.223 copper plated 55 gr

C

Custombullet

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I got ahold of some .223 55gr TMJ Frontier bullets from South Africa. I thought it might be of interest to all that their tech support has tested to 3200fps.

I have loaded several but not yet had the chance to actually shoot and chronograph. I will update soon as the opportunity presents itself. Having read on several forums the bullets won't support these velocities. I thought I would update that according to them they will and I hope to see if true.

I wouldn't recommend these bullets for match shooting or long range but for shooting steel, rocks, cans, etc... they should be fine. Hopefully in next couple weeks, I'll be able to test in both AR's and a bolt gun.

Good Shootin,
John
 
Custombullet wrote:
I got ahold of some .223 55gr TMJ Frontier bullets...
Click to expand...

Are they actually 0.223 diameter? Or are they 0.224 diameter that you are going to load into 223 Remington cases?

Also, keep in mind that forward velocity is not the only stress on the bullet's structure. Rotation plays a role in the bullet's ability to retain integrity. A bullet fired out of a 1:7 twist barrel will almost invariably disintegrate at a lower velocity than one fired from a 1:12 barrel.

I once loaded some Hornady SX (i.e. Super eXplosive) bullets near their limit of 2,800 fps. Out of my Ruger Mini-14 with a 1:12 barrel, they were fine making nice circular holes in the target. Out of my S&W M&P-15 with a 1:9 barrel, there is what appears to be a whisp of gray "smoke" about halfway to the target and no holes.
 
Custom bullet, 1 post, touting a specific bullet from a specific retailer.... My troll detector is buzzing...

Hdwhit,
I can't drive that stuff into anyone's head!
The jacket isn't to keep the barrel free of lead, it's to keep the lead core intact with higher velocities & to grip rifling at higher PRESSURES.

What happens most time with super expansion bullets ('Varmint Grenades') is thin jackets that allow explosive expansion at the terminal end of the ballistic chain,
The rifling cuts through the jacket, which peels back in flight and works like air brake on one side,
Or, the pressure simply strips the the jacket off as pressure forces it down way too tight of rifling for the bullet, (or both).

A buddy was shooting a super fast bullet he had loaded, through his super tight twist barrel,
Couldn't print on 14" square targets @ 100yds...
Took about 30 shots, finally a jacket stuck on the chronograph rod, got to looking and picked up about a dozen more jackets/jacket fragments off the concrete...

His rifle was advertised as a 'Tack Driver' @ 800yds with 77 grain bullets, had a 1:6" twist barrel, couldn't shoot light weight bullets at all...
And he purchased it for an upcoming prairie dog hunt, time for a quick rebarrel, the only thing I had laying around was 1:8" but it would shoot sub MOA with reasonable velocity loads.

When we got back I took my barrel back, he tried everything to get me to trade!

I can't stand that 'Tacti-Cool' crap, absolutely no reason to stuff a 77 to 99 grain bullet down a .223, if you want to shoot 800-1,000yds simply buy one of 100 chamberings that will reach that far off the shelf with factory ammo!
What's next? 600yard .22 rimfire? 500 yard BB guns? Something equally stupid?
 
Jeephammer wrote:
What's next? 600yard .22 rimfire?
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Why not?

These are, after all, just "fashion trends" that people are following.

The "600 yard 22 rimfire" could involve the use of the same ballistic calculators used in Army howitzers for high angle indirect fire onto exploding tannerite targets. Marry it with GPS and it could start a trend of non-line-of-sight marksmanship.

Get some "Opinion Leader" to sign on to it as the newest trend and think of how much money there would be to be made selling all the accessories people would need for the new sport! Brilliant idea, Jeephammer.
 
Ranks right up there with the pet rock, fidget spinner, man bun & eyelashes for the headlights on your car...

Somebody might do it, but it won't be me...
I don't need a cell phone 'Selfie' bracket on my rifle, no cup holder, no rearview mirror, no ashtray, no beer coozie... The list goes on...
 
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Frontier calls 'em CMJ's(complete metal jacket). Same thing as a TMJ. They're .224". I'd question the 3,200 FPS though. A plated bullet is not a jacketed bullet.
There's no load data or any tech info on their site. No mention of North America distribution at all. Their CMJ pistol bullets have been up here for years though.
 
Update

Goal here was to share information on the use of copper plated bullets not advertise for anyone. Frontier just happens to be the clad my supplier carries and I volunteered find any info on anyone shooting a .223 clad bullet.

They are labeled. 224 diameter and my B&S mic did confirm on the half dozen I measured.

I was able to get to the range Sunday with a some rds loaded with 25 gas of Ramshot Xterinator. Sadly we weren't early enough to setup the Chronograph do to how busy it was.

We did run the loads through a 110 Savage, Bushmaster AR15 and a Travor X95 and a Mini 14. Accuracy was surprising although non were sand bagged for a through test but shot as well as some 50gr Balistictip's we had along. We had no issues of any kind with any of the firearms in question. No bullets came apart, shooting at paper and steel at 100 yds showed grouping and resounding clang's. Bores looked like shooting any other although time has not allowed a through cleaning to Verify.

It seems clad rifle bullets will accomplish the goal of offering a cheaper priced bullet for what I was wanting, shooting steel. I did slice into one and although couldn't actually measure but the cladding appeared as thick as a normal cup and core jacket.

Obviously, not a through I know but is a starting point since I expect others will soon be offering. I need bench time to test throughly but though info useful to others who may wish to try. I paid just more than .06 each and feel for shootin steel and plinkin, hard to beat.

Good Shootin
 
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