223 wylde with 7 twist,need bullet advice..

[noname]

Been trying some berger 80.5 gr bullets with some fair accuracy
at 300 yards. But to win a match I need better that what I am
getting..So I am asking you pros for much needed advice on a
good bullets and powder choice's..As mentioned..7 twist barrel..
Thanks for any advice..RIZO:o:o

[Mozella]

You're gonna' be hard pressed to beat the Berger VLD 80gr bullets with your barrel. Some people claim success with the Berger VLD 90's in a 1:7 twist barrel, but my experience with them has been frustrating because of inconsistency. You might want to try them though. You could be one of the guys who can shoot the 90's with accuracy and consistency out of a 1:7 twist barrel. If so, that would be great. Otherwise, stick with the 80 VLD's.

I have found good results with both Varget and Vihtavuori N-140, but plenty of other powders work too.

But finding a good bullet and a good powder is easy. Unfortunately, using high quality bullets and powder isn't the whole answer. You must figure out how to put them all together. You should try your best to make very high quality ammo because you can be sure the guys winning at your range are doing just that.

They're doing things like careful case prep including trimming, primer pocket uniforming, flash hole deburring, accurate sizing, chamfering, weight sorting, volume sorting, and so on. They may also sort their bullets by weight and/or shape. Some may point their bullets and/or Moly coat them. Many are most likely weighing their powder to the nearest kernel and a few nuts might even being cutting powder kernels but I try not to stand too close to them. ;)

One thing you can count on is that the winners have done very careful load development to find the proper charge weight, seating depth, and neck tension to optimize precision and reliability. You need to do the same because even at low-key local matches the winners are working hard to make the best ammo possible within the limits each shooter has for his personal budget and sanity level.

The sad truth is that none of this stuff will do you much good unless you learn to read the wind I know all about this unfortunate fact from bitter experience.:frusty:

[noname]

excellent read and I appreciate it..No one hate to admit they are getting old and it makes it tougher to compete with the
young bucks..I admit I am finding it harder with each passing year to hold the rifle still,but I can still put the bullets
where they are supposed to go about 75 percent of the time..I just seem to be getting in consistent groups with the
bergers for some reason..Been thinking of trying the sierra 80 gr..I suppose it is possible that maybe some barrels
just don't like the bergers ?? Anyway I do all you mention above as far as case prep..except for filling each case with water.
Thanks for your well thought out reply...RIZZO

[bc83]

Having great luck with SMK and RL15

[DLALLDER]

My model 12 likes varget or rl15 with 80 gr Nosler CC or Sierra 80's. A buddy took RL15 and Sierra 80's punched 4 shots into one hole, a hole so small you have to look very close to see it is more than one shot. He did it very first time he ever shot my gun with 4 of his loads in my brass.