Thread: How much does handloading improve accuracy?

My tikka 223 can put 52gr right on it all the time, and is forgiving also. Also likes the 69gr, both factory (focchi HPBT) and handload.

Originally Posted by zimmer

What sort of velocities did you get?
Are all the holes completely round?
Maybe try a different projectile.

What sort of groups were you getting with factory ammo?

I haven't used a chrony on the 223 so no clue at this stage , yes holes are completely round even the first lot at 24g charge ,usually shoots around an inch with ppu or better with Winchester ammo , I think il try upping the charge .5 I found some load data stating max charge for a 50g projectile 26.5g and maybe give it a bit more jump , iv heard good things about the ttsx so be good to get it working , im not %100 but I think the twist rate is 1:12 .

Originally Posted by Boaraxa

I haven't used a chrony on the 223 so no clue at this stage , yes holes are completely round even the first lot at 24g charge ,usually shoots around an inch with ppu or better with Winchester ammo , I think il try upping the charge .5 I found some load data stating max charge for a 50g projectile 26.5g and maybe give it a bit more jump , iv heard good things about the ttsx so be good to get it working , im not %100 but I think the twist rate is 1:12 .

Hodgdons lists 26.5 grains as max for the 50 grain Speer soft point, not the Barnes. 26.5 grains is over max for the Barnes especially when seated too close to the lands as you have. As the other ammo you have used shot well I think I am with Zimmer in thinking that your twist is too slow for the projectile and no amount of tinkering is going to help. As I said before if the load and length I suggested does not work then you need a different pill or a faster twist rifle. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings.
Grandpamac.

My first thought was your twist not stabilizing them but twist problems usually show up with key holing. And sometimes not classic full on keyholes but just slight tilting which you can see with different blackening on the sides of your bullet holes.
Barnes do however, because of their construction, require faster twist rates than equivalent weight lead cored projectiles.
One solution, if twist stability is the issue, is to spin them faster/drive them faster, if possible/safe. All of course based on Barnes recommended loads.

Originally Posted by zimmer

My first thought was your twist not stabilizing them but twist problems usually show up with key holing. And sometimes not classic full on keyholes but just slight tilting which you can see with different blackening on the sides of your bullet holes.
Barnes do however, because of their construction, require faster twist rates than equivalent weight lead cored projectiles.
One solution, if twist stability is the issue, is to spin them faster/drive them faster, if possible/safe. All of course based on Barnes recommended loads.

yea iv had the 55g barnes going sideways in the 22-250 , if I cant get these to work in the 223 will try them in the 22-250 with hopefully better results , just rechecked the holes under the paper still look straight to me , iv got 5 rounds charged at 25g il reseat them to Grandpa,s recommendations of oal 55mm , Failing these what other 50 or 55 grain projectiles would you recommend for deer ? .

Thanks for the suggestions .

50 grn barnes work fine in my ZASTAVA and its twist is 1;12 with similar load data..... BM2 worked great in it.... there is something really haywire goingon here...DONT WASTE ANY MORE $1 A POP PROJECTILES TILL WE GET TO BOTTOM OF IT.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

50 grn barnes work fine in my ZASTAVA and its twist is 1;12 with similar load data..... BM2 worked great in it.... there is something really haywire goingon here...DONT WASTE ANY MORE $1 A POP PROJECTILES TILL WE GET TO BOTTOM OF IT.

Well I got it suppressed a couple of weeks ago so sighted it in at 100 with 55g ppu no problems only thing I changed was adding an extra baffle to the dtp so tomorrow il put some ppu through it to confirm all is well , test the re-seated 25grain charge and if its a fail will have to change projectiles , iv got some sierra spbt here but would like to try something else as I run those in the 250 .Chur.

Originally Posted by Boaraxa

Well my quest for a decent 223 deer load didn’t go so well today , started of at 24g charge of benchmark 2 , fed primers & Barnes ttsx 50g flat base , after the first couple of shots I realised I’d be lucky to get 5 rounds to hit a A4 at 100y lol , but sure enough as I worked along upping the charge it did improve a little , best group was around 2 inches , can’t see any pressure signs so mite do 5 rounds at 26.5 if that dosnt work I mite have to look at a different projectile , suppose I could try more jump ? , my OAL touching the lands is 56.66 so I backed the projectile off to 56.37 . Any suggestions?
Attachment 144915

Haha. Something way off there, like going smoothbore? But no tumblers so not the case. Looks just a little bit worse than how my first, very shot out, $100 SMLE groups with Gun City HXP ammo but shot unsupported. Improved with flatter base Mk VII bullets.

Your bullets are relatively heavy and have a flat base already, so not the problem. Maybe a faster powder will upset your bullet bases better?

Doubt it’s the bullets causing that sort of groups,try looking at a factory Barnes seating depth and copy that,I did it with my .308,they seat them real deep compared to cup an core Bullets and that made my gun shoot them well.

Some guns just hate monolithic bullets it looks to me like some of those holes arn’t round
So possibly not Stabiliseing what twist rate have you got
Try the 55 or if you have a good enough twist 65gn game king

Yuck!

I’d give some factory ammo that uses Sierra 55 game kings. Found them to be decent little killers in the OSA ammo and well priced.

Could give you a decent reference too.

What rifle you got there?

Originally Posted by SlimySquirrel

Yuck!

I’d give some factory ammo that uses Sierra 55 game kings. Found them to be decent little killers in the OSA ammo and well priced.

Could give you a decent reference too.

What rifle you got there?

Its a Cz 527 , I googled up last night how to test the twist rate , im sure its a 1-12 but when I get home il put it through a simple test to double check , rifle,s only had a couple of hundred rounds through it if I cant get it rite I mite consider swapping @Cordite for his smooth bore 303

Originally Posted by Boaraxa

Well I got it suppressed a couple of weeks ago so sighted it in at 100 with 55g ppu no problems only thing I changed was adding an extra baffle to the dtp so tomorrow il put some ppu through it to confirm all is well , test the re-seated 25grain charge and if its a fail will have to change projectiles , iv got some sierra spbt here but would like to try something else as I run those in the 250 .Chur.

The extra DPT baffle is something that stands out like a shag on a rock as needing looking in to. A friend had a problem with wandering zero with his suppressed 6.5-06 and passed to me for therapy. The can, a DPT, had been fitted without a relief cut in front of the barrel shoulder as DPT recommends. The thread was also quite tight and it took some force to screw it on all the way. After some lubrication and screwing it on and of a few times it became easier to feel the can come up tight against the shoulder and normal service was resumed. The problem was just that the can was screwed o to a different position each time. There are lost of threads on a DPT can and they all need to be tight. Trying it without the extra baffle sounds like a good idea.
Regards Grandpamac.

That’s a great point.

Would be worth checking the scope base/rings/action screws etc as that’s really inconsistent and the Cz527 rifles I’ve played with have been lasers.
Had a Tikka 308 shooting HORRIBLE as received from the shop....needed everything tightened.

I tried some hornady solid gmx in my standard twist tikka 22-250 varmint thinking they would be the shizzle.
Was quite surprised to see what bullets did hit the paper were going through sideways!
So yes I would say it's right in the verge of stability issues

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