Sierra 224 Matchking 69, 77, 90gr Recipe?

[charliez]

Now that I have my pistol reloads squared away with my Dillon 650 I'm starting my rifle handloads.

First one up is my 223 for shooting in an AR-15 with an 18" SS SPR barrel with 1x7 twist

I have 3 weights of Sierra MatcKing bullets (69, 77, and 90), and also Sierra GameKing 55gr HPBT. I'm looking for:

1. OAL

2. Varget powder weight

Hodgdon's 2006 manual does _not_ provide the data for Sierra Matchking 90gr, nor GameKing 55gr HPBT. That is what I'm mostly interested in.

Hodgdon's 2006 manual provides the data for 69, and 77. So I'm good with that already, but would like to hear what others have used.

(I also have a DPMS 24" SS varminter bull barrel with 1x8 twist)

Thanks!

Edited October 15, 2006 by charliez

[George]

SMK 69 = 24.5 to 25 grains Varget at 2.245" OAL

SMK 77 = 24.2 to 24.5 grains Varget at 2.255" OAL

The SMK 90 ain't gonna magazine feed at any length you can load that baby to. I would just stick with the 77's. They run fine out to 7-800 yards for me in my IPSC rifle. IMHO, the 90 is not gonna' work well unless your bbl is throated for them.

If you are gonna insist on trying 90's make sure you check the OAL capability of your bbl first to make sure you don't jam the 90's into the rifling which would raise pressure through the roof!

FYI, I use AA2520 under 80grain SMK's and use 23.0 grains at 2.285" OAL. This OAL does not hit the rifling in my 1:7 HBAR (just barely though) and has to be single loaded into the chamber as they will not fit a magazine at this length. Any shorter OAL with SMK80 and the bullets will not grip for me and tend to get pushed back into the case. The SMK90 will be even worse in this regard than the SMK80.

As far as 55gr loadings go, I don't use Varget there, but 27 to 27.5 is a good charge weight under a 55 with Varget. Use 2.225 to 2.240 for 55gr OAL.

I use WW748 for lighter bullets because I have a shjtload of it and it's a lot cheaper than Varget. I like 27.5 grains at 2.235" OAL with WW748.

[charliez]

I'll try these recipes. I was thinking of hand feeding the 90's into the chamber.

You're right about the landing/rifling, I need to check that out first!

Thanks Geoffrey!

[wsimpso1]

The biggest trouble with supplying receipes for 223 loads is that the throats used on match quality barrels vary, case capacity varies by brand, and different primers show the stop sign sooner than others. 223 with 77's is living large for that little case...

77's and 69's are long range ammo for the AR15. Even the 52's are gross overkill for most CoF. I load a lot of 55 FMJBT for the short CoF, and reserve the good bullets (with established zeros) for precision targets and over 100 yards.

Best plan is work up a load with each primer and case you are considering and pick the best shooting load that makes enough velocity. Use a chronograph, look at primers, case heads, and group size.

In RL15 and Varget, 23.0 is a good place to start. You will be compressing the powder, and that may actually limit how much powder you can load these cases with - I actually had some ammo that loaded OK and was to length originally (Rem cases, which are a little short on internal volumn compared to Win and LC). A few days later, half of that batch was too long to feed through the magazine...

Good luck!

Billski

[George]

Billski is absolutely correct in advising that you work up the load from any recipe given by anyone else. Good rule of thumb is to start 5-10% under the recipe provided.

I should have mentioned that earlier. Just copying someone elses data without reducing the charge and working back up is not a wise move.

BTW, 24.5 to 25.0 grains of Varget is the standard load that almost every High Power shooter at my club is pushing the SMK77's downrange with. The OAL in use is based on what fits the AR mag reliably and is typically just over 2.250" for most folks. This is pretty much a max load and YMMV!

Regards.

[Shawn Knight]

I was under the impression 90gr bullets in the 223 required a 1 in 6.5 twist?

[HSMITH]

The 55 grain Gamekings shoot really well in a couple of my 223's. I use a max listed charge of Varget for a 55 grain FMJ, loaded within about .050" of the magazines for my AR. That is as long as I can get them and still function 100% from the magazine, and they are very accurate. The charge is compressed slightly.

[George]

I was under the impression 90gr bullets in the 223 required a 1 in 6.5 twist?

This issue is a lot like the 77 in a 1:9 issue. Some bbl's will, some won't. Just hafta' try it and see. One thing for sure is that nothing less than a 1:7 is gonna cut it with the 90's. SMK 80's shoot just fine from my 1:8 JP 20", but won't stabilize in either of my 1:9 20" uppers. Only one of them will shoot 77's well, but both love SMK 69's. The 1:9 that doesn't like 77's shoots SMK 69's even tighter than my 1:8 JP does. Go figure. It's all about what the bbl wants ;-)

[Shawn Knight]

I was under the impression 90gr bullets in the 223 required a 1 in 6.5 twist?

This issue is a lot like the 77 in a 1:9 issue. Some bbl's will, some won't. Just hafta' try it and see. One thing for sure is that nothing less than a 1:7 is gonna cut it with the 90's. SMK 80's shoot just fine from my 1:8 JP 20", but won't stabilize in either of my 1:9 20" uppers. Only one of them will shoot 77's well, but both love SMK 69's. The 1:9 that doesn't like 77's shoots SMK 69's even tighter than my 1:8 JP does. Go figure. It's all about what the bbl wants ;-)

ok

[bgl42]

I just reloaded my first .223's yesterday for my RRA Predator Pursuit. I used 75gr BTHP's and 23.5 grs RL-15. Very accurate. Haven't chrono'd yet though.

[uscbigdawg]

The Sierra reloading manual will have ALL the info you need and is a great resource. One of things that I loved about is that under .223, they have their normal loads and then specific load data for the AR-15.

After all the load working up I did, I ended with what Sierra calls their "Most Accurate Load" for the 69gr. SMK. Go figure.

Rich

[ShooterSteve]

For a little knock down power on downrange steel, Berger recommends about 24.5 gr of Varget over a 73gr BT. I have this to shoot, but haven't sent the rounds downrange to test yet. We will see what happens next week. I have vacation and Im itching to get out. What do you call a shooter who coaches a 13 year old soccer team and doesn't get to shoot much any more? AAAHHHHHHHH!!!

[KY23]

My service rifle load for 200 and 300 yards is a 77 Sierra with 25.0 grains of Varget. Like everyone else has stated start low and work your way up. Try 23.5 to start and go up in .2 increments. I found that the higher velocity I went the more accurate this load became.

I have shot the 90 Sierra but it will not load in a magazine. I shoot both the 80 and 90 grain sierra at 600 and have had good luck with both. I actually went back to the 80's because of the cheaper price. I didn't see alot of difference but both are good bullets.

I am about to start loading my 200 and 300 yard ammo on my new 550B but I'm worried about the Varget not metering very consistent through the powder measure. I'm still going to load my long range ammo on the single stage press.

[Jim Watson]

Sierra's top .223 load for the 90 gr SMK is 22.4 gr Varget. Seat as far out as you can without jamming into the rifling and load single shot. Mine came out 2.37" OAL for whatever standard chamber Krieger cuts.

They say it will stabilize in a true 7 twist but labeled the box for 6.5 because of the tolerances in rifling twist of production line button rifled barrels.

I could not load it fast enough for 1000 yards, bullets started going MIA when loads exceeded Sierra's normally conservative charges, even with the throat lengthened, longer OAL, and slower powders.