longer lock time requires you to keep the weapon from moving during the hammer fall. This is one of the benefits of a True Match Trigger... They improve the surfaces of the trigger, but retain full power hammer springs to reduce lock time... enhancing you ability to shoot better... I'm taking an educated guess that all of these factors came into play with the great groups... Great ammunition combination with Bullets and powder along with the seating depth and brass, and the additional attention of the shooter... Quite often you may even recall, that depending on the lighting and how it lands on the target this will also have an effect... Back some years ago I was trained to shoot long range for my job... When getting ready to train, or in your case it's always a good practice to take a few moments to line up your rifle as you do, trying to find the " natural point of aim ", then once your on, close your eyes take a few breath's and open your eyes too see if you have moved... adjust a necessary... another trend that has helped some shooters, especially when shooting an AR platform, is to take that thumb of your shooting hand a place it along side the pistol grip... This can help occasionally when a shooter is pressing a little during the firing, and unintentionally uses his thumb to move the rifle from it's intended position...
50 shots and the fly lived? Man that's some self discipline right there. Seriously though I need to go back and watch the 300 BLK videos as I don't remember RL7. Don't even see a load for that on Western/Accurate PDF that I downloaded.
Very nice shooting man. As a shooter it’s not easy to shoot that many consecutive .4” groups so great job! I find the SDs Very interesting because they weren’t the greatest but still shot excellent. I’ve heard the Hornady 68 Gr BTHP likes benchmark. And I’d like to see H322 pushing those Nosler 40s its a faster powder as well it would be right in that weight bullet for 223! Thanks for the video man
What an amazing accuracy node! With those loads you could make a head shot on a deer and eat hole to hole. I've always had really mixed results on Nosler's offerings, but that was amazing. The fly was definitely a tempting target...lol!
Thanks for the video, makes me want to load some up! Like to hear your take on all your loads, stop calling your self an idiot because your knot, you haven't blown your face off yet, and I don't think you will!
25 grains of benchmark with a 60 grain vmax and 27 grains of benchmark with 40 grain Nosler ballistic tips will shoot .2” at 200 yards in both my POF and LTR. Good powder for the 223’s.
I've used the 40 grain BT's for decades now in my SAKO .222, using H322 powder...a lot of 'yotes made a brief acquaintance with those bullets, they are as terminally effective as they are accurate.
JRB Finally got to shoot the Nosler 40 Gr's this weekend. Best groups were .775" with 22.5 gr IMR 4198 and a .353" with 26.5 grs of H335 using a Seekins 16" 223 Wylde barrel. A good day! Thanks! One other note... I had to single feed the IMR4198 loads as the bolt did not cycle properly or lock back.
Johnny... Have you tried using CCI #400 small rifle primers. This may settle down your erratic deviation problem. I would venture to guess that it may even tighten up your groups. I enjoy and appreciate your videos, thank you. Shoot lots and stay safe.
Everyone likes the fly, splat that is. You should do a video of an old windshield, drop of honey, slow-motion. One day it will be known as the Nat'l Fly Shoot. It would take guts, but guts is enough! I shoot 40gr Hornady VMax out of an 18" Criterion HBAR 1-8 twist getting consistent 3/8" groups, some 1/4". I've never shot that good consistently. There's something about the 40gr tip.
Chief STOP! Please dont move to another powder or bullet weight. Take the reloader 7 data, shoot some groups with it but split the population...half neck sized and half full body sized, shoot these. Which ever group is more accurate choose that group and then play a little bit with seating depth on the advanced group to see if you can tighten it up even more.
Can I ask a question? How far is it from your barrel to the top of the table? I'm looking to buy a bipod and I'm not sure what size to buy. Thank You ~ Grandpa knew what powder to use!
nice groups with reloader 7 40 grain V-Max benchrest Shooters rule of thumb never go to the range with more than one powder and one bullet Barrel consistency is most important to shooting good groups ever think the reason your first groups tend to be wild is because your barrels being seasoned to the new round powder and bullet jacket create their own residue the reason your first groups of a new powder and bullet or wild maybe the barrel season itself to the new round just a thought good Channel good information
I tried 22.7 grains in my Savage Varmint rifle using the same components (okay, I used Winchester brass) and it put 5 shots in a dime at 100 yards! Thanks! (BTW, I think I'd have hit that fly! LOL!)
Nice video. I'm trying to develop a test load to do some field terminal test with our Eastern coyote. Using a 24 inch AR-15 barrel and with published data on accurate 2200 pushing 3900 ft per second with a 3/4 moa in extremely windy conditions. H4198 was not bad but was about 75 ft per second less and not quite as tight on the group. The accurate 2200 also had single digit SD.
I wish you could do this video on a 224 Valkyrie though, I am struggling to find any load data for a 1:7 twist for this round. I love all your other videos
