CZ 527 Varmint .223 Load Data (1 in 9 twist)

[12 Volt Man]

I recently made up my first reloads. It was great fun. Here is some info on what i did. I hope others can share info and help me dial in a load that this gun likes. Maybe someone already has data they can post.

Load #1:

Bullet:
Hornady V-Max 50 Grain
Powder:
28 Grains Winchester 748
Primer:
Federal GM205 small rifle magnum
COAL:
2.245
Average Chronographed Speed:
3493 fps
Best 100 yard Group:
.623
Average 100 yard Groups:
Over an inch

My thoughts:
I am not sure on the COAL for this gun. I think I might have these too long. This load didn't group well. Even though it was loaded a couple of grains below the max listed in the Speer manual, this load was pretty hot as seen in the speed.
There could be 4 issues here. I used a small rifle magnum primer (suggested by the guy at the reloading shop). COAL might be too long. Might be loaded too hot. And finally, this gun might not like 50 grain bullets. It does like 40 grain Wichester Varmint Factory loads, which I find strange for a 1 in 9 twist barrel.


Load #2:

Bullet:
Hornady V-Max 60 Grain
Powder:
25 Grains of IMR 4895
Primer:
Federal GM205 small rifle magnum
COAL:
2.251
Average Chronographed Speed:
2954 fps
Best 100 yard Group:
2.173
Average 100 yard Groups:
Over two inches

My thoughts.
Again COAL might be an issue. This like the other load didn't group well. This load according to the chronographed speeds was not real fast for this bullet. This gun with a 1 in 9 twist should like heavier bullets. Maybe I need to go even bigger with the bullets.




I am a little puzzled and looking for suggestions. I sure had fun experimenting with my first loads.

 

[~z]

While I cant give you .223 recipes, I can offer a bit of advice. I shoot the same rifle in .222. You may want to load up “ladders” ie start at some applicable powder charge and load 4 or 5 then increase the powder by maybe .2 (two tenths of a grain) load another 4 or 5 and bump it up another .2. All the while keeping every other variable the same. However, before you do that, try this:

As for the OAL, I usually like to find the optimal length first. (Go get yourself a bullet compaititor! Stoney Point makes a good cheap one.) I load a midline charge of an applicable powder and load 4 or 5 bullets that touch the rifling (or are as large as the magazine will hold, which ever is less). Next load another batch of 4 or 5 shorter by .005”. Keep on loading with everything constant except the seating depth.

Go shoot and keep good records. One rung on the ladder will out perform the others. Don’t be discouraged if you shoot 5 inch groups, one will be considerably smaller than the rest. In my CZ, the smallest was around 3 inch. But, this will give you the proper seating deapth from the ogive and therefore will be the optimal length for any bullet in that rifle. Now tinker with powder charges as mentioned above. My best from my .222 is .131” and a came to that load within about 70 or so bullets. Good luck, hope this helps.
~z

 

[redneck2]

two suggestions...

get a Stoney Point gauge, or

read Varmint Al's site to make a home made way to measure correct jump to lands

 

[asknight]

My suggestion would be to get away from the magnum primers. There simply is not enough powder in a .223 Rem case to warrant a magnum primer. I've found, though I have a different rifle, that the faster you push a bullet the more erratic your groups become. Don't look for maximum velocity when you're shooting for groups.

The hint I will give is that I've obtained my best accuracy with Winchester cases, Winchester primers, and both Benchmark and BL-C(2) powders.

 

[MLC]

Trying H335 wouldn't be a bad idea, especially with those bullet weights.
The powder was created for the 223.

 

[sumoj275]

Hello there,
I have a 527 Varmint with the 1-9 twist in .223 Rem. I ladder loaded several loads and found that my rifle like the following recipe the best:
IMR 4895 powder--25 gr
.223 Rem brass
CCI Small Rifle Primer
OAL according to Speer manual
Brass trimmed to Speer manual length
Honady 55 V Max bullet

Consistent, under an inch at a hundred and wastaking prarie dogs last weekend to 450 yds with it. Definetly great p-dog load.

