wanderinwalker
Member
When I picked up my new CZ527FS in .223, I decided I wanted to try downloading some rounds for shooting steel plates at 50 yards. While we await snow-out to set-up the steel range in the woods, I figured it was a good time to start experimenting with loads.
Short story: it didn't take much experimenting! I picked H4895 because I both had it on hand and Hodgdon reports it can safely be reduced by 60% of their max published loads. Perfect! I picked the Nosler 55gr Varmageddon FBHP because Shooter's Pro Shop has some over-runs and I like Nosler bullets. I wanted a fragile varmint bullet to make sure these will come apart reliably when hitting steel later, even at reduced speeds. Primers and cases were just what I had on hand. They were loaded to 2.175" OAL to keep the ogive about .010" from the lands in my CZ chamber.
And the results! Yes, it's one 5-shot group at 50 yards. But I think it will do nicely. It's so much fun it might become my stand-by plinking ammo all summer anyway.
Why 17.9gr? I was aiming for about 18 and 17.9 is what one of the cavities on the LEE Auto Disk threw. Close enough for this project! And I loaded these in full-progressive mode on a LEE Pro 1000, which is my preferred method of producing non-match ammo.
There is another target of 10 rounds fired at 50-yards from a sitting position a couple of weeks ago. They're all in the 3" black aiming center of the target. In the 2 weeks since I switched scopes on the CZ from a 1.5-4x20mm Leupold VX-Freedom to an FX-II 4x33mm. (Which is a much nicer scope to look through for my eyes.)
Next up, I'll chronograph these to make sure they're in my target velocity range of around 2400-fps at the muzzle. Maybe once it warms up to above freezing.
Short story: it didn't take much experimenting! I picked H4895 because I both had it on hand and Hodgdon reports it can safely be reduced by 60% of their max published loads. Perfect! I picked the Nosler 55gr Varmageddon FBHP because Shooter's Pro Shop has some over-runs and I like Nosler bullets. I wanted a fragile varmint bullet to make sure these will come apart reliably when hitting steel later, even at reduced speeds. Primers and cases were just what I had on hand. They were loaded to 2.175" OAL to keep the ogive about .010" from the lands in my CZ chamber.
And the results! Yes, it's one 5-shot group at 50 yards. But I think it will do nicely. It's so much fun it might become my stand-by plinking ammo all summer anyway.
Why 17.9gr? I was aiming for about 18 and 17.9 is what one of the cavities on the LEE Auto Disk threw. Close enough for this project! And I loaded these in full-progressive mode on a LEE Pro 1000, which is my preferred method of producing non-match ammo.
There is another target of 10 rounds fired at 50-yards from a sitting position a couple of weeks ago. They're all in the 3" black aiming center of the target. In the 2 weeks since I switched scopes on the CZ from a 1.5-4x20mm Leupold VX-Freedom to an FX-II 4x33mm. (Which is a much nicer scope to look through for my eyes.)
Next up, I'll chronograph these to make sure they're in my target velocity range of around 2400-fps at the muzzle. Maybe once it warms up to above freezing.
