Best recipe for 53 or 60 VMAX in 223??

F

Forest Ghost

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Well, gonna go try loading my own in a week. Wanna use the 53 or 60 VMAX. What primer should I get, CCI 400? I’ve got lots of federal and Hornady brass to reuse. What powder should I buy? The local gun shop guy is letting me use his bench and will assist with the process but hasn’t loaded 223 in ages he said. So with the recommended components, what’s the best recipe? Accurate coyote load for cheap is all I want, not going for high speed laser or anything.

If it matters the rifle is a CZ 527 varmint target 1:9 twist with a 25” barrel

Thanks for any help fellas!
 
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CCI450, any magnum primer has worked better for me most the time.

I use benchmark powder with my 53gr. H335 is an old go to for that bullet weight. Those are just the two I have tried with that bullet, shortly you will have a hefty list of powders to chose from, there are a lot to work with in that range.

They haven't been the best coyote bullets though so I dont shoot them much.
 
Should say I’m also looking at 60 vmax, I’ll include that in the original.

And 450, ok. Think I saw that on the shelf
 
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as I recall I had good results with benchmark. Think I used Fed 205 primers. I found better accuracy in that rifle with 55gr BT's though & stopped messing with the VMax.
 
CCI br and 25.5 benchmark with the 53 gr vmax was a great load out of my Savage varmint 1/9. Really popped open the prairie dogs last summer.
 
To be honest, if you haven't bought the Vmaxs yet I would chose something else. I tried them and I really wanted them to work but after going through about 250 of them shooting at coyotes and paper I wont be buying anymore. They had some nasty splash damage and poor kills on a lot of shots that the coyote wasn't facing directly at me.

Sierra has excellent soft point bullets that are more reliable on coyotes and very accurate, and even Hornady's cheap 50 and 55gr soft points have shot more accurately than 53 vmax for me.
 
I am using the 60gr vmax in a 1/9 .223. using H322 because I couldn't find much of the more popular stuff when I bought my first powder.

Tested with benchmark also and probably could've found a good load with it too. Some initial results were promising but I had to choose between the two at some point.

I'm using CCI BR also, but if a cheaper one works, why not.
 
You will notice that many, many top pros use 53, 55 & 60gr Vmax.

That being said,

Don't get married to a primer brand. Buy several different types and try them over a chronograph. Today i learned another valuable lesson about primers. I switched from Rem 7.5's back to WSR and gained 40fps and knocked extreme spreads down from 50fps to 12-22fps.

As far as powders go...

H322 could shoot good in your rifle with the 53's?

Ramshot Exterminator/Accurate AA2230 are lovely. Double base spherical powders make bullets fly righteously fast.

I have found IMR 8208 to exceed my expectations. The bottle is shiny too LoL

Winchester primers are used for a lot of the data you see out there. Hodgon, Hornady, Nosler, Barnes & Western Powders to name a few.
 
I’ve had and seen a lot of good results with H4895 behind the 53 gr v-max. All the powders listed so far would likely treat you well. N133 is awesome stuff, I’m just too cheap to pay for it. As far as primers, I started with BR-4s when I got into reloading and have never had any complaints. Printed a lot of small groups with multiple guns and loads using them. That said, during the great scare I picked up some 7 1/2s just because they were available. They seem to work well. Pick a quality primer and spend the rest of your time worrying about all the other variables. The primer is likely among the last things that you should bother tweaking to find an accurate load in your rifle.
 
Originally Posted By: chzI’ve had and seen a lot of good results with H4895 behind the 53 gr v-max. All the powders listed so far would likely treat you well. N133 is awesome stuff, I’m just too cheap to pay for it. As far as primers, I started with BR-4s when I got into reloading and have never had any complaints. Printed a lot of small groups with multiple guns and loads using them. That said, during the great scare I picked up some 7 1/2s just because they were available. They seem to work well. Pick a quality primer and spend the rest of your time worrying about all the other variables. The primer is likely among the last things that you should bother tweaking to find an accurate load in your rifle.

well said, I use the same combination
h4895 and remington 7 1/2

be careful with the 7 1/2 primer, it has a harder cup and will not show pressure signs as soon as other brands
 
it's not headspace, it's the distance from the ogive of the bullet to the lands in the barrel. this can make a big difference but only in rifles that allow you to do it.

with an AR it usually doesn't, as the internal dimension of the magazine is the limiting factor to seating depth.
 
What reloading manuals do you have and have you read them. I'm not trying to be a wise azz but I would get a Hornady and Sierra manual and read them. You will find a lot of good information.
 
Guess I could buy my own haha. Using the gun shop owners, but they’re quite a few years out of date. He wasn’t even aware of a 53 grain, only had heard of a 55. Most the boxes of bullets on his shelf have to be from the 80s-90s if not earlier.
 
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