110V keyhole issues

Hello: Picked up a used .223 110V last year. Loading up some .50 & .55 grain bullets I was able to get some groups sub MOA. I wanted to go to a heavy bullet for better mid range (300-400 yd) accuracy and loaded up some .68 gr. Match . According to the load data it pushes the bullet just over 2800 fps. The bullets all keyholed. Anyone have a clue as to why the heavier bullet key holed? The info I have is that the rate of twist on this rifle is 1 in 9 inches which should be good for .68 gr. projectiles. Powder, cases, primers all same as .50 & .55 grain loads. I am confused. Thanks for any input

Update. I measured the twist for myself. It is 1 in 14, and not 1 in 9 as stated in another blog. Mystery solved. Just goes to show that you can't trust all the info on shooting blogs. Oh well I can burn up the .68 gr. in my AR. Thanks to all for input.

The only reason I can see as to why the 68gr bullets keyhole is maybe the twist rate in your barrel is too slow. Do you know what twist it is rifled at? Put a cleaning rod in the bore and make a dot with a marker on it near the handle. Start pushing it through and watch the mark. When it has rotated 360 degrees note how many inches the rod was pushed. You probably will be needing a 1 in 9 twist or better to stabilize those bullets. I'm sure someone with more experience with it will chime in.

^ he posted his barrel IS 1:9. only time I have seen this is actually not a keyhole situation. the shooter had thin paper target WAY to tightly drawn and "ripped" paper a bit and made look like a keyhole. it was very odd but weird stuff happens

If it's a 110V, is probably has a 1-14 twist.

Not hard to measure twist. All you need is a cleaning rod, marker and tape measure. I measured my 243 right at 1 - 9.25". May not be exact but should get you pretty close.

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Originally Posted by czechotto

Hello: Picked up a used .223 110V last year. Loading up some .50 & .55 grain bullets I was able to get some groups sub MOA. I wanted to go to a heavy bullet for better mid range (300-400 yd) accuracy and loaded up some .68 gr. Match . According to the load data it pushes the bullet just over 2800 fps. The bullets all keyholed. Anyone have a clue as to why the heavier bullet key holed? The info I have is that the rate of twist on this rifle is 1 in 9 inches which should be good for .68 gr. projectiles. Powder, cases, primers all same as .50 & .55 grain loads. I am confused. Thanks for any input

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can you post a picture of the target?

I have a 1 in 14 twist, and it will not group anything over 55 grains.

Maybe ya'll need to visit the homepage from time to time and read the various articles and FAQ's we post as the answer to this is in the fourth one down. The 110V was made from 1983-87.

http://www.savageshooters.com/conten...t-Rate-History