[csward]

I RECENTLY BOUGHT A .223 REM CAL., RUGER 77 STAINLESS RIFLE WITH FIBER STOCK. I PLACED ON IT A NEW 6 TO 24 POWER SCOPE. THEN I STOCKED UP WITH SEVERAL BRANDS OF AMMO TO SEE WHICH IF ANY THE RIFLE "LIKED".

AFTER ZEROING AT 50 YARDS, I PROCEEDED TO SHOOT GROUPS. THE FOURTH GROUP WAS HORNADY 75 GRAIN HPBT MATCH BULLETS. ALL THREE ROUNDS ENTERED SIDEWAYS---IE: 90 DEGREES ! AND ABOUT THREE INCHES BETWEEN THEM.

THE SIXTH GROUP WAS WITH HSM BRAND AMMO, 69 GRAIN, HPBT MATCH BULLETS AND THEY ALL ENTERED AT A SLIGHT ANGLE AS THE HOLES WERE ELONGATED.

THE SEVENTH GROUP WAS WITH WINCHESTER VARMINTER, 45 GRAIN BULLETS AND THEY WERE ABOUT 0.375 " C-C.

THE OTHER BRANDS DID NOT GROUP WELL, BUT THEY AT LEAST HIT NOSE-ON.

I CHECKED FOR A DAMAGED MUZZLE CROWN, OK. CHECKED FOR DAMAGE IN THE CHAMBER, OK.

ADDITIONALLY, ROUNDS DO NOT CHAMBER PROPERLY WHEN FED FROM THE LOADED MAGAZINE. AT LEAST ONE JAMS WITH EVERY MAGAZINE FULL.

IF ANYONE WANTS TO SHARE ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT THESE COMMENTS, I'D SURE LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU. I'VE MANY GUNS AND HAVE OWNED OVER A HUNDRED ( I'M GUESSING) GUNS OF ALL TYPES AND I'VE NOT EVER HAD THIS PROBLEM. I'M GETTING OLD AND SOMETIMES DON'T REMEMBER WELL, SO FEEL FREE TO SAY WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND-----IT MAY HELP ME !

THANKS GUYS.

 

[MikeG]

The heavy .223's, probably 69 grains and up, need a real fast rate of twist to stablize. They are intended for long range shooting with fast-twist AR-15s and the like. Just stay with standard bullet weights (40-55gr.) and you'll be fine.

 

[csward]

RUGER 77 PROBLEMS

HI MIKE G,

THANK YOU FOR THE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. I WAS READY TO SELL THIS MONTH OLD, EXPENSIVE RIFLE !

BEST REGARDS.

CSWARD

 

[Joel B]

CSWARD,

Howdy, I live just North of you. Welcome to the best Shooters Forum on the Net.

 

[Bill Lester]

Mike is right on the money. Stick with standard weight loads and you'll do fine. Also, be very careful when cleaning your .223. Those small bores are very easily damaged by overzealous scrubbing.

 

[csward]

HI JOEL B.,

SO NICE OF YOU TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF. WE SHOULD GET BETTER ACQUAINTED.

BRIEF: I'M RETIRED, AM 68 YEARS OLD, LIVE WITH MY WIFE, BARBARA, ALSO 68, HAVE A DOG, GO SHOOTING EVERY WEDNESDAY WITH A FRIEND IN GIG HARBOR.

I RELOAD .223, 30-30, .270, .357, .454 CASULL ANS .45 ACP.

IF YOU OR ANYONE READING THIS HAS SOME FAVORITE .223 RIFLE LOADS ( SO FAR I'VE `ONLY RELOADED FOR MY CONTENDER) TO SEND ME, I'D APPRECIATE IT. ESPECIALLY OF THEY ARE FOR THE RUGER 77 MARK 2 RIFLE.

KEEP IN TOUCH, JOEL. AND ALL YOU OTHER GUYS TOO.

CSWARD


At the request of Mr. Ward, this posting has been slightly modified.
Bill Lester, Moderator

 

[csward]

HI BILL LESTER,

THANKS FOR ANSWERING AND THE ENCOURAGEMENT AND BACKING UP MIKE G..

DO YOU OR ANYONE READING THIS HAVE SOME SUGGESTED LOADS INVOLVING 40 GR, 45, GR OR 50 GTR RELOADS TO BE SHOT IN A RUGER RIFLE ? I SURE NEED THE HELP.

AND THANKS FOR THE CAUTION ABOUT POSSIBLY DAMAGING THE BORE.

