Reloading .223 1 in 9" twist- I'm getting twisted

[RLF2011]

The 69gr OTM bullet should not be questionable in 1/9 twist at all. And, with the bbl length you ought to be able to drive 80gr bullet fast enough to stabilize.
The 69gr OTM with a charge of Varget should be a one hole shooting machine in the neighborhood of 25gr.

[Rip Van Winkle]

Some thoughts.

1) A nine twist barrel should be plenty to stabilize a 68 - 69gr bullet.

2) The most popular power for the heavier bullets in 223 is Varget, followed closely by Reloader 15. According to the President of the MRRA, the most accurate powder for 77 and 80gr SMK's hands down is VV135. (YMMV)

3) If It were me, I would shoot both bullets at 300 and see which shoots better. As mentioned earlier, the heavier bullet will have a higher BC and less drift in the wind. If you watch the wind, you might not see much difference.

ETA: Most bench rest shooters use flat base bullets for better accuracy.

Does range have any effect on when it stabilizes? Is 100 yards possibly too short a range, and I could see improvement at 200-300?

Yes, range and velocity play a part of the bullets stability. All bullets yaw around their axis in flight after leaving the barrel. A properly stabilized bullet will reduce it's yaw, or go to sleep at a certain distance. An improperly stabilized bullet will increase it's yaw until it begins to tumble.

While I've never seen a poor grouping load (at 100yds) shoot better at longer distances, I have seen plenty of good shooting loads (again 100yds) shoot poorly at 300 and beyond.

[45Badger]

So, I found a little bit of Easter inspiration today and it paid off big time. I loaded up some 55gr VMax's and headed out to my newest new gun club- Minnetonka Sportsmen. Turns out that a 55gr VMax over 25 grains of 748,with a COL of 2.250 shoots one silly hole at 100 yards .

Happy Easter everybody!

pics or it didn't happen

No time for this tonight, but I did save the target. I'll show you next weekend, and you can resurrect this thread to remind everybody

[crbutler]

Seems to indicate that for whatever reason that the 69 is not stabilizing right in your barrel.

Guns are like people, everyone has its own likes and dislikes. Looks like yours does not care for the 69 SMK. I guess I would say who cares if your barrel should stabilize a 69gr bullet- it isn't working for you, stick with what is.

Weight is not the only issue for stabilization- bullet length and velocity make a difference too- that's why a 22-250 will stabilize heavier bullets with a slower twist than a .223, and why each bullet company makes different recommendations for their bullets (although with the physical nature of the materials, they are all pretty close...)