.223 for bear, deer, elk and moose.

[TX_Diver]

Not sure how well these will show up but here's the brass. 25.6 looked a little scratched up but no ejector marks/swipe or cratering that I could see?

 

[BigNate]

They look like the primers are a little flat, but also looks like the primer is starting to flow back around the firing pin leaving a little protrusion if I'm seeing it correctly. Both high pressure signs.

 

[Pharmseller]

@Pharmseller , mind sharing your Benchmark load?

Many thanks,
John

It’s max, so work up.

23.5 gr, CCI400 primer, R-P brass. I load really long, 1.940” BTO. That’s just barely touching the lands.

2915 fps

Edit to add, 24” barrel.




P

 

[roosiebull]

They're all spendy

I'm gonna load up some 77 TMKs with Staball match in .5gr increments to around 24gr and see what velocity I get and where pressure is then try a group of 10 and see what happens.

Will post results later.

That first cartridge you shoot may not clear the barrel, but you could probably set up the chrono in the house and be fine until you hit 3 grains of powder

 

[miller3483]

Here’s the load I settled on, work up slowly, it’s above max.

77 TMK
Lc brass
CCI 450
25 gr Staball Match
2.28 COAL
Approx. 2800fps, drops verified at 500
18” Suppressed Tikka

 

[TX_Diver]

I’ll go back and check and see if I missed cratering or if it’s just the pics. They are a bit flat but I’ve found most loads to flatten a bit at very low velocities. if I missed cratering I’d definitely drop down a bit!

 

[TX_Diver]

Here’s the load I settled on, work up slowly, it’s above max.

77 TMK
Lc brass
CCI 450
25 gr Staball Match
2.28 COAL
Approx. 2800fps, drops verified at 500
18” Suppressed Tikka

Do you have one year of LC or mixed?

 

[TX_Diver]

I probably missed slight cratering at 25.6gr. At 25gr it doesn't catch my nail but it's hard to tell.

Based on that I'd probably back off to 24.5gr which would put me in the 2650fps range. At my elevation that's 1800fps around 400-425 yards.

L to R
24.3 N140 w/ 75 ELD-M -- 22gr Match 77TMK - 25gr Match 77TMK -- 25.6 gr Match 77 TMK

 

[ShootOkHuntWorse]

My tikka seems to crater on everything.

 

[miller3483]

Do you have one year of LC or mixed?

I think it’s all the same year, but I’m not entirely sure. I found a bag of new American Eagle 556 brass at a lgs last year and it’s all LC head stamped. It’s on its second firing.

 

[Billogna]

Here's my results with match. Helps being able to shoot at the house right now.

loaded inside on a chargemaster lite and checked with an RCBS 502 scale so take listed weights for what their worth.

Loaded up 22 to 25gr. Had what looked like a slightly flat primer at 24.4g but it looked pretty comparable to some other loads so I kept going. With no other signs at 25gr I went back inside and loaded another at 25gr then 25.2, 25.4, and 25.6.

T3x with an 18.5" barrel, and a magnetospeed sporter strapped to a supressor with the sensitivity turned all the way up.

For reference I get 2710 with 24.3g of N140 and a 75gr ELD-M.

I'm guessing either Hodgdon load is extremely conservative, or the LC brass and Tikka being able to shoot 5.56 fine are letting me go over book max? I'm fine with ~2700 fps (I'd probably stop at 25 or 25.2 maybe...). Would anyone keep going though just to find max or would you guys stop there. I'm not extremely experienced so I'd rather not push it too far.

Just something to watch out for, and maybe you already know this, but when the velocity drops as your working up a load: In this case that slight decrease from 25 grains to 25.2, it is often a warning sign that there is about to be a spike in pressure. I also saw what others mentioned about slightly flat primer and very slight cratering.

 

[TX_Diver]

I’ve heard that but was hesitant with the sample size of one and small powder/speed increase to read too much into that. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

I will probably load 10 at 24.5 today and see what it looks like on paper. I can also try N140 with them just for fun.

Just something to watch out for, and maybe you already know this, but when the velocity drops as your working up a load: In this case that slight decrease from 25 grains to 25.2, it is often a warning sign that there is about to be a spike in pressure. I also saw what others mentioned about slightly flat primer and very slight cratering.

