RELOAD OR NOT RELOAD

[MILLER TIME]

I GOT AN DPMS AR-15 223, STAINLESS, FLUTED 24 INCH BULL BARREL 1/9 TWIST A WHILE AGO AND WAS WONDERING WHAT GRAIN, FACTORY OF BULLET OR RELOADS ANY ONE WAS SHOOTING. I WOULD LIKE TO TIGHTEN UP MY GROUPS. I'M SHOOTING 1in. TO 1 1/2in GROUPS AT A HUNDRED YARDS. SHOULD I TRY RELOADING? ANY HELP WOULD BE GREAT.

[Muthagoose]

Cant hurt.Altho thats not bad, what are ya doing out at 250 with it.. Im shooting 21.6 g of 4198 behind a 55g fmjBT. Shooting in the 1" pin at 100 myself.I can dump dogs out to 2with it but like you want tighter...

I left it there this fall im still dialing it in and have 12 new loads in 3 different bullets to shoot this spring. gonna try the 45,50 and 64 grainers to see. I did like what the 45 hpbt do to crows this fall......POOOOF

[Whoaru99]

Personally, I don't think reloading for the .223 pays unless you shoot MANY rounds (or already reload for other stuff).

There are so many factory loads available to try...

Black Hills stuff seems to shoot pretty well for me, but then again, I'm presently shooting a stock Colt Match HBAR.

If you haven't already, you need to buy a box or two of many brands with the bullet weight/style you want to use and see what shoots best. Chances are you will find one that shoots on par with good reloads.

Oh, BTW, please don't type in all caps. It's considered by most people to be the equivalent of shouting.

[Big Julie]

I agree with whatshisname99

Now, I am assuming you are rock solid on sandbags.

You shouldn't have to reload something that is readily available. (Unless you're just plain fussy and love it.)

It's all about the speed with respect to the barrel twist to get your magic resonance aka tight groups.

You have to match the cartridge speed with your barrel twist to find the sweet match.

I would suggest varying bullet weights first.

Once you start seeing the lower or higher end of weights (probably will indicate velocity), then work more of those general size with different brands and you should be able to fine tune.

You should start seeing a pattern.

Does this make sense?

How big of a scope are you using?

Maybe borrow a big one (16 or 24) for playing around if you can.

Have fun.

Remember; it's the journey.

I just love going out to the range to punch (small) holes.

Julie

[MILLER TIME]

El cheapo scope!!Right now I have a bushnell 4.5-14, I'm honestly not a real big fan of it but the scope and trigger are my next upgrades for this gun. thanks for the help I'm going to try some different wieghts of bullets and see what happens.

[Whoaru99]

The 1:9 twist really should shoot all the bullet weights pretty well, except maybe the ULTRA heavy bullets >68/69 grain.

IMO, the bullet weight may make some difference, but I'm betting you'll find that a certain brand makes more difference.

Timney now has a really sweet drop-in trigger for the AR-style rifle. I'd have me one of those Timney triggers, but my rifle is a Colt that has that stupid sear block in it. I've thought about having it milled out, but it's probably cheaper and easier for me to get a different lower without the block.

[MILLER TIME]

Like you said i didnt see a whole lot of difference between the grain of the bullet but hornaday kicked the dump out of remingtons group. I should be recieving my JP trigger from DPMS in a few days, i think that will make a big difference, its alot lighter pull so i can squeeze the trigger in stead of pulling

[Big Julie]

You might enjoy this:

http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/st223_120606/

[MILLER TIME]

GREAT ARTICLE!! I put in a JP trigger the other day and wow what a differance it made . Thanks for all the help.

[Big Julie]

MT,

So, just out of curiosity, how much change?

With the gun you have, what would be your dream group?

You probably should be able to get 1/2 inch groups at 100 yds.

[MILLER TIME]

With the old trigger it seemed to take forever for the gun to go off, seemed to have a dead spot halfway through the pull and very hard. This trigger is very clean and crisp. Well worth the money. half inch groups at 100 would be great!! Although i do need to practice more.