Well, it has taken many months of sitting around and scratching one's ......... head, but we have finally sorted out a pretty good load for two different .223 rifles.

First one, a Howa Mountaineer is very happy with a diet of 55gn Remington PSP pushed by 25gn of ADI Bench Mark 2. 1/2 MOA at 100m is the best it has shot and I figure that is as good a "Minute of Rabbit" as we need.

The other rifle is a new Remington 7615 Police in .223 Rem. It has digested a quantity of different loads and bullet weights and is surprisingly happy with a fairly wide range of bullet weights. Most accurate load we have found for this rifle is 27gn 2208 (Varget) with the 55gn Remington PSP. Best accuracy so far is 1/2 MOA at 300m. Gotta be happy with that.

Cheers, Vince

Sounds like you have found a system or a secret to get a decent .223 load. I am impressed! All the best...
Gil

Hey Vince, sounds like you have some decent loads there. Are your results based on 100 yard accuracy? I have an AR type rifle that I wanted to shoot good at 200 yards & got good results (2 inch groups) with 27 grns of WW798 behind a Hornady 55 grn SP. I'm not finished yet, I want to try other bullet designs besides soft points.
Keep it coming...

Vince: as much as I love the 220 Swift, the 223 Rem has proven to be an extremely versatile cartridge for prairie dogs, coyotes and running Jacks.

Your rifles and data seem solid and ready to go to the field. Outside of rabbits, do you have much varmints in your area? How popular is varmint calling? Is there any advantage in selling pelts Down Under?

Vince, congrats on getting your .223 to shoot well. Was interesting to see that your load is very similar to the one I have developed for my .223.--tr

Sounds like ya got it worked out Vince. Benchmark and Varget shot very well for me in .223 with both 50gr and 55gr Nosler b-ts. I use Varget in the 308 as well I love it .
Joe

george20042007 wrote:

Hey Vince, sounds like you have some decent loads there. Are your results based on 100 yard accuracy? I have an AR type rifle that I wanted to shoot good at 200 yards & got good results (2 inch groups) with 27 grns of WW798 behind a Hornady 55 grn SP. I'm not finished yet, I want to try other bullet designs besides soft points. Keep it coming...

Gidday George. The Howa was shot at 100m and the Remington at 100m and 300m. It has taken a while and trying a number of different brands and weights of bullets, but it appears that we have arrived at our destination.

Handloader. We don't really have a much in the way of varmint shooting in Australia. I suppose the closest we come to small game is the humble rabbit....no prairie dogs or anything like it. As for calling, the only animal I am aware of that comes to a call is the red fox, although I'm sure that wild dogs and dog/dingo crosses will also respond to a call. Was going to try it some time back but we lost access to the property hunt because of a death on the family. Maybe pigs might respond too....not sure.

Gidday Joe. How are you mate? Varget is a very versatile powder thats for sure. I now use it exclusively for .243 and 30.30 and both like it. I also believe it to be the best powder in the ADI/Hogdon range for 308. The .223's belong to a couple of mates but we do load development together.

Cheers, Vince

Thanks for the data.

all I have is a 223 bushmaster varminter.
I realy have not had time to hit the range to truly bench test.

so far, every thing i have loaded has been extremely accurate.

I just bought some Sierra 22 cal. .224 dia. 69 GR. HPBT-MATCH .
anyone know of a good load for these. ?

Check the database of this site, I think I put one in there for the 69 using Varget.

I've had several .223's that loved 28-29g's of w-748 with the 55g Nosler Ballistic Tips. That load is my gold standard when my work up begins. Very fast and very accurate.

If you are getting a half minut at ANY range then you should be VERY pleased, especily with that new Remington if it is what I think it is then it is pump or slide action right? Again that is outstanding and you need ot keep that one for good.

As far a good BushMaster Vatminter load I have had some good things with Winchester brass; Winchester small rifle primers, and 55gr Hornady SXP with 22.7gr H322. Got a very nice group touching with this load, but yours will probably not like it at all; that is how it usually goes for me.

I wish we could hunt PD's here. I know where there are thousands and thousands about 60 miles from me, but they are protected in Sask cause we're the only province with any. There are lots in the U.S. My 17hmr with the new 6 - 24X42 scope would work real nice on them I figure.

www.se.gov.sk.ca/media...Poster.htm

1895,

Your sure about that, they arnt listed as such -> www.se.gov.sk.ca/ecosy...iesatrisk/ only rodent sized animal listed is the black footed ferriet. www.speciesatrisk.gc.c...ciesID=138

Dimitri

Well they call them the "black-tailed prairie dog" in the link I posted and let me tell you they look just like an over sized gopher. If you don't believe me come on out and I'll show you. The black footed ferret is a diff animal.

Opps forgot to click the link.

Dimitri