Reloading .223 in a 1:10 twist 22' barrel

[froggy]

Recently bought a Rossi single shot in .223 with a 22 inch barrel.  Does anyone have a favorite hand load for this combination?  I live in an area of the country where there is alway some wind and want to stick with a little heavier slug.  Any suggestions?  Thanks.  froggy

[Lloyd Smale]

with a 1 10 twist barrel your  going to want to use 55 grain bullets and i doubt if your going to have much luck with bullets over 60 grain. 55 grain seirras have allways shot well for me and in 60 grain my favorite bullet is the hornady v max.

[LaOtto222]

I am guessing here a little, but I would think that you could shoot up to 69 grain bullets and still stabilize them.  I have heard of WW 64 grain bullets stabilizing in 1 - 12' twist rate. My 223's are 1 -14" and 1 -9" twists. the 1 - 9" will stabilize 75 grain bullets. You will have to try them to find out for sure. As far as loads are concerned, get your self some reputable reloading manuals and follow their recipe recommendations to the letter. Some powder manufactures have them for free. Start low and work your way up. After you get some experience under your belt then you can experiment with different primers and such after you back down the powder and work your way up again. Good luck to you, reloading is a very satisfying hobby.  Do not rush the process, take your time and be sensible.

[froggy]

Thank you Lloyd and 222 for your replies.  I have done very little reloading but have read other guys chat about what seems to work best in certain rifles, i.e. bullet, powder etc.. 
I have only fired this new rifle a few times to get it on paper at 50 yards and am now ready to get it "groundhog worthy".  I'll check out the reloading manuals but if anybody has something that works especially well for them in a similar rifle, I would be glad to hear it. Thanks.

[Old Syko]

A 1:10 twist barrel that will handle slugs over 55 grains in weight would be almost an oddity.  I have a little Sako with a 1:10 that loves 27.2gr. WW748 with CCI 450 primers under the 52gr. Sierra HPBT Match.  This is close to a max load so cut it down a bit and work up your own if you decide to try it.  The 450 primers are really key in this load.  For a round that's devastating on ground hogs work up a similar load with the 50gr. Hornady SPSX.  For this slug you will want to chrony your load and keep it at 3400 fps or below as they may come apart in flight or worse. 

[Dand]

I have a Ruger 1 in .223 with a supposed 1:10 twist and a 24 inch barrel ( had to cut off 2 inches after I unwittingly fired it with snow in the muzzle and had a loose spot in the bore.  I have shot 50 gr to 70 gr( speer flat base)  bullets with reasonable success. Due to the very long throat of the Ruger, I prefer 55 to 65 gr bullets seated way out.  Though one of my most accurate loads uses the Speer 52 gr hp and I forget what powder - probably H4895.  Best loads for me go into 1 inch.  Its frustrating that I can't do better but the slow lock time, funky forend, and long throat, as well as my own limited abilities work against me. 

I haven't shot the gun in a couple years but I have burned a lot of 748, 4895, and 4198 in my rifle. Another bullet that does well for me is the Sierra 63 gr  semi pointed.  Hornady  and Nosler 60 bullets shot well for me.

My gun will not stablize 80 gr Sierras though.  A friend gave me some and they would keyhole at 25 yards.  I made some good demo targets to show hunter ed classes what keyholing looks like.

You might want to find a copy of Ken Waters's Pet Loads for this caliber as a place to start.  But these days with all the new powders and bullets you shouldn't have a hard time finding something that works well for you.

[Lloyd Smale]

one thing to keep in mind is that because a bullet is still stable at a 100 yards and groups fine doesnt mean it will still be stable at 2 or 300 yards. So at least check your loads for accuracy out to the max distance you intend to shoot it. Ive seen one inch loads at a 100 yards shoot absolutely terrible at 300 yards. With enough velocity they can fool you at a 100 yards.

[LaOtto222]

Here are some things to think about. I have a 1 - 14" twist that handles 55 grain bullets with ease in both a 222 and 223. My 1 - 9" 223 will handle 75 grain VLD bullets, but not 80's. 1 - 12" twists have shot WW 64 grain bullets satisfactorily. A 1 - 10 could surely handle 65 grain bullets with out much problem. If it can not then there is some thing else going on and it is not the twist rate. Here is something else to think about, once a bullet leaves the barrel, the velocity may drop off, but the bullet spin rate does not. Once it is spinning at a given rate it does not slow down. It does slow down a little, but very, very little. If you have a bullet that is stable at 100 yards but not at 200 yards, then it must be at the ragged edge of not being stable at the muzzle. If you want to try a heavy bullet, then by all means go ahead. I seriously doubt if it will stabilize any thing over 69 grains, unless it is the Speer 70 semi point. It may not stabilize a 69 grain bullet either. You will have to try it to find out. I am darn sure it will stabilize a 65 grain bullet unless you have a crown problem or you are not getting enough velocity to spin'er up fast enough. That is by no means a free ticket to put a bunch of brand X powder, stuff it in a case to get the velocities you want. Follow reliable loading book recipes. If you can find a loading manual that lists 1 - 10" rate for their test rifle and use their bullet selection and recipe. I have several books and would tell you which one to get, but do not have access to them right now. One more thing, I do not know what the lead length is for a Rossi, but when you get into the long bullets, you have to be careful about seating them out too far. You also have to watch not to seat them in too far either. In both cases it will cause pressures to go up.

