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Old September 7, 2012, 09:55 AM   #1
ScottRiqui
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Powder/charge choice versus bullet choice in .223?

In terms of accuracy, how big of a difference does the powder brand and charge weight make compared to the choice of bullet?

The reason I'm asking is that I have a bunch of the Armscor 62gr FMJBT bullets. I know that these bullets aren't in the same league as Sierra Matchking or anything like that - they're more suitable for "blasting/plinking" ammo. As such, I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to play around with working up a bunch of different loads of different types of powder in order to increase accuracy, or if I should just be satisfied with something that functions well in my AR, and save the meticulous load development for when I get some higher-quality bullets?
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Old September 7, 2012, 10:01 AM   #2
wingman
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Personally I would simply wait until I purchased quality bullets(the 52gr match-king has never failed to be super accurate in all my 223's)I would use what you have as practice and plinking..
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Old September 7, 2012, 11:40 AM   #3
snuffy
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I too bit the bullet, that being the armscor 62 grainers. While I ONLY tried one load, they shot miserably. The rest are covered with dust in a corner, likely will stay that way. No sense wasting powder and primers on them. YMMV, they MAY shoot okay with a different powder, but I'm too busy with loads that DO shoot.
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Old September 7, 2012, 11:52 AM   #4
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I concur with 'snuffy',

I have never been able to find a mix using the 62gr pulls that have given the performance that I want.

But then, they do a good job for what they were intended for.

I have several round loaded up for the grand kids to blast-a-way with. It makes them happy and is better than wasting my groomed loads.

Enjoy,

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Old September 7, 2012, 03:43 PM   #5
PA-Joe
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Barrel twist rate and bullet weight are the two key factors.
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Old September 7, 2012, 05:05 PM   #6
oldpapps
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There are many variables that have to come together for the illusion of accuracy to happen.

Fortunately many have worked hard and tested and calculated so much for us in the past (and on going). We can draw upon this great wisdom and follow what the market place offers and if we stay middle of the road, so to speak, we can have something that works for us.

To the subject of this thread.

As 'PA-Joe' has mentioned, rifles are rifled and some twists work poorly with given ranges of bullet lengths at some velocities and others do well. For the 62gr bullets in this thread, it is not actually the weight but the length of the bullet that can get us into trouble, well the velocity does come into the mix too.

I don't know the type of weapon that 'ScottRiqui' is dealing with, so I will guess an AR in one form or another.

The 62gr bullets are steel core and longer than they would be if fully lead core. This adds overall length.

I have found that 62gr .223/5.56 bullets in the normal spread of velocities for an AR type barrel will not stabilize well if the twist is as slow as 1 in 12. My AR-180 has a 1 in 12 twist and doesn't do well at all. I think a 1 in 9 or faster twist would be much better. I have have no problems with stability out of a 1 in 8 twist. Still doesn't have what I want but I think that is because of the bullet's them self.

If your weapon's twist is 1 in 9 or faster, you should be alright.

Note, I did try some 62gr loads out of a 1 in 14 twist and had to set up a box, big box, at 10 yards to catch the tumbling bullet shapes. Glad I didn't load up 500 or so and pack them away thinking they would be ok.

But, each weapon is a world unto itself and anything can happen.

Enjoy and be safe,.

OSOK
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Old September 7, 2012, 05:35 PM   #7
Edward429451
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You might try weighing them and segregating them in like weight groups to improve accuracy somewhat.
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Old September 7, 2012, 11:48 PM   #8
Jimro
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Scott,

I'd try 24 grains of Win748, WC844, WC846, or one of the new copper cleaning powders like CFE or Power Pro 1000.

If it functions in your AR and groups less than 3 MOA I would call it good.

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Old September 8, 2012, 08:52 AM   #9
ScottRiqui
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Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

Quote:
The 62gr bullets are steel core and longer than they would be if fully lead core. This adds overall length.
These aren't pulled surplus bullets, and I think they're just conventional copper-jacketed lead-core. Here's the link to the bullets on Midway's site.

These are being used in an AR, with a 1:9 twist. They function fine with about 24.0 gr of H335, but I just ran out of H335. I was given an 8-pound jug of AA2230, so I'm working up a load with that powder now. It sounds like there's really no point trying to "gnat's-ass" the charge weight or even the powder type with these bullets, since they're just range fodder for me (and it's a 25-yard indoor range, so I'm pretty much just shooting the 25-yard reduced Navy qualification target anyway).

Last edited by ScottRiqui; September 8, 2012 at 09:18 AM.
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Old September 8, 2012, 09:16 AM   #10
Jimro
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Yeah, if you are shooting a 25 meter target, load it up over 24 grains of pretty much any suitable powder and call it good.

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