My 20" Rock River Upper in standard A-2 Configuration shoots the 68 gr Hornadys, the 69 gr Sierras and the 69 gr Nosler custom competition's quite well, Good enough to hold the X at 300 yards in service rifle match. Good overall bullet. I like your approach to finding foundation within accuracy, Barrel Harmonics, steel density, Rifle twist, Barrel temperature. outside temperature and just plain old Marksmanship skills have influence as well. setting aside ammo crafting. Reloading opens doors to mysterious caverns, True? and that is what makes crafting ammo so enriching as a worthwhile endeavour. It always Time, Money well spent. Keep up the good content dude. Dave.
haha with my gun shooting a 5 shot group into .5" Im not sure I can settle when its not consistently shooting that. And experimenting is too fun! but I do need a go-to load when long range shooting
Here's what I have done with my factory Rem. 700 223 threaded barrel 20", Sierra MK 69gr. & Rem cases with CCI primers 1st: find a load that shoots well out of your factory barrel using powder that is available all the time. 2nd: take that load and shoot with chronograph to find real fps , approx. 5 - 10 shot groups 3rd: install a tuner/brake then shoot at least 15 - 5 shot groups at various tuner stages @ 100 yds. 4th: find at least 2 to 4 good groups then shoot 2 - 5 shot groups of each good stage , this will give you the best node to adjust your tuner/brake Repeat # 3 & 4 above at least 2 more times. NOW YOU WILL HAVE A GOOD NODE , BULLET AND POWDER WEIGHT 😁 NO-ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF FROM HERE-ON-IN ! 🎯
I dig it,just getting into reloading,been watching JOHNNY"S RELOADING BENCH,need to strike out in other direction's,been scoring my brass at a place here in Phoenix called Diamond K brass, some Ok deal's on mixed stuff,take's a lot to get em where I want em,but the price is right if you are willing to take the time,got a lot of that on my hand's,wife is unable to care for herself,so it give's me something to do in my spare time...my rifle is a Windham Weaponry 16 inch heavy barrel 1:9 twist not exactly a tack driver, but it was all I could afford at the time...I love watching your channel and look forward to learning all I can,I'll go up to Table Mesa and try these babies out when it open's back up,closed do to fire danger, 55 grain fmjbt Berry's and Hornady 55 fmjbt with Varget and AA 2230 23 grain's and let em rip!!!...
Thx - I am new to reloading 223 and am trying the Varget, CCI primer and 69 HPBT Matchking. This helps and thx. I wonder if your horizontal stringing could possibly have been the wind? Anyway, nice groups and thx! FletchMan
WDS outstanding group with H332 & Federal AR primers, H332 has produced groups that i can cover with my finger. But that was with Sierra 50 gr SP, got some loaded up with the Sierra 55 Gr SBT, waiting to be tested. Keep up the good work, and may your powder stay dry and your groups be tight.
I agree you need to find a node that the barrel likes. But I have shot precision bench rest for years 100 an 200 yards 22br 6mm br and 30 br and others. Question are you shooting using wind flags and have you checked muzzle velocity? Standard deviation and extreme spreed. Also what power scope are you using. After the tens of thousands of rounds I have down range once you have found a node your barrel likes then horizontal stringing is a wind condition and vertical stringing in a velocity deviation. Now mind you I an shooting with awesome equipment and cases that I feel are as close to perfect as you can get and the bullet run out is less than .0005. I also shoot a AR 5.56 a lot. They all shoot under a 1/2 " but only because I have done extra work on the bolt so there is zero cant in the bolt when it is closed. Also I have barrel extensions made so you need to heat the receiver before the barrel can be installed into it. This leaves zero room for the barrel to move around. Most Ar are built to mill spec. these are not tight tolerances. When the gun fires there is 42,000 to 60,000 lbs of pressure happening right where the barrel and receiver con together. If the is any room for movement it will move under these pressures. I now this is and old post but just thought this might be of help to you. It was a good test and feel you did a good job. Keep up your testing its one of the best ways to learn. Thank You Rick D.