 

[Thegman]

I probably missed slight cratering at 25.6gr. At 25gr it doesn't catch my nail but it's hard to tell.

Based on that I'd probably back off to 24.5gr which would put me in the 2650fps range. At my elevation that's 1800fps around 400-425 yards.

L to R
24.3 N140 w/ 75 ELD-M -- 22gr Match 77TMK - 25gr Match 77TMK -- 25.6 gr Match 77 TMK

FWIW, you ain't gonna blow up your Tikka with that load.

Meant to add, the 25 grain load you're referring to (or any of them, really). The Tikka is WAY over-built for the 223 case.

Might be worth seeing how your primer pockets hold up to multiple loadings. There are a lot of variables that make reading fine details on a primer difficult.

If your primer pockets are getting loose after two or three loads that might be a better indicator or high pressure than fine details on the primer. Even at that though, I doubt it would seriously stress your rifle. I think the brass will tell you long before the rifle does.

 

[Nine Banger]

Hello all,

Here's a 223 bear with 77gr TMK. 25.5gr Accurate 2520. 18" barrel. 2784fps average.

411 yard steep angle shot upwards.

When you're a lowlander and all the locals tell you to center punch a bear fricking think about it and force yourself to DO IT.

This shot went in above the armpit and hung up in the offside ribcage as seen in the photo right below with the big nasty whelp. First fragment was pulled out from the outside. The others were pulled out thru the adnominal cavity. Onside lung was bruised, offside lung was cut.

 

[AK4570]

It’s max, so work up.

23.5 gr, CCI400 primer, R-P brass. I load really long, 1.940” BTO. That’s just barely touching the lands.

2915 fps

Edit to add, 24” barrel.




P

Danke.

I've got 10 loaded with 23.3 behind the RMR 69 and as long as will fit in a factory T3x mag.

I'll report back.

Thanks again,
John

 

[Pharmseller]

Gern geschehen

I’m using aftermarket mags to load long.

 

[Moose83]

So... I was out last night shooting my RSS at 600 yds. 4.5 mils ended up being my come up for that distance. When I got home I started fiddling around with the ballistic calculators on Hornady's website (they're free, and I'm cheap). When I use the standard bc calculator I end up with a velocity of 2725fps. When I use the 4dof calculator with their profile for the 77 tmk I end up with a velocity of 2850. My question is which one do I believe? Most of the data from both calculators is within 0.2mils but that seems like a fairly large swing in velocity. My load is 25gr of leverevolution, 77tmk, federal 5.56 brass, federal 205 primer. Based on what I've seen here and elsewhere I'm more inclined to believe it's 2725fps especially since my barrel has been chopped to 20". What do you guys think?

 

[Formidilosus]

So... I was out last night shooting my RSS at 600 yds. 4.5 mils ended up being my come up for that distance. When I got home I started fiddling around with the ballistic calculators on Hornady's website (they're free, and I'm cheap). When I use the standard bc calculator I end up with a velocity of 2725fps. When I use the 4dof calculator with their profile for the 77 tmk I end up with a velocity of 2850. My question is which one do I believe? Most of the data from both calculators is within 0.2mils but that seems like a fairly large swing in velocity. My load is 25gr of leverevolution, 77tmk, federal 5.56 brass, federal 205 primer. Based on what I've seen here and elsewhere I'm more inclined to believe it's 2725fps especially since my barrel has been chopped to 20". What do you guys think?

4dof produces wild outputs on non Hornady bullets. A .420 G1 BC works correctly.

 

[Moose83]

4dof produces wild outputs on non Hornady bullets. A .420 G1 BC works correctly.

I kind of figured it was something like that. I think I used a .410 bc as sierra's website lists different bc's for different velocities and I half ass guessed where the bullet would spend most of its time at that range.

 

[H280]

Here’s the load I settled on, work up slowly, it’s above max.

77 TMK
Lc brass
CCI 450
25 gr Staball Match
2.28 COAL
Approx. 2800fps, drops verified at 500
18” Suppressed Tikka

Is this a compressed load?