What's heaviest .223 bullet for an AR?

[j28s]

What Is the heaviest bullet you can shoot from an AR? The Hornady 77gr is pretty long and have heard you can't get the OAL too short (thus run them in a mag).

[Dan Sierpina]

Hornaday 75 grain BTHP (Not Amax), Sierra 77 Matchking, Nosler 77 Custom Competition. All of these are designed to be magazine loaded. Berger has similar bullets to fit in magazines.

[JerryShoots]

Heavy long bullets can cause difficulty if the bullet is actually protruding down into the case too far. You can actually lose performance over a shorter lighter bullet. I like the HRNDY 75's too. Nice SD and they don't make you cuss trying to load them up.

[j28s]

Thanks for the info.

Is there a bullet length max?

[ltdmstr]

Lots of factors involved. Particularly chamber, lead, and twist rate. Better do a little research before you move up to the heavy bullets.

[lynn jones]

they don't have any right now.

[Boxerglocker]

I've loaded 77 and 80 grain SMKs at max 2.240-2.260 OAL (depends on the mag) with Varget for hard hitting long range 3-gun loads out to 400-500 yards.

[JFlowers]

At one point they were making a 100gr bullet. It was loaded for "entry" rounds. Performance was great at short range and died very quickly at distances.

[Graham Smith]

There are specialty VLD bullets you can get but you have to single load these. You also really need a good .223 chamber with a short throat so that you can load the bullet close to the lands and you will need a pretty fast twist to stabilize them as well. IOW, these are made for things like benchrest and F-Class shooting and mainly for bolt actions.

[DiamondJim]

I'm in the process of working up a load for a freind's young sons to hunt whitetail with an AR, Windham SRC/R16M4FTT to be specific and also to be used in my Savage/Stevens 200 bolt action. Both are 1 in 9" twist barrels. The bullet is a Speer 70 gr semi-spitzer. I've got H335 and Win 748 (more of this, so that's what I'm looking at using), with Speer #14 show higher velocity loads using Win 748. Barrel twist will determine maximum bullet weight with this 70 gr bullet the max for a 1 in 9" twist barrel, Anything heavier and you'll need a 1 in 7" twist which then might limit you on lower weight bullets in the 35-40 gr area.

[j28s]

Good info. So, the Hornady 75g HPBT w/ cannalure is good for the magazine and distance (say out to 500y)? Getting ready to order some for 3gun. Using H335, good powder amount? What OAL?

[Dan Sierpina]

With that bullet, seat it to mag length. H335 is a little fast for it. Varget, Reloader 15 are the go to powders for it. AR Comp should work well with it too.

[j28s]

Thanks Dan. That helps

[ShooterSteve]

H335 powder is a fantastic 223 powder if you are loading for smaller bullets in the 50-55gr range.

[Graham Smith]

It's worth pointing out that weight is not the issue as much as bullet length is. Heavier bullets are longer and the longer bullets have to be spun faster which is where the twist rate comes in.

Also, the weight and length don't matter as much as the BC does. I have a 155gr .308 target bullet that I shoot for some things that has a higher BC than the standard 168gr and it's on par or exceeds some 175gr hunting bullets.

It's all about finding the right bullet and load for your rifle for your needs. A 3-gun shooters needs are completely different from an F-Class shooter even if their barrel is the same length and twist (which is really unlikely, but you get my point).

[goat68]

I've learned from watching the good shooters that you don't have a lot of time to take the shots and expect to finish a challenging rifle stage. There will be targets at varying distances, elevations, and presentations. Not to mention the awkward shooting positions such as shooting under a car that has wheels but no tires or from inside a shoot hooch that fills up with your powder gas and the extra noise.

Like Grahm said. Find what works for you and then go get some confidence with your load by practicing with a timer or stopwatch.