223. remington as practice rifle for long range shooting???

[NorSpecOps90]

Hey guys

I was thinking about a good caliber that i could practice long range shooting with and i came across the 223 remington! In switzerland i could buy the GP90 ammo which is very cheap and very accurate!

What are ur toughts about that? any good handloads for the 223. Rem?

Brass,Powder,Bullet and primer?

Thx NorSpecOps

 

[teddy12b]

Personally I think it's a great idea and its exactly what I do. Why get beat up with heavy recoil and pay big prices for ammo. The 223 can be shot all day long and lots of lessons on the wind can be learned.

I like the sierra 69gr matchking, and lately I've been running a lot of Ramshot Tac powder and it seems ok.

 

[NorSpecOps90]

Personally I think it's a great idea and its exactly what I do. Why get beat up with heavy recoil and pay big prices for ammo. The 223 can be shot all day long and lots of lessons on the wind can be learned.

I like the sierra 69gr matchking, and lately I've been running a lot of Ramshot Tac powder and it seems ok.

Could you write up all the loads u`ve had your best experiences with for the 223 Rem?

THx man

 

[teddy12b]

Using winchester brass with remington primers I found great accuracy using 24.5gr of varget under a 69gr matchking.

When Varget became hard to find I tried out some Ramshot TAC and I used winchester brass with winchester primers, with 23.0gr of TAC.

I use the max overall length I can that still allows me to be able to put this ammo in an AR-15 mag if I choose to for both loads.

I developed the TAC load for a savage predator I had at the time. I ended up selling the gun and I later on bought a 10FP-SR and it shot around 1/2" at 100 yards out of both guns. Either powder should treat you well, but the key ingredient is the 69gr matchking.

 

[LouBoyd]

A less expensive small caliber cartridge (maybe a 223) will give the best practice if you shoot it at the ranges you hunt. If you choose a bullet with a similar velocity and ballistic coefficient as the bullets you hunt with they will have a similar trajectory and wind deflection. The bullet weights don't need to be the same. At long range drop is the largest source of error but it's very predictable if you can measure or estimate the range correctly. Wind deflection is more difficult to learn to estimate and compensate for. Being able to dope downrange wind from subtle natural indicators is what separates average shooters from experts. Shooting any reasonably accurate rifle canl help teach breathing and trigger control, even a 22LR. What a light cartridge doesn't help is learning to handle recoil. Some practice with the rifle and cartridge you hunt with is still desirable.

 

[Dr. Vette]

I put together a 223 just for this same reason. And, you can buy loaded ammo with good reusable brass for not much more money than buying brass.

Here is some more info for you:

223 Rem + 223 AI Cartridge Guide

 

[NorSpecOps90]

A less expensive small caliber cartridge (maybe a 223) will give the best practice if you shoot it at the ranges you hunt. If you choose a bullet with a similar velocity and ballistic coefficient as the bullets you hunt with they will have a similar trajectory and wind deflection. The bullet weights don't need to be the same. At long range drop is the largest source of error but it's very predictable if you can measure or estimate the range correctly. Wind deflection is more difficult to learn to estimate and compensate for. Being able to dope downrange wind from subtle natural indicators is what separates average shooters from experts. Shooting any reasonably accurate rifle canl help teach breathing and trigger control, even a 22LR. What a light cartridge doesn't help is learning to handle recoil. Some practice with the rifle and cartridge you hunt with is still desirable.

I don`t mind recoil anymore! I`m used to shoot 50.BMG and 338 LM so i just need the 223 for Marksmanship practice as u sais breathing and trigger control! I tought about deviding the training in 2 stages
1. 223. Marksmanship(firing positions, trigger control, breathing and so on and consistent accuracy
2. 6.5x284, 300wsm and 7 rem mag to insure maximum accuracy long range for hunting use.
i will also use the 223 for long range Capercaille hunting! in norway i hunt capercaille during the winter on treetops need to be deadly accurate for that!

 

[CRNA]

I have shot my buddy's .223 at distances out to about 700yds. It is a great way to practice the fundamentals of shooting. In my opinion though, when the wind is 10mph or above, then it's just frustrating. A light weight .223 bullet will be all over the place with much wind at all. We don't even break it out if there's much wind.