55 grain bullet out of a 1:7 Twist Barrel ?

[Turkeytider]

Gentlemen, fully aware that barrels are individuals when it comes to their preferred loads, but in general, should I expect a 26" heavy barrel with 1:7 to be able to shoot a 55 grain match bullet to, say, 300 yards ( wind aside for discussion ) with medium size steel plate accuracy? And yes, I do plan to shoot heavier bullets, just that I`ve got quite a few 55`s on the shelf! Thanks.

[Dave Hoback]

Yes.

[Shooter0302]

As Dave said , Yes , and , I'll add I wouldn't "fire ball" your loads

[Turkeytider]

Thanks Dave. I`m going to try and zero 55 and 68 grain rounds to get started at 200 and 300 yard targets. Probably go up to 75 + for 400 + .

[charlie b]

FWIW, the 55gn will easily go to 300yd. Some are better than others. 69gn to 600yd although I liked 77gn better. The 77SMK's were my favorite but the Nosler 77gn BTHP match bullets were a close second. I also liked the 75gn Hornady ELD, but, when seated out for best accuracy they would not fit in the magazine. If you want to spend the extra money the Sierra Tipped Match Kings were even better by a bit. When discussing each of these match bullets keep in mind the differences in precision is a 0.1 or 0.2 MOA.

[CFJunkie]

Turkeytider,
The only 55 grain bullets that I have found shoot accurately are the Berger Flat Base #22410s.
IMO, if you are focusing on accuracy it isn't worth loading all the other 55 gr bullets I have tried (mostly old designs meant for hunting or FMJs that are for what I consider rapid fire AR ammo).
The lighter match bullets - 52 SMKs #1410 (0.343), 52 ELD-Ms #22491 (0.333), the 53 grain SMK #1400 (0.376) and 53 gr V-Maxes 22265 (0.363) shoot much better than all of the other 55 gr bullets, with the exception of the Berger Flat Base #22410s (0.343).
For long range shooting, I think you will find that the heavier bullets (69 grains and heavier - up to 80 grains with your 1:7 twist) will let you reach out further while maintaining accuracy.

charlie b, the 73 gr ELD-Ms seem to shoot more accurately in my 26-in barrel at 100 yards shooting 5-round groups - 0.268 for the 73 ELD-Ms versus 0.375 for the 75 gr ELD-Ms.
Unfortunately, I don't have easy access to a range longer than 100 yards.
But the difference between the 73 and 75 ELD-Ms is large enough to presume that the accuracy of the 73s will hold on out to at least 300 yards.

For comparison, for the heavier bullets that I have shot the most groups with (so the group averages should be good indicators, statistically speaking:
77 SMKs average 0.291 for 266 groups with the best powder averaging 0.235 (N540).
77 TMKs average 0.279 for 141 groups with the best powder averaging 0.279. (IMR4166)
69 SMKs average 0.291 for 125 groups with the best powder averaging 0.235. (N540)
69 TMKs average 0.288 for 141 groups with the best powder averaging 0.286. (IMR4166)
(IMR 4166 is no longer available so the N540 powder was a recent acquisition, so the number of groups are small by comparison, but the results are worth exploring in the long run.)

[Turkeytider]

I guess I could have been more clear, I`ll be shooting factory loads.

[CFJunkie]

I have never found 55-grain factory ammo that would shoot accurately enough to shoot at 300 yards.
I'm not sure anyone makes factory loads with Berger 55 gr match bullets, so I guess my recommendation is moot.

If it were me, I would try the Federal Gold Medal Match or Nosler CC 69 and 77 gr factory loads if you want to shoot longer distances, even out to 600 yards.

[charlie b]

I think the comment "medium steel plate accuracy" needs to be kept in mind. Even the cheap 55gn stuff I found would shoot to less than 6" at 300yd. If you want to impress people then what CFJ offered is the way to go with match grade ammo. It just costs a bit more (quite a bit).

Some of us get wrapped around the axle with better accuracy. Sorry to muddy the water.