[LaOtto222]

I got a chance to look at my manuals. Alas, the only one I found that was a 1 - 10" was a Ruger ranch rifle. The manual is so old (loading manual #10 circa 1979) that they do no list VLD bullets (did not make 'em then). It was a Speer manual and they did list the Speer 70 Semi-point. You might look up loads for the Ranch Rifle. If it works in a ranch rifle it should work just fine in yours. BTW a side note. They mentioned autoloaders. They were talking about how you could not expect much accuracy out of them "But autoloaders in this caliber do not always produce the accuracy suitable for varmint hunting"...my, how things have changed.

[froggy]

Lots of good info coming out of knowledgeable people.  I was hoping to be able to shoot at least a 62 grain bullet at anywhere from 100 to 300 yards.  Once I get the chance to sit down and load up some different recipes and try them out I will let you all know what seems to work best.  I will proceed slowly and cautiously.
Thanks for the help.

[Gary paugh]

Try sierras 65gr game king they shot very well out of my 1/10 AR15
I load them with varget.

[LaOtto222]

Just thought I would toss out something else to think about. When you get into the VLD bullets, they are usually made for target shooting. Most bullets that are intended for varmints over 60 grains have a blunter shape to the nose. The Speer 70 Semi-point is like that and several other bullet makers do the same. They do that for two reasons. First is so they will stabilize in slower twist rates (1 - 12") and second they will expand better at lower velocities when they do hit their target. The Hornady 60 V-Max is a flat based pointed bullet made to blow up 'chucks and stuff. The Sierra 63 grain SMP is a little blunter, but the Sierra 65 grain SBT is a boat tail (an exception to the rule). You may or may not not get enough velocity to blow it up with varmints. BTW Sierra recommends a 1 - 10" twist or faster for their 65 grain SBT  and 63 grain SMP bullet in a 222 Remington. A 223 will develop a little more velocity than a 222. Some times you are better off using a lighter bullet at higher velocities for a varmints. Once a wood chuck is beyond 300 yards, it becomes a fairly small target taking more than average accuracy to take. Up to 300 yards, most bullets of 50 grains or higher perform well in a 223 for varmints. It is when you get way out there at 500 - 600 yards where the VLD bullets really make a difference. As you have been warned already, if you use a thin jacketed bullet at high velocity in a faster twist barrel, you will blow them up before they go too far out the barrel. Good luck to you.

[Old Syko]

The more blunt shape you mention allows for the longer bearing surface necessary to hold the rifling in a fast twist barrel without the need for a heavier jacket which will not perform properly on small varmints, doe's it not?

The 50 grain SPSX I mentioned earlier is so explosive that it is not unusual to take ground hogs out to 250 yds. and not leave an exit wound.  I've never had 1 exit a coyote or similar sized animal.  Anything beyond around 250 to 300 yds. I use either a 22-250 or a swift.  Not that the 223 wouldn't do it, but the bigger guns I have are just better equiped for the longer range.

I shoot my ARs out to 500 with heavier slugs, since that is as long as my range is here at the house, but I consider the ARs a different animal for a different purpose.  At least the ones that I own.

[LaOtto222]

I have used the 50 SXSP extensively in my 222 with outstanding results in both accuracy and explosiveness. Like you said it does not exit a ground hog, this side of 250 yards. Another thing I like about it is that it will not ricochet, once it hits the ground, it just blows up. I have had excellent results with 50 V-Maxs in my 1 - 14" twist 223. It is the first bullet I tried and it has done so well, I have not felt a need to try anything else. I have not tried them, but they still make a 55 grain SX. This might be a little better in the 223 (lower velocities). The 50 was designed for the 222 in mind. I believe the 55 was for the 223. Of course when they came up with these bullets the 223 was a standar 1 - 12" twist. I have not tried them, but I think they would be the same as the 50's but 5 grains heavier. I like the explosiveness found with the lighter bullets. When I shoot a ground hog, I do not like to see it crawl off, I want them down right now. The 50 SX will do that for you. Just as Syko warned do not push it too fast or it will never reach it's intended target.