Thanks Jim I definitely think theres something there with that 24 Gr. Varget and these 69 Gr SMKs. that is likely the best group Ive shot! Hoping it was more than just luck and something I might be able to repeat
Got my reloading bench! I am hopefully going to have it setup soon and I will be in the reloading club with you, Thor's Axe, Loads of Bacon, FortuneCookie45LC etc. I am so excited even if I am a noob lol. :-)
glad you can join in the fun! I am still a noob too I'm still learning every day. Are you buying a reloading kit? and what are you thinking of reloading first?
454 casull will definitely help you get your money back quick! sounds good dude! will you be making reloading videos along with your philosophy videos?
I will probably make one or two of me getting started and shooting a round that I reloaded for the first time. I am going to leave reloading videos to the pros. :-)
Good job buddy nicely explained video, definitely worth trying to up the speed a little bit but definitely over a chronograph it won’t just give the speeds but also show your variations which will really affect your point of impact at long range, if you have say between 35 to 50 or more FPS you will start to chase your shots and that can drive you nuts . I used to use Varget and always found it stable so never had any issues there , l know with the CCI primers they have a thicker cup so don’t be frightened to push that speed up they can handle it more than the Federal 205 match primers that I use as their cups are definitely thinner. If there is one tip I can give you that has made a difference to my test loading is to get some spikes on your bipod if possible or borrow some, when those things are planted in the ground they are super steady and still let the rifle naturally recoil straight back and also make sure your rear bag is not super twisted keep that inline with the bipod as best you can , the more variables you eliminate the quicker you will find your load . Hope you don’t mind me offering a couple of cents worth buddy just thought it might help cheers G.
well these are not really my ultimate long range bullet, I may try a max speed load with my hornady 75 gr bthp with both primers to see if one shows pressure before the others, Ive been trying to decide on a load for my next bulk loading for those anyway so this is good timing, if the groups still hold together it could be worth loading. I am also making a prone shooting platform for the bed of my truck and will put a 2x4 on the edge to load my bipod into so spikes wont be necessary for how i shoot. the rear rest is always straight up in my support hand and moves freely under recoil. I have approched a local guy about making a custom support bag that i would try to help him shoot. Your advice is always welcome im still trying to make myself a better shooter!
Never tried in an AR, but my M70 shot groups into less than 1/4 " @100 with 69g over 25.0 gr of IMR 4320. Using CCI400 primers. I was pleasantly surprised.
hello friend, this video is the closest thing I found about my problem with my psa 20 rifle length 5.56 nato 1/7 SS rifle, I did not find the right recharge using the 69gr matchking saw bullets to mention a type of bullet, this rifle even now it gives me groups above one MOA up to two MOA, do you know how good this psa rifle will be, do you know someone who found the best reload for this upper?
Great video bud even tho varget is produced in australia we are struggling to get it in my state as the state it's produced in have but a transportation limit on all powders. Hoping alliant reloader 15 perform well with cci 400primers
I just loaded this exact same round using 25.3 gr of Varget. My barrel is 1 in 9 twist. We'll see how it does. If the group is spread out I'll have to try downloading the powder. Seems to have worked well for you!
Since we both share the same "mild" climate , I think it would interesting to put this H322 to the test once your load is dialed in. A nice early January day vs a late July. Food for thot, perhaps maybe a cost per round break down?
I think a temp test on all my powders would be a great idea, particularly the powders who dont claim to be temp insensitive, like 7828SSC and I have Varget H4350 and H322 I could load all of them up with and do a long term video! I would really like to have a temp gun and magneto speed for the test. Cost per round is a great idea and i can make a specific video on how to figure it out and what mine are currently costing me vs factory
i finally got my ar 15 at an moa using 24.1 grains of varget i upped my charge to 24.4 grains with same O.A.L and same primer and my group opened up from 1" to 4.6" anyone know why?? im using the same upper that you have from palmetto and no.400 rifle primers im wanting to get into mid to long range shooting and trying to develop a load for my gun any advice would help thanks!!
Have you tried both multiple times with the same result? Sounds like you either got lucky or you weren’t shooting as good for the big group. Try again see what happens
