Groundhog round choice for 1/9 twist 223?

wahoowad

wahoowad

Active member
Currently shooting Hornady 53 grain Vmax out of my Savage Model 16 in .223 with a 22” 1/9 barrel. I’d like to step up to a heavier bullet to ride the wind a little better. Suggestions for a good commercial varminting round?

The Hornady 53 grain has a BC of 0.290 and the round with the next higher up BC is their 68 grain Match BTHP at 0.355
 
If you not shooting past 4-500yds BC is mostly moot. The 53 is a great medium range bullet, the faster you can push it the better the BC. and less flight time. Play with a Ballistic calculator they will show you some differences, but "your" actual velocity is different than whats on a box or some random number you punch in for comparison.
 
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Most my shots with this gun are 300 to 450, usually on the lower end or even under. Pretty hilly around here. Shot this one today around 150 while making this post 😂
 
You won't gain much if anything over the 53 vmax, maybe 2 or 3" windage @ 400 yds. When I was killing 300-400 ghogs a year my longest shot ( 650 yds ) was with 53 vmax in a 223AI @ about 3550 fps.
 
I shoot lots of critters in the dark with a 55gr hornady soft point in a 223. Farthest has been a possum at 420. But skunk at 360, coyote at 285, even whitetail better mind their manners. Just put the the fast pointy thing in the vitals...
 
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