53g vmax for 223

kyotekiller25

kyotekiller25

Well-known member
Picked up a box of these to try in my ruger target 223

Boat tail is funny looking on these.

whats everyones thoughts and accuracy with this bullet?

Suppose to have a pretty good BC.

I have benchmark, varget and imr4895
 
Originally Posted By: kyotekiller25Picked up a box of these to try in my ruger target 223

Boat tail is funny looking on these.

whats everyones thoughts and accuracy with this bullet?

Suppose to have a pretty good BC.

I have benchmark, varget and imr4895

BC is equal to the Sierra 55 SBK. (The BC numbers don't mean squat)

The 53 V-Max is a good bullet - you will need a twist of 1:12" or faster, or it will not shoot.

BenchMark and IMR-4895 will do well, but Varget is too slow for this bullet in the 223.
 
The 53gr V-Max is an accurate bullet in my T/C Carbine 21" .223 1/12 twist barrel. Been reloading and shooting some with Varget, Win748, and imr 3031. Haven't tried them yet in my RRA AR-15.
They're a fairly long bullet for their grain weight, seem to be equal to a 60gr Nosler 60gr Hornady, or 60gr Sierra BTHP length wise. I'm a little concerned about bullet setback in my AR because the ogive is rather long. Lots of slamming going on with that action and I'm right on the ogive edge for seating and fitting in my P-Mag. I reloaded some, about 10, with a near max full case load of Varget but haven't tried them yet in my AR. You can seat them longer in a bolt action or single shot. Haven't shot a yote with them yet but I'm trying.
 
Originally Posted By: Dan 46The 53gr V-Max is an accurate bullet in my T/C Carbine 21" .223 1/12 twist barrel. Been reloading and shooting some with Varget, Win748, and imr 3031. Haven't tried them yet in my RRA AR-15.
They're a fairly long bullet for their grain weight, seem to be equal to a 60gr Nosler 60gr Hornady, or 60gr Sierra BTHP length wise. I'm a little concerned about bullet setback in my AR because the ogive is rather long. Lots of slamming going on with that action and I'm right on the ogive edge for seating and fitting in my P-Mag. I reloaded some, about 10, with a near max full case load of Varget but haven't tried them yet in my AR. You can seat them longer in a bolt action or single shot. Haven't shot a yote with them yet but I'm trying.

Get yourself a metal mag like c products or asc and you can seat the bullet out to about 2.295" instead of 2.260"
 
Huh...Varget to slow for a 53gr V-Max. Seem to shoot fine and are accurate in a 21" barrel. Maybe so though in a 16" AR. Never gave it much thought being so close to 55gr and using it in a longer barrel. I mostly use H-335 and Win748 in my AR so you may be right for the shorter length barrel. Maybe glad I didn't load up to many with Varget for the AR. I'm still playing around and trying different powder loads for that bullet weight myself.
 
Originally Posted By: Dan 46The 53gr V-Max is an accurate bullet in my T/C Carbine 21" .223 1/12 twist barrel. Been reloading and shooting some with Varget, Win748, and imr 3031. Haven't tried them yet in my RRA AR-15.
They're a fairly long bullet for their grain weight, seem to be equal to a 60gr Nosler 60gr Hornady, or 60gr Sierra BTHP length wise. I'm a little concerned about bullet setback in my AR because the ogive is rather long. Lots of slamming going on with that action and I'm right on the ogive edge for seating and fitting in my P-Mag. I reloaded some, about 10, with a near max full case load of Varget but haven't tried them yet in my AR. You can seat them longer in a bolt action or single shot. Haven't shot a yote with them yet but I'm trying.

How did the 3031 perform with that 53vmax?
 
OK..I'll get a metal mag for my AR and the 53gr. V-Max. Never new there was a difference in mag length between the two. Learn something new on this site everyday. Thanks for the info as I want to use that bullet weight in both my rifles without any problems.
 
The imr 3031 is accurate in my T/C with a middle weight charge of 23grs. Starting load is 22gr... Max load is 24gr as listed in my 25th edition Hodgdon reloading manual. Really have no complains about it. Haven't tried it yet in the AR though, only in my T/C. Varget is almost a compressed load with the 53gr.V-Max, less chance of bullet setback with that long ogive, but imr 3031 not quite a full case. Just trying to be careful with lower powder volume, long ogive, in the case with the AR.
 
That was the one bullet I could get my old BCM barrel to shoot real well. It was also the first bullet I see splash as well, bullet placement was to blame though. Just surprised me to see the [beeep] thing get up and run off after going down so hard.

Can't hurt to try them, a lot of people like that bullet.
 
Originally Posted By: Dan 46Huh...Varget to slow for a 53gr V-Max. Seem to shoot fine and are accurate in a 21" barrel.

Yeah. Shoots great in my .223 rifles as well. Been my favorite powder for my .223 guns for 10 years now. Not as speedy as some but I'm after accuracy first and speed second. Don't need a lot of oomph for ground squirrels anyway which is mostly what my buddies and I shoot around here.
 
Originally Posted By: Dan 46Huh...Varget to slow for a 53gr V-Max. Seem to shoot fine and are accurate in a 21" barrel.



Yup... too slow.

Accuracy has nothing to do with an optimum powder burning rate in a cartridge.

Varget, in a 223 with 53gr bullets will give very slow velocities, no matter how accurate it is.

H-332, and Benchmark, will give better velocities, and burn cleaner, than Varget.
 
i use the H332 in all my .223 , from a 12'' encore pistol with a 1/12 twist and 40 grain Vmax , to the 55grain in my Windom ar 15. love this powder .
 
Originally Posted By: CatShooterOriginally Posted By: Dan 46Huh...Varget to slow for a 53gr V-Max. Seem to shoot fine and are accurate in a 21" barrel.



Yup... too slow.

Accuracy has nothing to do with an optimum powder burning rate in a cartridge.

Varget, in a 223 with 53gr bullets will give very slow velocities, no matter how accurate it is.



Oh hogwash. When I am using my favorite 50 grain bullets the difference in speeds from the fastest Varget loads to the fastest anything else loads is maybe 100 FPS or so. As far as I am concerned, two ballistic peas on a pod. And without a doubt I will take accuracy over speed any day. Even more so when the difference is a measly 100 FPS.

I rather doubt that of the 500 yard prairie dogs that I have killed with my 50 grain Ballistic Tip and Varget combo ever wished for a speedier bullet, but they may well have wished for a less accurate one!
 
This rifle has a 12" twist so it should work, plus 26" bbl.

Anyway, I figured the BC to be a bit on the high side.

I currently shoot the 40g vmax at 3800ps with benchmark under 1/2 MOA. It's a pretty good load out to 400 but dies off real quick and gets pushed around to much.

Ill likely start with benchmark around 24.5g

thanks guys
 
With my 40gr vmax loads at 3,320 i have to dial 3moa at 300yds and 6moa at 400yds. With the 53gr v max at 3,169 i have to dial 2moa at 300yds and 4.7moa at 400yds. The 53's definitely drop a lot less and buck the wind a tad better. My gun shoots both really well.
 
Originally Posted By: Widow maker 223With my 40gr vmax loads at 3,320 i have to dial 3moa at 300yds and 6moa at 400yds. With the 53gr v max at 3,169 i have to dial 2moa at 300yds and 4.7moa at 400yds. The 53's definitely drop a lot less and buck the wind a tad better. My gun shoots both really well.

Why are your 40's going so slow???

Mine, from a 221 Furball, run 3,600 fps!! Are you driving them with only the primer, and no powder???

smile.gif
 
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