[Turkeytider]

I have never found 55-grain factory ammo that would shoot accurately enough to shoot at 300 yards.
I'm not sure anyone makes factory loads with Berger 55 gr match bullets, so I guess my recommendation is moot.

If it were me, I would try the Federal Gold Medal Match or Nosler CC 69 and 77 gr factory loads if you want to shoot longer distances, even out to 600 yards.

Hornady`s Frontier line has a 68 grain OTM that I may try. Little less expensive. My 110 in .223 ( 1:9 ) REALLY likes their 55 grain OTMs.

[CFJunkie]

I'll have to try some of those 55 OTMs.
They weren't produced when I did most of my light bullet experimentation.
When I found that my 1:9s shot much more accurately with 69 through 77 gr bullets, I abandoned using the lighter bullets.

[hamiltonkiler]

https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-5-56-nato-77-grain-sierra-tmk-20rd-box-ammunition.html


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[wbm]

Hornady`s Frontier line has a 68 grain OTM that I may try. Little less expensive. My 110 in .223 ( 1:9 ) REALLY likes their 55 grain OTMs.

Same here. Started with the 55gr and they shot good....the 68gr....not so much. Unless Hornady changed in the past year, Lake City makes their Frontier line.

[Turkeytider]

https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-5-56-nato-77-grain-sierra-tmk-20rd-box-ammunition.html


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Thank you sir. Prefer to shoot .223 only out of my guns. Would love to try those if they were in .223.

[hamiltonkiler]

Thank you sir. Prefer to shoot .223 only out of my guns. Would love to try those if they were in .223.

Mmm.. what’s the difference again in .556 and .223?

Your fine in a bolt gun.
I promise [emoji41]

There is plenty throat length and enough chamber metal/meat nothing is going to go wrong.
Cheers

I have shot piles of nato 77gn otm ammo through my 10 .223 action


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[dusterdave]

For factory loads the Fiocchi 50g Vmax shoots really well for me in several rifles
But to your question i have two pals one with 7 and one with 8 twist with long freebore for the heavy stuff and both barrels shoot 53 Vmax lights out--they say the longer throats help with pressures when going hot as a bonus

[tomme boy]

PSA's AAC ammo may be a little hot for a bolt gun. It is on the edge in a AR15 with popped primers being reported a lot. This is with their own manufactured 77gr bullet. They also offer the Sierra but I have not seen much reports about that. People may be getting one or the other and not knowing which they actually buy as a 77gr bullet everyone assumes it to be a Sierra bullet.

[wbm]

For factory loads the Fiocchi 50g Vmax shoots really well for me in several rifles

They do. Picked up a box of 50 last winter just to see...they shot really well.

[charlie b]

PSA's AAC ammo may be a little hot for a bolt gun. It is on the edge in a AR15 with popped primers being reported a lot. This is with their own manufactured 77gr bullet. They also offer the Sierra but I have not seen much reports about that. People may be getting one or the other and not knowing which they actually buy as a 77gr bullet everyone assumes it to be a Sierra bullet.

Hot for a bolt gun? Those bolt guns are made for much higher pressure and larger diameter cartridges (even less steel in the barrel to contain the pressure). The small .223 case the limit is the brass case, not the chamber strength. Savage (and most other mfgs) have been putting long throats on their .223's for a long time now, just to prevent any problems with surplus ammo.

I'd be more concerned shooting 'hot' loads in an AR.

[tomme boy]

if primers are blanking and popping in a AR then they sure will in a loose savage bolt head. Until savage stops sending out bolt heads that are dished and have oversized pin holes it can and will continue to happen. I had to send my 223 back 2x to get them to put a good bolt head on it. My fix till it was actually fixed was to run 41 primers. Anything else would blank the primer. And these were well below a max charge in the books.

And to the OP, sometimes a rough(savage barrel) with a tight twist can and will rip apart a thin skinned match or varmint bullet. I had a 3 groove Lija in 243w with a 1-8 twist that would blow up AMAX bullets. Everything else was fine. But the AMAX was too thin to handle a 3 grove barrel. I went with a 3 groove to test to see if it would last longer than a conventional 5-6 groove barrel and it did.