tejaschaos
New member
Picked up a few different boxes of Bitteroot Valley Ammunition .223 from Cheaper than Dirt a few weeks ago. Thought I'd take advantage of the awesome weather in Northeast Texas and test them out this morning. I have a Del-Ton 20" HBAR, non-chrome lined, 1/9 twist upper with a RRA lower. Shooting off a few plastic flower planters in the prone. Nothing fancy about it. I CLP'd and ran a bore snake down the barrel 3 times after each grain change. I'm a decent shot. 7 1/2 out of 10 stars, I'd say. Got "Expert" 3 out of 4 in the USMC.
I started off with good ol' 55 grain with V Max bullets. 55 grain is the only thing I've ever shot out of my rifle, things look they are going to be changing... The bottom 4 and the flyer on the left were from 50 yards, the others from 100 yards. I was all over the place.
After a few minor scope adjustments, next up were the 64 grain pointed soft points. Left 4 from 50, right side from 100. Tighter grouping, same rifle, same weather conditions.
Last but not least, the 69 grain hollow point boat tails. I was not sure what to expect due to lots of research telling me 1/9 does best with 55 grains. Same conditions. Bottom 4 were from 50, bull and remaining 3 were from 100. I was surprised. The 2 highest were my last 2 shots. My eyes were getting lazy, I haven't concentrated and shot that much in a while.
I suppose I need to check out the 75 grain hollow points, see what they can do. The heavier they got, the better the groups (I suppose a warmer barrel might of contributed, too). I can not say the ammunition was any dirtier than the other store bought stuff I buy. I've never used hand loads, or spent crazy $ on ammunition, but this stuff works good enough for the coyotes I hunt. Each box of 20 was around $10 and made in Montana. I hope this helps anyone who might be interested in trying this stuff.
Oh yeah, my set up...
I started off with good ol' 55 grain with V Max bullets. 55 grain is the only thing I've ever shot out of my rifle, things look they are going to be changing... The bottom 4 and the flyer on the left were from 50 yards, the others from 100 yards. I was all over the place.
After a few minor scope adjustments, next up were the 64 grain pointed soft points. Left 4 from 50, right side from 100. Tighter grouping, same rifle, same weather conditions.
Last but not least, the 69 grain hollow point boat tails. I was not sure what to expect due to lots of research telling me 1/9 does best with 55 grains. Same conditions. Bottom 4 were from 50, bull and remaining 3 were from 100. I was surprised. The 2 highest were my last 2 shots. My eyes were getting lazy, I haven't concentrated and shot that much in a while.
I suppose I need to check out the 75 grain hollow points, see what they can do. The heavier they got, the better the groups (I suppose a warmer barrel might of contributed, too). I can not say the ammunition was any dirtier than the other store bought stuff I buy. I've never used hand loads, or spent crazy $ on ammunition, but this stuff works good enough for the coyotes I hunt. Each box of 20 was around $10 and made in Montana. I hope this helps anyone who might be interested in trying this stuff.
Oh yeah, my set up...
