77 grn Tipped Sierra. 2930 fps from Standard Tikka. Just under surface on off side shoulder. 188 yds (big Red hind in pic above). Impressive.
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77 grn Tipped Sierra. 2930 fps from Standard Tikka. Just under surface on off side shoulder. 188 yds (big Red hind in pic above). Impressive.
Attachment 217798
This evening. 80 grn Targex. 150 & 200 yds. Lung shots. Neither went further than 10 yards.
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Good shooting n tasty.
All this talk of .223 and seeing how effective they are on deer with the heavier pills has got me wanting to scratch an itch. Shot many deer over the years with .223 but it was a 1/12 and always run it with 55gr core-lokt, didnt handload. Did the job but i have to say im pretty impressed seeing the terminal performance some of you are getting with loading some of the heavier pills.
I enjoy needing to be that little bit more precise and the calibers' precision. And its great using something that is not obnoxious.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6.5 CRD
Not to mention the primer situation is a tad bit easier being SRP :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
Obnoxious is a great way to put it. I have had my share of shoulder thumping percussion instruments. Thats the thing I love about my 223. NO recoil and very little noise with .243 performance with the right bullet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
Same here. i have a 300wsm i use for tops hunting & even with the supressor its still a thumper. Id say 75% of the deer i have shot over the years were with a .223 . Sold it a while back intending to replace it with a 1/8 twist .223 but ended up going down the 6.5 creedmoor road thinking a little more juice wont hurt + help with longer shots and although it has been great, reading threads like this makes me think i should have just stuck to the original plan haha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan F
You are being monitored for disloyalty gimp. I saw you said something nice about the 6mmARC the other day. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by gimp
Forgive me father for I have sinnedQuote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
No politics or religion. Reported.Quote:
Originally Posted by gimp
52grn HP speer at all of 40ish yards took care of fallow spike the other day out with RUMPY n son.... tight into crease and missed bone,offside shoulder was pretty well rooted once I saw sence and listened to Rumpy that all those bloodshot bits arent worth carting out LOL.
Ouch. 80 grn Targex. 200 yards.
Attachment 218613
Yeah. A lung shot with any cup and core of any weight from a .223 inside 200 yards is a dead deer. I used to use 52 grn Sierra match in my .222 back in the day and still sometimes use the 52eldm/.223 if I come across deer while wallaby hunting. Ive sort of figured that if you are sure of a lung shot just let them be and wait. If you get excited and give them another one it sends everything into a spin - the deer and you - the deer will run further. One careful lung shot and keep everything relaxed and they wont be far away from the shot. Finding a deer shot with a .223 seems to work in the inverse ratio to how many excited shots you plunk into it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
Given most of these shots seem to be sub250m are you guys dialling much or just holding high shoulder for long shots?
What size projectiles does target do?
Thinking lighter jobbies
I dial over 225yds if I have time. Precision is the name of the game. You can dial in a good killing shot out to 375/400 if you have right set up and experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by SPEARONZ
Targex? 52 grain. Excellent.Quote:
Originally Posted by csmiffy
I can send you a few to try if you want.
DiallingQuote:
Originally Posted by SPEARONZ
Anyone tried 73gr ELD's on deer? Just got a packet to work up a load for my not-an-AR
I have a 200yd zero. Anything past that I’m diallingQuote:
Originally Posted by SPEARONZ
Shot 1. Neck shot so not much of a test. @300wsm for life might be able to help.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
Only taken 3 deer with the 73g ELD m. None were at distance, 1 head shot, 1 neck shot both 100mtrs and the third was high shoulder at 150mtrs. All dropped on the spot, as I was rather busy breaking down deer I never looked at the internals of the shoulder shot one.
75g have worked fine in my 22-250 for deer so can't see why 73g wouldn't either when the shot is placed correctly for the range.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beavis
Decided to scratch the itch & picked up a tikka .223 1/8 twist off a fellow forum member. Bought some 77 TMK, 73 ELDM & have some 80gr ELDM coming to try. Took it to the range & put some factory hornady 55gr through it which shot brilliantly, 5 shots in to 1 ragged hole.
Bought some starline brass to load (have to measure but appears to have noticeably less case capacity than the hornady brass) & loaded up some of the 77 TMK to try. FED205, 2206h & loaded them to 15 thou off jam trying to give myself as much case capacity as possible. Topped out at 24.5gr 2206h for 2840fps (20 inch barrel) no obvious pressure signs but not really room in the case for much more powder. However all the loads from 22 up to 24.5 shot pretty average groups, 1 moa at best.
Loaded a seating depth ladder at 24.5gr from 15 thou off jam to 39 thou in 3 thou increments & still no joy, pretty average groups compared to how well the factory hornady stuff shot.
Anyone out there using 77TMK in their tikka willing to share their experiences? Maybe they like alot more jump than im giving them? Also interested to know what COAL people are running with the 73-75-80 ELDM
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Shoots the hornady 55gr factory stuff awesome so no problem with the rifle itself.
LMFAO 24.5grns 2206h has been my 50-55grn load for the 223 for last 25 years and now you fellas are poking heavies out with it.
