40 grain bullets in an 8" twist

Rustydust

Active member
Hey Yall

Shooting partner has a Howa 1500 .223 that he would like to shoot 40 grain bullets in. It has a 1/8" twist and while I have heard that some folks get them to work well I know that more than a few have not. My 1/9" twist .223 did not shoot them as well as the 50 grain and up but it was not terrible either.

Anyway, if any of you got a gun with and 8 twist that shoots lights out would you share your load so I can pass it along? Preshate it.

Russ
 
Not sure I've ever shot any 40's in an 8tw but I've shot a lot 40gr Ballistic Tip w/Benchmark in 9tw 223's and they shot very well for me.

The only 223's that I have with faster than a 9tw are AR's and I don't recall if I've ever shot the 40's in those.

I imagine your friends 8tw 223 has a fairly healthy amount of FB and with the 40's you'll be jumping them a pretty good distance so a jump friendly bullet will be your friend. I've always found Nosler Ballistic Tips to be jump friendly and not nearly as sensitive to seating depth as some of the others so if you have some I'd probably give those a try first and lots of different powders should work equally well.
 
I too like the Ballistic Tips. When they were $100/1000 (were those the days or not?) I bought nothing but BT for my rifles. My .221 Furball loved the 40 grainers but it had a 1/12" twist. My 1/14" twist rifles did great with them too but the 1/9" twist Savage did it's best work with the 50's and because they were the same price as the 40's that's what I bought.

I think he has some Benchmark and will pass that on to him. If he does not have any then I could load him a few to try. You likely right that there is a fair bit of jump in that barrel. Short bullets do not care for much freebore.

Thanks, Bry.
 
24 grains of LT32, a 40 vmax, and a Rem 7 1/2 work good in my 8 twist Ruger ranch 556.Fills the cases pretty full, helps to use a drop tube or settle the powder somehow. Accounted for quite a few critters the last several months as my number one truck gun. Bad medicine for prairie dogs. Had some pretty impressive impacts with this setup.
 
I do not think that either of us have any LT32 powder but between us we have at least 10 that will work in the .223 case. I think that the eight inch twist and stubby bullets will be the most difficult thing to overcome.

I have shot a LOT of prairie dogs with the 40 grain Vmax out of my .221 Fireball. Man oh man will it scatter a pooch!
 
22 and 2/3 steps from point of impact to where a piece of prairie dog landed is my record for "splat factor" with that combination. My youngest daughter saw it; the awe in her voice was as memorable as the detonation itself. Had a 17 1/2 step incident last week. I think the rpm's help with the "gymnastics".
 
Hey rusty i shoot them out of my AR. 18” GM barrel with a 1:8” twist. I’m running lake city brass with 28 gr of Varget (max load, compressed), CCI 400 seated at 2.23” OAL. In my AR it shoots .5-.75” normally. I threw it in my VSF and SPS 700s and both shoot them around 1/2”ish if I do my part. The only problem is it fills the case up…full. I run it through a 3” drop tube and it fills just into the neck. It is worth it in my opinion since I can run it very accurately through 3 rifles. Just a suggestions.

Edit: these are 40 gr vmax. Haven’t tried any other brands
 
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Thanks Shelton I will pass it on.

26 grains of Varget and either the 50 grain Vmax or the Ballistic Tip was my go-to load for quite a few years. You are right that 28 grains of Varget is full case as even 27 grains will be near the top on some brass. Varget is a bit slow for the .223 but who cares when it shoots so good? Not me. None of the critters that I shot with it ever complained either.
 
Originally Posted By: shelton573It worked wonders on prairie dogs for sure!

You got that right. I have taken them out to at least 400 yards with the 40 grain Vmax. And they are scattered good too. Such a good bullet if you keep the distance sane.
 
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