Got my new .223 finished

[phylodog]

for me its a toss up as to wich i liked better the 223 ai you had or this. you defintally had me counting my pennys on that one. defintally a nice stick

I miss that rifle which is a big part of why I put this one together. I just wish I'd had a chance to work up a decent load for it. It was putting down sub half MOA, 10 round groups with the generic fire forming loads I was shooting. I'd have loved to see what it did with a fine tuned .223AI load.

 

[42769vette]

when you rebarrel you could always make it a 223 ai. or for that matter turn this barrel into a ai. some day ill build a 22 cal precision rifle (non ar) but not today.

 

[phylodog]

when you rebarrel you could always make it a 223 ai.

I thought about it but I think I'm gonna stick with good old .223. I'm hoping to reload for this one but if that doesn't work out or I don't have time I can always buy ammo when I need it if I don't go AI.

 

[sgreen3]

XLR Chassis.... Nice lookin rig Phylodog!

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Lust, lust. Almost wish there was somewhere around here I could see far enough to shoot something like that. And someone that deserved to take one. If it never happens, oh, well, that's fine.

 

[42769vette]

thanks cory now you have the build i was thinking about doing a year or so ago back in the front of my mind

 

[esrice]

I am a bit today actually. Stayed home sick from work

Aww that's no fun.

And apparently it was a very expensive day off.

I can't give you the range those things require (200yds max), but it'd be fun to have a "show 'n tell" down at Dad's range sometime. He'll feed you.

 

[phylodog]

Aww that's no fun.

And apparently it was a very expensive day off.

I can't give you the range those things require (200yds max), but it'd be fun to have a "show 'n tell" down at Dad's range sometime. He'll feed you.

I'd like to come down some time, looks like awesome property from the pics I've seen!

 

[jblomenberg16]

9 twist unfortunately. Wish is was a 7 or 8.

What is your plan for projectiles? I saw you mentioned you were thinking about reloading.

My 9 twist Savage 10FP (closer to 8.5 when I checked it) really likes the 68 gr Hornady HPBT, as well as the 69 and 77 SMK's.

I haven't decided yet if it is the load, the shooter, or the bullet on the 75gr Hornady HPBT and 75gr AMAX. Those both want to shoot about 1.5MOA compared to sub MOA on the others listed. My guess is it is me, then the load, then the bullet & barrel that are order of the problems.

I want to do a bit more development with them though to have a bit more punch at longer range for the 'yotes.

 

[phylodog]

I'm hoping the 69gr SMK's will shoot well out of this barrel, 77gr is a bit heavy for a 9 twist although some barrels seem capable with them. If/when I rebarrel I'll likely go with a 7.7 or 8 twist which should stabilize the 77gr projectiles better and stretch the range out to 800 yards if the wind cooperates.

 

[Yeah]

I find very little difference in agg size at 100 yards between my 223 Rem fireforming loads and finished 223AI. Further out the speed difference makes the AIs shine.

 

[phylodog]

I never fired my forming loads across the chrono to see what the SD's were running. Had that rifle done as well with my first few attempts with AI loads as it did with the forming loads I'd have been thrilled but for whatever reason I couldn't find a sweet spot in the limited time I had to play with it. She was a looker though...

 

[Chefcook]

That is full of awesomeness....

 

[xM3RC1L3SS1x]

Wow. If my wife ever caught me playing with a long gun...I just hope it would be that one

 

[kenyo64]

Very nice stuff. You need to be proud of them

 

[phylodog]

What is your plan for projectiles? I saw you mentioned you were thinking about reloading.

My 9 twist Savage 10FP (closer to 8.5 when I checked it) really likes the 68 gr Hornady HPBT, as well as the 69 and 77 SMK's.

I haven't decided yet if it is the load, the shooter, or the bullet on the 75gr Hornady HPBT and 75gr AMAX. Those both want to shoot about 1.5MOA compared to sub MOA on the others listed. My guess is it is me, then the load, then the bullet & barrel that are order of the problems.

I want to do a bit more development with them though to have a bit more punch at longer range for the 'yotes.

I may have to stand corrected. I was able to do a little shooting with the rifle today and it appears to like the Hornady 75gr TAP BTHP round. I only got one 5 round group in with it but it printed .737" CTC. Not enough to call it a winner but I fired 6 other groups with 3 other types of ammo from 55gr - 68gr and the next closest group was 55gr FMJ at .976" CTC.

 

[jblomenberg16]

I may have to stand corrected. I was able to do a little shooting with the rifle today and it appears to like the Hornady 75gr TAP BTHP round. I only got one 5 round group in with it but it printed .737" CTC. Not enough to call it a winner but I fired 6 other groups with 3 other types of ammo from 55gr - 68gr and the next closest group was 55gr FMJ at .976" CTC.

Interesting indeed. Given that is was TAP, I'm assuming it was loaded to AR15 Mag length as well...which says there might be some opportunity to hand load with a bit longer OAL to get it closer to the lands.

Is the box mag you have able to accept longer rounds, or is it "AR mag length?"

 

[phylodog]

I've been told it's capable of longer than AR15 mag loads but haven't measured anything. It's an Accuracy International .223 mag and a factory .223 looks a bit short in it so I'm sure I can almost stretch them out to the lands since it's a factory Rem barrel.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Looking forward to the continued results!

 

[top hat 45]

I just figured it up, $4030 as it sits.

Barreled action = 475
Chassis = 800
Suppressor = 800
Bipod = 200
Rings/Base = 200
Scope = 1450
Bolt knob = 75
Magazine = 30

The bad news is it'll be another $900 (roughly) if/when I have a new barrel put on.

are you gonna stay with 223 for your longer distances?