YEARS AGO ( ABOUT 1984 ) I STOPPED USING STEEL OR BRASS BORE BRUSHES FOR ALL MY GUNS. I HAD BEGUN USING CHEMICALS EXCLUSIVELY IN THE BORES; SOME FOR BRASS FOULING, SOME FOR LEAD FOULING AND SOME FOR COPPER FOULING. I CLEAN BORES ONLY FROM THE CHAMBER END, USING FLEX RODS FOR GUNS NOT EASILY CLEANED FROM THE CHAMBER END. I AM ESPECIALLOY CAREFUL TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CROWN IS TOTALLY CLEAN. I TRY TO POLISH THE BORE USING TOOTHPASTE AS "GRIT" ONCE A YEAR.

SEE YA. THANKS FOR WRITING !

 

[Bill Lester]

Mr. Ward,

Sorry, but I've never personally loaded for the .223. In fact my recently acquired .250 Savage is the smallest cartridge I've ever handloaded after about 18 years. All "my" experience with the round comes from that of a couple friends. I would personally start with Sierra's 50-grain BlitzKing for a good woodchuck load.

 

[MikeG]

I don't have a .223 but a friend does and he uses Win 748 powder, and mostly Ballistic Tips as I recall.

Good luck. Sounds like the potential is there for fine accuracy.

 

[csward]

HI MIKE,

THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS. IF YOU THINK OF IT THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE YOUR FRIEND, ASK HIM IF HE COULD E-MAIL ME SOME OF HIS LOADS ?

SEE YA, MIKE.

CHUCK

 

[Handloader]

I shoot a Ruger Varmiter in 223 rem. My favorite load is as follows.
Bullet: Nosler 50 grain Bal. Tip or C/T 50 grain Bal. Silver Tip
Powder: W-748
Load: 27.7 grains
Primer: Federal Match
Brass: Winchester

I have shot this load in several 223 Rems and have not found one that does not shoot it well. I regularly shoot 3/8" groups at 100 yards with this load.

 

[selmer]

.454 shooter?

CSward, What gun do you shoot your .454 Casull out of? I'm looking for someone with some good Encore loads from a 12" barrel for this chambering, I'm in the process of getting one for hammerin Iowa whitetails. Please let me know if you have some good loads and if you shoot this gun or know of anyone who does, I'd really like some good plinker loads that won't kill my hand, i have plenty of access to heavy loads, but I think a 300gr. at 1100 fps ought to stop damn near anything in it's tracks if I do my part. Thanks,
Willie

 

[Jack Monteith]

Hi, Chuck:
How fast is the rifling twist in your rifle? If it's not in the owner's manual, use your cleaning rod with a snug patch and measure the distance it takes the rifling to make a complete turn. A 10" or 12" twist won't stabilize a long heavy bullet like the 69 and 75 gr. bullets you tried. You need a faster 7" or 8" twist for them.

The bullet makers have quite a variety of .224" bullets to accomodate the wide range of muzzle velocity there is between the .22 Hornet and the .220 Swift, with many points in between. Bullets like the Hornady SX, Sierra Blitz and Speer TNT work well in the .223. The newer plastic tipped bullets are supposed to expand over a wider velocity range than the conventional bullets. However the 40 gr. Hornady V-Max seems to run out of steam around 200 yards with my .222.

Bye
Jack

 

[csward]

HI JACK MONTEITH,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TAKING THE TIME TO ASSIST ME.

APPARENTLY THE RUGER HAS A 1:12" TWIST AND THAT WAS THE REASON WHY THE HEAVIER BULLETS TUMBLED.

MAY YOU ALWAYS ENJOY GOOD LUCK, CLOUDY-BRIGHT SKIES, NO WIND AND WARM WEATHER BE WITH YOU.

CSWARD

 

[csward]

HI WILLIE SELMER,

I RECENTLY ACQUIRED A RUGER SUPERREDHAWK IN THAT CALIBER. WHY ? DARNED IF I KNOW ! I DON'T HUNT, BUT I LIKE BIG POWERFUL THINGS---LIKE MY WIFE FOR EXAMPLE. THE PISTOL HAS A 7 1/2" BARREL MY RELOADING HAS BEEN VERY SCANTY---NOT LIKE MY WIFE---SO I CAN'Y HELP YOU VERY MUCH.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH A .44 MAG IN A TC CONTENDER AND IN A S&W CLASSIC 629 AND IN A RUGER REDHAWK HAS LED ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE HEAVIER THE BULLET DRIVEN AT AS MUCH SPEED AS YOU CAN TOLERATE IS THE BEST FOR THAT CALIBER. THE TC CONTENDER WAS ACCURATE WITH ANY KIND OF LOAD---EVEN THOSE WITH SMALL AMOUNTS OF POWDER TOPPED WITH A "CLOUD" OF DACRON TO KEEP THE POWDER NEAR THE PRIMER. THE S&W WESSON WAS MY FAVORITE---UNTIL I BLEW IT UP ! NOW S&W HAS ITS PARTS MOUNTED ON A SAFETY BOARD AT ITS HEADQUARTERS.