I started at 22 and worked my way up to that carefully. 24-26gr of 2206h seems to be about the norm from what i have read others doing with the heavies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
I have a long Waters' mag but only load the 77 grn TMK to 2.3" oal which fit in a standard Tikka .223 mag. They shoot superbly and I expect that they have quite a jump.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6.5 CRD
The TMK are designed for use in a 2.3" AR mag.
I know Tahr loads the 77 TMK in his Tikka, I tried the 80eldm in mine but didn't shoot that well the 80grn Targex shoots all through one hole.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6.5 CRD
I've got some 77TMK loaded ready to try same powder charge as I loaded the 80 Targex so I hope they shoot ok.
Sent from my CPH2145 using Tapatalk
That was my next plan of attack, read another post of yours saying you loaded them to 2.3" so planning to use the hornady brass that has a little more capacity & load a charge ladder to 2.3" & see how that goes :thumbsup:Quote:
Originally Posted by Tahr
I had loaded 26 grains of AR2206 behind the 55 grain in my old Brno .223 for years. This gave around 3,200 fps with its long and worn throat. When a new .223 appeared in the cupboard in 2005 a mid load for the 55 grain from Nick Harvey's 6th edition of 23 grains of AR2206 was tried. I was expecting around 3,050 fps based on NH velocities but the chronograph only said just under 2,900 fps and in a 26 inch barrel too. FFS if I had wanted a .22 Hornet I would have bought one so a hunt around turned up an ADI 3rd addition (2000) which listed 25.5 grains for 3,250 fps. This time the chronograph said 3,235 fps, snap. Later when the slightly slower AR2206H replaced AR2206 the Hodgdons data for H4895 (AR2206H) showed 26 grain behind the 55 grain as max. This was a tight fit in the case so 25.5 grains was used chronographing 3,170 in the T3x. 25 grains behind the 69 grain Sierra HPTBT produced 2,960 fps.
I know your feelings @ Mickey Duck on chronographs and you are likely very happy with the load you are using but just in case you want to here is some data that may be of use and some reasons others are using the higher loads.
Regards Grandpamac.
Interesting reading seeing I have acquired one although it is most likely a 1-12 twist.
Unless I get onto heaps of wallabies I probably won't reload either so factory ammo will be the go
Personally think you can’t fit enough powder in a small case to do anything too serious. Straight to max and get on with it
Quote:
Originally Posted by 25/08 IMP
Are you running them in a tikka? What COAL are you trying them at?
The 80 grn Targex are 20thou off the lands I'll be able to give you a LOA once I go over to my reloading room.Quote:
Originally Posted by 6.5 CRD
I also use Waterman magazines which don't limit your length.
I just wish the Targex 80 were available as they shoot the best of any of the heavy weight pills in mine
Sent from my CPH2145 using Tapatalk
At the moment I have over 600 rounds of .223 loaded. I have a wallaby/bunny culling trip coming up.Quote:
Originally Posted by grandpamac
I weigh every charge using a scoop, trickler and scales.
All of my loads are on the warm end but no pressure signs. Cases last ok.
52 ELDM & Targex 26.5 BM2 (wallaby & bunny odd deer) (3 different rifles same OAL)
55 Hornady. 26.5 W748 (wallaby & bunny odd deer) (3 different rifles same OAL))
55 Sierra GK 25.5 2206H (wallaby & bunny odd deer) (Tikka)
69 Targex 25.3 2206H (deer & wallaby) (Model 7)
74 Targex 25 2206H (Bryn made these for me using the 69grn jackets 'cos he doesn't have 80 grn jackets) (deer & wallaby) (Tikka)
77 Sierra Tipped 24.5 2206H (deer only) (Tikka)
80 grn Targex 24.4 2206H (deer & wallaby - reserving the 50 I have left for deer) (Savage & Tikka)
All of these loads shoot under .5moa. 3 different .223's. The 55 Hornady and 52 grain loads shoot superbly across the 3 rifles. Others are specific for an individual rifle.
Savage has 1:8 twist Trueflight barrel. Model 7 1:9. Tikka 1:8
when I first got my .223 my mate and reloading guru made me up some loads to try..nice and mild (pre suppressors) rifle didnt bark quite so much,and the first 4 shots in anger killed 4 pigs at 200ish yards,deader than dead things,to say I was impressed put it mildly...they also grouped into tiny wee clusters....Quote:
Originally Posted by grandpamac
a wise man once said..if it works dont fuck with it...... so I didnt LMFAO.
I only upped the charge weight in recent years when loading 50grn barnes....
and if you can get a hornet to do 2900 you doing well
if you switch to ball powder like 748/benchmark 1-2 etc you can fit quite a bit more in......tapping side of case to settle 2206h will get it down in case a bit too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan F
funny thing is Ive said that about the 7.62x39mm when using ar2206h it litterally is full to the neck...a charge that is too much for 123-150grn projectiles, WONT fit in case no matter how hard you try.
This thread needs to be kept going so I took the .223 today. And Ive seen signs of @gimp wavering so need to keep his interest up - he's been asking questions on here about the 6mmARC for goodness sake :)
Roared this stag out of the trees and shot him at 327 yds with 80 grn Targex. Angled shot in behind his shoulder but not quite forward enough. He wasn't going anywhere but a follow up flush into his shoulder ended his day.
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Don't worry I'm a believer @Tahr, once I shake this covid I'm taking the 223 out to get my yearly supply of meat.
This is still my favourite thread and love it every time I see a new post.