Take care and work your way up to it on a ladder method.

 

[P0832177]

First off there are better powders out there for tweaking the accuracy of the 223. Varget covers the whole spectrum, and in the 223 there is no chance of over loading the 223 with it! RP 7.5 primers or BR2 primers are really good for Varget loads! Look at the hodgdon web site for powder charges to work up to!

If you are wanting to shoot lighter bullets, there are some really good combos with N133 being the powder of choice with Fed 205's.

Tac is a powder that using a CCI450 primer seems to really shine!

Stick to a COAL of 2.26 as the max so you can feed thru the magazine!

Reloading is pretty simple if you follow standard load work up.

Check this web site for some hints. http://home.earthlink.net/~dannewberry/dannewberrysoptimalchargeweightloaddevelopment/

 

[mc223]

I just wanted to add some support to the slower powders mentioned in the previous post. I also load for the heavy bullet side of 223. 60g and up. Varget is one of the powders I use for 69g Seirras. I also use Vihta Vouri N140 and N540 and a little RE-15.
My pet load for the 69 Seirra is 25.3g Varget, Rem 7-1/2 primer in Lake City brass. COAL is 2.25 for mag feeding. The 69s don't seem to mind the jump to the lands in my rifle. Start at 23.5 and work up. Velocity from my 26 in. barreled AR average around 2800fps. They always shoot under 1/2in groups but more realisticaly 1/4 in groups are the norm. I have been loading some 60g VMax with VV n140 but have not had range time to work them for accuracy yet.
Always double check load data with a good manual. especially the stuff you will find on the internet. Even mine.
Good shooting is safe shooting and vice versa!

 

[NATE40]

For the best overall lenth for your rifle
take a cleaning rod in the muzzle with the bolt closed on a empty rifle and mark the rod at the muzzle
next put a bullet in the bore and hold it tight with a pencil eracure end and
place the marked rod in the muzzle and remark the distance between the two points is max overall lenth for your rifle and is best for single shots and bolt actions for autoloaders stick with factory specs
I load at standard book starting loads and load 10 rnds then add .5 grains for the next 10 and so on until I find what prints best for my rifle and weigh every charge durring this work up until you find what your rifle likes
you can find your own "pet load" with every bullet weight, powder type and seating depth for all your rifles this way and I found it really adds to the real fun of reloading and shooting

 

[dagger dog]

I have a 12FV Savage,1-9" twist 26" bbl it likes the 69 gr Sierra Match King Win Brass RE15 and WSR prime. Shoots sub 1" at 150 yds.
I think the 69 gr is just about top as far as weight to length fo 1-9 twist you may go up to around 70 maybe 72 gr.
I have been trying to find load data fot the 50 gr Barnes Varmint grenade, these are exceptionaly long bullits for 50 grainers, the hollow of the hollow point runs well back towards the base of the bullit, it is one of the very few 50 grainers that are long enough to seat out to the lands on my 12FV, and still have enough bullet in the case for good bullit grip.!
The 69 gr Sierra is designed for targets, and is not a reliable expander, the 50 gr Varmint grenade it made of sintered metal and is said to blow up on impact!

 

[Der Verge]

Hey all, my first post here. I have become a reloading junkie. Anyway, here is a load for you to try. I have a Stevens 200 with a 1:9" barrel. Remember, different twist rates require different legnth bearing surfaces on a bullet, not necessarily bullet weight......N E Way...

Rem brass, CCI benchrest primer, 25.6gr Hodgdon Benchmark, Sierra 52gr BTHP, 2.205" OAL.
Best group for this load is .245", and consistantly under .3" at 100 yards. Stays together down range too. This is a little under max charge, but no P-dog will be able to tell the difference. Costs me about $5.15 for a box of 20....