Best round for rem .223

superlite

Hi lads,
Anyone any ideas on what the best round for foxing with a rem m700 .223, 1/12 twist. Any feedback appreciated.

dev110

• Hornady 40gr/55gr V-Max
• Federal V-Shok 40gr/55gr
• American Eagle 50gr HP
• Remington UMC 55gr HP

It really comes down to how much you want to pay and which of them groups the best in your rifle.

dwighet

Id try the 40 gn vmax first...
I had an old rem 700 in 223 years back and it loved the little 40 grainers.

LIFFY FISHING

55 grain ballistic tip Hormandy, works a treat in my remmy 223, tried most and that was the best, took my first lamped fox at 190 yards with a head shot, wouldnt b bothered trying anything else now.

mark.17hmr

There is no off the shelf best round.. im new to the .223 aswell and its all down to trial and error.. Some guns will fire rounds flatter and straighter than others.. Its a learning process..

dev110

Here is a post I put up awhile ago. I hope that explains a little bit more. When you move up to CF rifles there is a lot more that comes into play.

dev110 wrote:

Also it should be pointed out that with .223 you can get 40gr to 75gr.

Most rifles run the 40gr to 55gr no problem. But you will need a faster twist rate for the 75gr, usually 1-9 or 1-8 twist.

With the different weight in bullet heads comes a new term.
Ballistic Coefficient (BC). The higher this number the better the long range capabilities and less wind drift.

Example:

40gr V-Max:

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
3800/1282 3249/937 2762/677 2324/479 1928/330 1578/221
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 0.90 0.00 -5.50 -17.60 -39.10

BC: .200

This round is flat shooting but will be effected by wind more than the 55gr or 75gr.

55gr V-Max:

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
3240/1282 2854/995 2500/763 2172/576 1871/427 1598/312
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.40 0.00 -7.00 -21.40 -45.90

BC: .255

This is a good mix of everything. Less wind drift than the 40gr.

75gr TAP:

Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
2790/1296 2561/1092 2344/915 2137/760 1941/627 1757/514
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.90 0.00 -8.30 -24.10 -49.30

BC: .395

This round will have more drop but it will be much better on a windy day out to 300 and beyond.

Can you see a pattern?

Also with the heavier rounds they will carry more energy and longer distances.

Example:
40gr @ 400 yards: 330
55gr @ 400 yards: 427
75gr @ 400 yards: 627

This gives better killing power.

I remember when I started with the .223 I was over run with all these numbers but when you get your head around them they aren't to bad.

superlite

Thanks for the info lads. Enjoying the learning.:)

cushcam

i've tried lots of different brands and weights but my remington 700 vsf loves the 55grain hornady vmax or 55grain federal vshok, with the slight edge on accuracy going to the hornady stuff. it's strange tough, for the frist few months when it was brand new it loved the american eagle 50grain hollow points but as it has broken in it prefers the heavier bullets

i've always found remington UMC to be **** for grouping no matter what the bullet weight was, there is a reason it's so cheap. just for practicing though it's useful once you're not looking for out and out accuracy

dogcityroller

If you can get prvi partisan bullets in 55 grain try them. Dirt cheap, very accurate and devastating on foxes.in the north here their about 10-11 pounds for a box of 20. Cannot recommend these bullets enough.

yubabill1

dogcityroller wrote: »

If you can get prvi partisan bullets in 55 grain try them. Dirt cheap, very accurate and devastating on foxes.in the north here their about 10-11 pounds for a box of 20. Cannot recommend these bullets enough.

Never tried Prvi ammo, but heard good things.
They were available in Balbriggan a while ago, 16.00 for box of 20, in most cals. Anyone with a 308 or 6.5 etc should look really closely at trying them IMHO.
PS my shooting buddy got good results with Remy UMC in his 1:12 Remy 700. I got 1.5" @ 100yds from them in my 1:8 T3, but they didn't perform for me past 150, while the Remy was almost literally pin point accurate out to 200. Horses for courses.
I am a fan of heavy-for-calibre bullets, but that's just me and I don't go for extreme long range (200yds is far enough for me, sometimes too far). A lot of guys like to use light bullets (40gr etc) because they fly flat out to 300yds and beyond, which means you don't have to worry about your aiming point. Your 1:12 will handle the light bullets better than my 1:8 rifle.
Any 223 hollowpoint/pointes soft point/ballistic tip ammo will deal with fox, just be sure to put the bullet in the vitals.