Need help with 223 M77 loads...I am getting frustrated!

[ryand]

Hey folks.  I have a 223 M77 MKII light barrel that I cannot get to shoot at all.  I have tried Black Hills 50 grain VMax, 55 grain Soft points, Winchester White Box.  I have a Leupold 4-12AO on it and have had the barrel floated and glass bedded and had the trigger worked to a crisp 3lbs.

-The 55 grain SP's shot 1/2" groups at 100 yards but opened up to 5-6 inch groups at 200 yards.
-The 50 grain v-max shot 1 1/2" groups at 100 and 3" groups at 200 yards
-The white box was so bad I am not even going to list it

So I decided to load up some of my own.  I tried loading 50 grain v-max with 1,2 and 3 below max loads with W748 powder and it shot 2 1/2 groups at 100 with all of them.

I know there are a lot of powder and bullet choices out there but I don't want to go broke trying them all.  Anyone have THIS GUN and a load that they have had luck with?

Thanks for the help!

[Slamfire]

Try varyin' the seating depth of the bullets. I start at 0.010" off the lands, and then increase by 0.010" until I'm satified. This seems to work a whole lot better'n changin' powders, primers or charge weights. Pick a powder, shoot over a chronograph, increase the charge weight until the velocity gain falls off, then back up to the last load, and play with the bullet seatin' depth. 

[safetysheriff]

  I have a 223 M77 MKII light barrel that I cannot get to shoot at all.  I have tried Black Hills 50 grain VMax, 55 grain Soft points, Winchester White Box.  I have a Leupold 4-12AO on it and have had the barrel floated and glass bedded and had the trigger worked to a crisp 3lbs.

I know there are a lot of powder and bullet choices out there but I don't want to go broke trying them all.  Anyone have THIS GUN and a load that they have had luck with?

Thanks for the help!

i'm going to try to help though my M77- MkII is not a light-barrel'd version.

i'd go back to a 'pressure-bedded' situation, which i think the rifle came with from the factory, though i'm not sure.

i wonder how the rifle shot before you had the work done.......if you tried it before getting it worked on.

i think that many times it is assumed that free-floating is proper; but many lightweight barrels need pressure bedding.    it's standard on those magnificently accurate Remington Model 700's in a number of their variations.   and i've worked with absolute tack drivers among them.

please consider pressure bedding the barrel and let us know what happens.

good shooting to you,

ss'   

[Golsovia]

One of the first places I go when I am either short on a powder supply or budget or am tired of trying what I've tried is to the Sierra and Nosler books for their "accuracy load" suggestions.

While W748 is one of the powders listed, they also show IMR 4895, AA 2230, and H335 with the 50 to 55 range. I also sometimes look for accuracy powders by also looking at similar cartridges like the 222 and 222 Mag (where you'll see H322 and IMR 3031 as well).

I have had less than optimal accuracy results with W748 in my sporter M77 223 but it does like H335 and IMR 4895. Either of them would be my first choice.

The V-Max in either 50 or 55 should work though you might also want to try other quality bullets like the Nosler or Sierra bullets in similar weights.

[Val]

Benchmark powder works well in my .223.

[hunting1]

You have a 1/12 twist so 40gr pills will fly best. I reload Sierra BK 40gr, Varget 25grs, LC brass and can do 1/2" all day in mine and in buddies I load for.