New .223 advice please.

session savage

Hi folks. I'm getting a new rifle in the new year and have a couple of questions i could use advice on.
I had a tikka t3 lite and found that the vast majority of my shooting was prone from a hill top out to 500yds on rabbits. I want to get another tikka and want to see how far i can push my range with a .223.

I'm down to a couple of rifles. Tikka t3x varmint 1in8 twist 20inch barrell or a tikka t3x ctr 24inch barrell with 1in8 twist.
I've read an article saying the longer barrell is not more accurate as commonly believed.

Does anyone have advice on what tikka configuration in .223 would be most accurate at long distances. Is a longer barrel better? Is a faster twist better? (Obviously I'd use an appropriate heavier grain)

Any advice folks before i order a new rifle?

Thanks in advance.

Cass

session savage wrote: »

Hi folks. I'm getting a new rifle in the new year...........

The very best reason to keep getting up and going to work. Guns ain't cheap.

Does anyone have advice on what tikka configuration in .223 would be most accurate at long distances.

The 1:8 twist will run the heavier grain bullets and heavier grain bullets allow for better external ballistics against the elements, hence better performance over longer distances.

Now a 1:12 running lighter bullets will do the same job and if you know your drops and windage adjustments there is no reason not to go for one above the other.

Is a faster twist better?

The only concern i'd have, or i think consideration is better than concern, is the availability of the "heavier" ammo. My own rifle is not only a 1:9 but very fussy when it comes to ammo. It'll only run one or two types of ammo in the 50gr range, nothing any lower, runs a couple in the 53 to 55, and won't run anything over 69gr.

My sweet spot is 62 to 69gr. Now i can always get some ammo, but it can and usually does involve ringing around a few RFDs, and at times having to either wait for more of the same to come in or move to a different round.

Is a longer barrel better?

It can be.

It improves accuracy, is better for heavier bullets, allows for higher charges, can accommodate more rounds in a shorter time, and depending on bullet will improve or will be necessary for stability.

Disadvantages are the extra weight of a longer barrel, little awkward to manoeuvre, and a topic that has raised debate every time, the proper length in relation to bullet charge/weight. IOW if the propellant has burned up within say 18 inches of the barrel and it's a 26" barrel then the remaining 8", due to friction, will "use up" some of the inertia of the charge.

Think i'm explaining that arseways, but hopefully some of it is comprehensible.

Any advice folks before i order a new rifle?

You don't have to overthink it and shouldn't. Go with the rifle you want and work from there.

yubabill

Good advice from Cass as usual.

Just on barrel length, it's a thorny issue and you will have to compromise.

I think I heard somewhere that 223 burns completely in a 24" barrel, giving max velocity in relation to length.

But in general, shorter barrels are more rigid and should give better accuracy on a like-for-like basis.

There are other factors affecting velocity/accuracy wrt barrels, but the above are important considerations imho.

I have a 1:8 T3 24" varmint and despite my initial thoughts, it seems to shoot lighter ammo well - the lightest I've used is 45gr Remy JHP but others on here report good results with 40gr BT - and it shoots everything up to 69gr well, too. The only 75gr I shot were Hornady hunting rounds and they gave about 1.5" @ 100yds, but I believe there are 75gr match rounds sometimes available which do better.

The best results I got were with 45gr JHP and Hornady Steel Match 55gr FMJ, which are about 0.5MOA @100yds.

The T3 is capable of much better accuracy than I can get out of it, especially with a 50.00 scope, if you are going to shoot rabbits at 500yds you probably don't need to be told to get good glass (unlike me - yes, I know the value of good glass, but I'm too tight to do things the right way).

clivej

You'll never notice the difference between a 24, 22 or 20 inch barrel.
Just get what YOU want

Boredstiff666

Heavier barrel controls the recoil so is more accurate. I should imagine that is why the Varmint' has the heavier barrel unless you run out of ammo and you can beat the fox to death with it. It also isn't subject to heat as much.

Rows Grower

Boredstiff666 wrote: »

Heavier barrel controls the recoil so is more accurate. I should imagine that is why the Varmint' has the heavier barrel unless you run out of ammo and you can beat the fox to death with it. It also isn't subject to heat as much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX0MB7pJtKs