Accuracy with 223 55gr fmj??whats your best results for trying to shoot precision?

[Buckythebrewer]

I am out of bullets:mad:!!! :).Well at least my good ones,and I can't afford to order more so I loaded up my last 60 rounds of FLAT open base 55gr FMJ(LC I think)..I have had some O.K. accuracy from time to time with these bullets(1/2 inch 5 shot grps @ 100yards a couple times but mostly just under 1").I was wondering what people have been able to get for accuracy with the 55gr FMJ?I have not tried the boat tail 55's and would expect better accuracy but am not sure..My best success is with 77-80gr smk but wan't to try 75gr a-max for potentially 1000yrd shooting in my 1-8 twist barrel..So Whats your best results with the 55fmj??
Any comments on your experience with the 75gr A-max would be appreciated as well..

[Scott]

Just this past weekend, I played with my daughter's new rifle, just to break in the barrel and see how it would group with random loads/bullets.
One thing I've seen time and time again is the 55 Sierra GameKing with 20.5 of H4198 will shoot sub-MOA out of just about any rifle.
It shoots well out of her 1X12 as well as my AR match rifle with a 1X7 and all of my 1X9 barrels too.
I remember seeing an article somewhere about the best way to start as far as developing a load and saw this opinion mentioned by some reloading guru.
"If you can't get it to group with that combination, it won't group at all." I believe was what he said.

[Scott]

Forgot to mention in the previous post.......I ended up with a few 1/2 inch groups using that 55SGK with 20.5 og H4198, Win case, and Federal 205....I think the OAL was 2.240.

[Buckythebrewer]

Yes ,,I have good luck with sierra bullets(77-80).I have read many times that the 52 gr smk is one of the best for 100-200yrds..I can see a big difference between the 55gr fmj and Sierra bullets.I know that there is probably a combination to get the 55 fmj's to group better but you can see were the match type bullets make a big difference over a wider range of variance..I have shot some good groups with the 55 fmj's but those groups are rare and hard to reproduce for me.With good load work-up the Sierra's I have shot do well for me to at least 625yrds(one group was 4 out of 5 under 1/2 M.O.A.using a scope and 14.5 lbs of rifle with a j-p trigger around 3 lbs)..And I will try the 75gr A-Max using the same h4895 powder I always use for the ar15..I have heard that bullet can do well at 1000yrds because of its high BC.After shooting 625yrds,I am going crazy wanting to try and pull off 1000yrds with hopes of some decent accuracy:D .What a rush!!!

[P-990]

I've never been able to get that kind of accuracy with the 55gr FMJs. I was told once that a shooter should be able to score cleans at 200 and 300 yards using 55gr Ball ammo. Well, I've never seen a shooter do that at a Highpower match yet, but I'll reserve judgement...

There are 3 or 4 .224" bullets I look at for developing pinpoint AR-15 loads, depending on barrel twist: 52gr Hornady HPBT, 69gr Sierra Matchking, 77gr Nosler Custom Competition and 80gr Nosler Custom Competition. (That last is obviously a single-load only proposition, and I don't bother test them at less than 300 yards.) For powder it's 748 with the 52s and Varget with the rest. I'm confident I can make a .223 shoot with some combination of the above, more often than not.

If you're able to get less than 1" at 100 with those 55gr FMJs, I'd say stick with it. Try 748 powder, as an option, as it works well in lightweight .223 IME.

[amamnn]

For what it's woth, you won't find many, if any 55 gr. match bullets for the .223 rem. or 5.56mm. That being said, a lot of long distance varminters get good results with 55 gr. Combined Technology bullets. I have shot them myself, and they do compare favorably with the 52 and 53 gr. Sierra Matchking, although they are not as consistent in weight or in base to ogive length.