Rebarrel - 223 or 223 Ackley Improved

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A lot of you fellows out there are 223 shooters, so I have a question for you. I'm probably going to rebarrel my 223 bolt gun. Should I just go with 223 again, or should I go with 223 Improved? I've already got the 220 Swift, so I don't need another really hot laser beam round. Whatever round I choose, I think I'll go with the 1 in 9 twist again, in a 20 inch sporter weight barrel, and I plan to shoot that 65 grain Sierra Gameking or the 60 grain Nosler Partition. I haven't done the math yet, but I'm thinking that the 223 Imp might give me a velocity with the 65 grain not too far from what I now have with the 55 grain bullet, and I like the sound of that. Of course there'll be a lot of fireforming, but I'll be working up new loads anyway. So what do you learned folk think I should do? And right now I have Nosler and Hornady brass (that's been shot a few times), and how are they with fireforming? Thanks for any comments you want to make (within reason).
 
Is this your hawkeye? Last time you posted about that rifle you had it all sorted & it was shooting the fabled "one ragged hole" groups. Are you expecting to improve on that?
 
100-150 fps out of the same length barrel with like weight bullets... Longer brass life... What's not to like about that?? If you like your barrel you have now, you can have the chamber end set back a enough to re-chamber to 223 improved... This will give you a new throte area. The rifleing should be fine unless you have shot thousands of rounds through it. Fireforming is not hard at all. Just shoot your current loads through it, or factory ammo and you have your formed brass. I was thinking about doing that with my AR15, but I don't know if ill gain enough to make it worth my while. I already have the dies and a load that will shoot 1/4 MOA. Its always on the back of my mind though...
 
MDD,

Like I told somebody recently, the rifle did shoot that tiny little group, and I was so happy at that moment that I cleaned the rifle and put it up so not to risk ruining my mood with a possible follow-up bad group. Unfortunately, I can't seem to make it shoot that well again. The barrel gets heated up a bit and the group expands. Not vertical or horizontal, but just bigger. But...this morning it did just like it did a couple of days ago. With a cold barrel and no wind, it shot the first and second shots real tight and right on the money. And, it shot the 55 grain Nosler BT and the 60 grain Partition (the third shot) in about the same place. Not exactly the same impact point, but close enough. So what I have is a decent shooting rifle, but not a great shooting rifle, and I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with that or not. I'll try the 65 grain Sierra Gameking and the 55 grain Gameking, which are the bullets I plan to shoot in this rifle, with a few more powders before I get serious about rebarreling. With the first shot in a cold barrel being very accurate, that's certainly good enough for hunting, but this is intended to be my general shooting-for-fun rifle, which means more than just one shot from a cold barrel. So I'll load some more and shoot some more and see how it goes. At least I'm not bored, and I'll be pretty excited if I can find the magic load. I really like the rifle, particularly with the new Hogue stock.
 
Well I think we all can appreciate wanting multiple shot pinpoint consistency. I hope you don't mind me saying but it seems like you want to have your cake & eat it too. I'm sure an aftermarket barrel would be better but it too will be subject to thermal expansion and the accompanying effects upon accuracy....even more so in the sporter weight barrel you prefer. I'm curious how long you let the barrel cool between shots; not because I think you're doing anything wrong but because I may want to buy that old barrel off you:)
 
My problem is that my rebarreled 220 Swift, with a short sporterweight Douglas barrel just shoots great groups, even when past warm and starting into hot. I want that from this 223. I'll admit that I might not have waited as long between shots as I should've with the 223, but the weather was cold and the barrel never got more than just real warm. I've promised myself that I'll be patient with this next round of reloads, with cooling between shots, and I'll go with 3 shot groups rather than 5 shot groups. The 220 Swift has me spoiled, in that it's just a dead-on laser beam weapon. I don't have that yet with the 223 - either the accuracy or the confidence. But I eventually will have that, either with this barrel or the next barrel. And if I do rebarrel, you can have the old one for free if you'll come to central Texas to get it. Beer is on me. And I still haven't decided whether to go with 223 or 223 AI....if I rebarrel. Probably just stay with the 223, since I have the dies and such.
 
IMO i would stay with the .223, not switch to AI. There are already lots of guns out there in .223 that are insanely accurate. To switch to the AI just because you are trying for better accuracy IMO is kind of a waste. You don't get enough in return in terms of accuracy for all the money you'd have to spend to convert it.

That's my .02
 
The thought of switching from the 223 to the 223 AI wasn't because I thought the latter was more accurate. I just figured that if I changed barrels, why not get something a little different. Now that I'm retired, I have plenty of time to fiddle with shooting and reloading, and I don't have even one 'improved' caliber. Makes me ashamed...I'm going to call the gunsmith right now and talk barrel cost and turnaround time. I need him to do some work on the action anyway.
 
I just figured on fireforming the Nosler and Hornady cases I had, and maybe springing for some Norma or Lapua cases. From what I read the 223 AI is among the easiest of cartridges to fireform. I wasn't aware that any case supplier had the AI cases, and I'd just as soon 'make' the cases myself. I've already put more rounds through this Ruger than I've put through my other rifles combined in the last 2 years. I was one of the guys that resisted buying a 223 because I didn't see much need for it. But I have to admit that it fits my fun shooting needs just perfectly. Cheap to shoot and easy to reload.
 
mdd and publius,

Your advice (stay with what I have) was good. I spent the day loading and shooting the 65 grain Sierra Gameking in the Ruger Hawkeye, and it loved that bullet. I finally settled on 25 grains of AA2230 behind it, and the rifle shoots really really nice. I didn't measure the groups, but they were in the range of 0.60 inch or a bit less. Nice round groups and no flyers at all. I'm pleased. So...no new barrel is required, which ends my debate over 223 or 223 AI. Now I think I'll park the 220 Swift for a while and hunt coyotes and pigs with the 223.
 
I don't have my manuals handy but isn't 25 grains of aa2230 a pretty hot charge? I seem to remember trying a load very similar to yours only to find the firing pin punched through the primers and I had some pretty significant pressure indicators.
Not trying to proverbially urinate in your cheerios now that you've found a load that works. I'm glad you were able to answer your own question on the rebarrel issue.
 
I was going by the Lyman book, and using the base info for the 63 grain Sierra bullet, since they don't show the bullet I use. I don't have the book in front of me, but I think I could've gone upwards of 25.5 or maybe 26 grains of that powder. So I'm near the top end of the scale, but the primers aren't flattened and the case head mics fine. If anyone has info to say otherwise, do say so. If not...I've got my load and can quit fussing over that rifle. This was a finicky gun. Odd that it didn't like light bullets.
 
I guess the proof is in the pudding & it sounds like you've found a winner. It must feel good to reach the end of this road and just be able to enjoy your rifle.
 
I didn't read all the posts but what I got out of it was you have a .223(1 in 9?)probably, you want to rebarrel and ackley improve the .223 to have something different, and you already have a.220 swift. My first thought was take the 1in 9 or even a new 1 in 8 and run a 22-250 ackley reamer through it,barrel life probably won't be as good but you would have a gun that would shoot heavier bullets like a laser.:D IMHO
 
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