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.223 question
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George Hill
Staff Alumnus
500 Meters is the Max effective range as said by the US ARMY. I have persoanlly shot 500 meter targets... But I question the bullets effectiveness after bleeding so much energy to get there.
Some guys may claim 600 meters - Maybe for paper targets. I dont know what the bullet is doing out the far and it is very hard to gauge the windage on such a light bullet out there.
Now days, I would not go further than 300 unless I really had to. With good Hornady ammo I did some very good 300 meter shooting. But only because I knew the range down to foot. Got some good hits on very small P-Dogs.
To wrap up this ramble - look sharp at the ballistics of your load. Gauge it there. For me, if its past 3 - it gets a .308.
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Not all Liberals are annoying... Some are Dead.
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
The Critic formerly known as Kodiac
[This message has been edited by George Hill (edited October 02, 1999).]
Some guys may claim 600 meters - Maybe for paper targets. I dont know what the bullet is doing out the far and it is very hard to gauge the windage on such a light bullet out there.
Now days, I would not go further than 300 unless I really had to. With good Hornady ammo I did some very good 300 meter shooting. But only because I knew the range down to foot. Got some good hits on very small P-Dogs.
To wrap up this ramble - look sharp at the ballistics of your load. Gauge it there. For me, if its past 3 - it gets a .308.
------------------
Not all Liberals are annoying... Some are Dead.
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
The Critic formerly known as Kodiac
[This message has been edited by George Hill (edited October 02, 1999).]
Harley Nolden
Staff In Memoriam
ZIP:
The army and USMC, using the H-Bar have gone to a heavier and longer bullet 69gn? and have done well in the long range matches @ Camp Perry. They were both winners, don't know the year, in the long range match. I think that is 600yds.
I would guestimate that the 55grn wouldn't make it. The 55grn, in my experience, is not effective, accuracy wise, after 275-300 yds.
HJN
The army and USMC, using the H-Bar have gone to a heavier and longer bullet 69gn? and have done well in the long range matches @ Camp Perry. They were both winners, don't know the year, in the long range match. I think that is 600yds.
I would guestimate that the 55grn wouldn't make it. The 55grn, in my experience, is not effective, accuracy wise, after 275-300 yds.
HJN
flatlander
New member
High Power shooters are using 80gr. bullets with ballistic coeficients approaching .500 for 600yd. matches. This requires a twist rate of 1/8 or more to stabilize these long bullets. AR-15 Service Rifles with 20" barrels are very competitive in this type of shooting, and have won the Service Rifle events at Camp Perry for the past several years. I've seen new shooters try their luck at 600 with 55gr FMJ bullets, and it's not pretty. Even a little puff of wind will move 55's a long ways at 600. On a good day with little or no wind, you may be able to make hits at 600yds. with 55gr. bullets, but 300yds. is a lot more realistic.
Yes, they do, you might want to try the Hornady T.A.P. ammo in the 75 grain bullet. Most good gunshops stock it, or Midway at 800-223-3220 has it. It's pretty good at longer ranges. You will need a quicker rifling twist to use it, though. If your rifle barrel is 1/9 twist or less, no problem. If it's 1/10 or 12, It won't shoot well at all. Hope this helps.
Chad Young
New member
As for the effective range of .223, it varies according to bullet weight and the rifling twist rate of the barrel.
If you have a firearm with the old 1 in 12" twist rate (i.e., M16A1, Daewoo DR200), stick to bullets 55 grains and lighter out to 300m or so. Some Mini-14 rifles had 1 in 10" twist, so I imagine you might could use slightly heavier bullets. The 52-grain Federal Premium is fantastic stopper out to 300m with this twist rate.
A .223 rifle with a 1 in 9" twist is good up to 69 grains typically, with accuracy out to 500m or so. A lot of police snipers who use .223 in rifles of this twist rate prefer the 62-grain Federal Premium with a Nosler bulet.
The current military M-16 has a 1 in 7" twist, which can accomodate bullets as heavy as 70+ grains! I am told by some very reliable sources, however, that any non-FMJ bullets tend to break up from the radial stress caused by very high rotation speeds. Also, bullet weights over 62 grains usually result in a cartridge too long to fit in a magazine. The current military cartridge is the SS109 which has a 62-grain projectile.
Take care in shooting bullets over 55 grains with the older 1 in 12" rifling. The bullets will tumble and you will get no accuracy whatsoever. I have seen bullet weights from Sierra as heavy as 72 grains.
If you have a firearm with the old 1 in 12" twist rate (i.e., M16A1, Daewoo DR200), stick to bullets 55 grains and lighter out to 300m or so. Some Mini-14 rifles had 1 in 10" twist, so I imagine you might could use slightly heavier bullets. The 52-grain Federal Premium is fantastic stopper out to 300m with this twist rate.
A .223 rifle with a 1 in 9" twist is good up to 69 grains typically, with accuracy out to 500m or so. A lot of police snipers who use .223 in rifles of this twist rate prefer the 62-grain Federal Premium with a Nosler bulet.
The current military M-16 has a 1 in 7" twist, which can accomodate bullets as heavy as 70+ grains! I am told by some very reliable sources, however, that any non-FMJ bullets tend to break up from the radial stress caused by very high rotation speeds. Also, bullet weights over 62 grains usually result in a cartridge too long to fit in a magazine. The current military cartridge is the SS109 which has a 62-grain projectile.
Take care in shooting bullets over 55 grains with the older 1 in 12" rifling. The bullets will tumble and you will get no accuracy whatsoever. I have seen bullet weights from Sierra as heavy as 72 grains.
Flatlander is absolutely correct, so far as I've seen.
Having worked the pits at a highpowered rifle match at 600 yards, I could really see the difference between the guys with their 26" .223's and the guys with their .308's and '06's. At 300 yards, it would have been a wash for accuracy. At 600, that 5 mph wind gusting to 8 mph sent the .22's all over the paper, and indeed, off the paper. This was about 10 years ago, though, and I believe they were using .55 g. bullets.
Regards,
L.P.
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Will you, too, be one who stands in the gap?
Matt
Having worked the pits at a highpowered rifle match at 600 yards, I could really see the difference between the guys with their 26" .223's and the guys with their .308's and '06's. At 300 yards, it would have been a wash for accuracy. At 600, that 5 mph wind gusting to 8 mph sent the .22's all over the paper, and indeed, off the paper. This was about 10 years ago, though, and I believe they were using .55 g. bullets.
Regards,
L.P.
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Will you, too, be one who stands in the gap?
Matt