YOU CAN SEE THAT THE ONLY THING I CAN OFFER YOU IS A LITTLE HUMOR. MAYBE WHEN I RELOAD MORE FOR THE .454 I'LL CONTACT YOU AGAIN, WILLIE. GOOD LUCK.

CSWARD

 

[IDShooter]

I have shot and reloaded for .223 for almost twenty years now and my old Rem 700 will still group .5 to .75 inch despite a pitted bore and some wear and tear. I have had good success with IMR4198, Accurate XMR2015, Varget and H4895. I got good accuracy but fairly low velocity with 748 but not everyone has that experience. For bullets I get best results from Hornady. I used to use 50 or 55gr SX's but more recently I've used the V-max's and they are incredible! For data, go to the website for whatever powder company you choose and they'll have data for the common weight bullets. Good shooting and have fun! ID

PS: I sorry to say that I'm not surprised at the feeding troubles you've had with your rifle. I haven't had a Ruger rifle in over a decade on which everything functioned properly!

 

[csward]

HI IDSHOOTER AND FELLOW .223 LOVER,

WHAT TWIST DOES YOUR REM 700 HAVE ? IF IT HAS 1 IN 12 INCHES, PLEASE TELL ME YOUR PET LOADS IN THOSE POWDERS. IF FASTER THAN THAT ( 1 IN 9 OR 1 IN 10, I'LL HAVE TO JUST DEVELOP MY OWN LOADS.

REGARDING MY NEW RUGER 77: AS I SHOOT ONLY FROM THE BENCH, LOADING SINGLE SHOT ISN'T A HASSLE DOR ME, BUT I DO LIKE MY GUNS TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. NO WONDER THE OLD MAN DIED. IF MY SON WAS SCREWING UP THE GUNS I WORKED HARD TO DEVELOP, I'D HAVE WANTED TO DUE MYSELF. HA HA HA.

THE TRUTH IS THAT A MONTH PREVIOUSLY I BOUGHT A RANCH RIFLE AND IT SHOT MORE LIKE A SHOTGUN THAN A RIFLE WITH EVERY TYPE OF BULLET I PUT THROUGH IT. THIRTY YEARS PREVIOUSLY, I BOUGHT AN ORIGINAL MINI-14 THAT WAS EXTREMELY ACCURATE. YOU PAYS YOU MONEY AND YOU TAKES YOU CHANCES---AT LEAST WITH RUGER !

I WOULDN'T EVEN WASTE MY TIME CONTACTING RUGER ABOUT THESE LAST TWO P.O.S. GUNS. I'LL KEEP THEM A YEAR AND THEN BUY A DECENT REMINGTON OR SAVAGE, WHICH HAVE NEVER GIVIEN ME A PROBLEM OF ANY KIND. THE RUGER WAS CHEAP----I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.

THANKS FOR WRITING, IDSHOOTER. GOOD LUCK.

CSWARD

 

[andy]

Hi, csward, and welcome, I used to live in Tacoma myself, when assigned to Ft. Lewis.
I don't mean to tell you your business, but it is a VERY bad idea to post your address or any other personal info on a public forum. I believe the folks registered here you can trust implicitly, but no-one can control who reads these forums...

Andy

 

[IDShooter]

CS,
That's probably good advice about not posting personal info on the web. If you want you can delete it, or if you would like I can do so.
As for the .223, mine has a 1 in 12" twist too. I am reluctant to post loads, especially max loads, on the internet in case some yahoo blows up a gun and tries to blame me. However, suffice to say I got my loads directly from the powder manufacturers' web sites. Addresses are:

http://www.hodgdon.com
http://www.imrpowder.com
http://www.accuratepowder.com

Load 'em up and enjoy! By the way, the heaviest bullet that shot well in my rifle were 64gr Winchester factory loads. When I bought the rifle, I got a box of those and sighted in. I walked out into the soybean field behind the house and immediately spotted a groundhog about 250yds out. I sat down, shot him in the noggin' and I was hooked on the little rifle right off! ID

 

[Bill Lester]

Mr. Ward,

I think you're prematurely "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" with regards to selling your Ruger. Just because it didn't shoot well with ammunition never intended for it doesn't mean it couldn't be a spectacular shooter with 45-55 grain loads. My own Model 77R in .30-06 never shot a group larger than 2" at 100 yards. Most any handload made groups half that size, while a select few provided 3/4 MOA accuracy out to a measured 300 yards. That's with an inexpensive Redfield Widefield 4X scope. The rifle itself was untouched after leaving the factory. So give your newly acquired Ruger .223 a chance. I'm sure it will ultimately satisfy you as that model has for many, many shooters. After all, Ruger didn't get to be the largest sporting arms manufacturer in the world by making a bunch of duds.

And let me add to the previous comments made by Andy and ID. While you're probably safe from harrasment by Beartooth board regulars, you never know who is watching. I agree that you may want to remove your personal information from the public side of the forum.