ssyoumans
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- Jan 15, 2010
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I've got a S&W M&P 15, 16" barrel with a 1 in 9 twist. I just picked up a box of the Barnes 62gr TSX bullets, possibly for deer hunting this fall (just around the corner!). A quick scan on the Barnes website showed (2) sets of data, one for 223 Rem, the other for 5.56 Nato (released 8/2010).
223 Rem data: http://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/223RemingtonWeb.pdf
5.56 data: http://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/5.56-Nato.pdf
The 223 pages lists 2 choices, 22.5 - 24.5gr TAC @ 2.250" or 23.5-25.5gr Varget. When I run through Quickload for a quick sanity check, they TAC looks ok, the Varget, a bit hot.
24.5gr TAC, 2.250", 30.8 grains of H2O case capacity generates 2777fps, 1062 ft-lbs, 52667 psi.
25.5gr Varget, 2.250, 30.8 grains of H20 case capaicty generates 2881fps, 1143 ft-lbs, but is showing 60,422 PSI, well over 223's 55k psi.
When you look at the 5.56 data, things get really interesting..
TAC is listed with 25.0 - 27.0 grains @ 2.240", LC09 case (I don't have any 09's but I'll speculate 30.9gr case capacity). So, I ran some numbers in Quickload to see what ballpark these are "playing in"....
25.0gr TAC, generates 2835fps, 1107 ft-lbs, 55,906 psi. (just over a 223 max)
25.5gr TAC, generates 2892fps, 1152 ft-lbs, 59,330 psi.
26.0gr TAC, generates 2950fps, 1198 ft-lbs, 63,044 psi.
26.5gr TAC, generates 3008fps, 1246 ft-lbs, 67,000 psi. (sounds hot)
27.0gr TAC, generates 3066fps, 1294 ft-lbs, 71,245 psi. WOW.. WOW..
Granted, this is all just theoretical data from Quickload.. Proof is in the testing.. typically, my TAC loads run hotter than Quickload's predictions.
Typical 62gr Nato SS109's (Prvi Partizan, American Tactical Imports, and & Lithuanian Military) out of my rifle give 2990fps, for 1231 ft-lbs, so I know I will stop when I reach 2990fps as my absolute ceiling, but may stop sooner if seriously flattened primers, etc.
So, while I don't reload by Quickload, I use it for sanity checking, and this was "out there" as far as pushing the envelope.
What do you guys load up your Barnes 62gr TSX bullets with and what velocities are you seeing out of your AR? Have you seen the latest 5.56 spec from Barnes? What do you think of it? Seems very hot, but I don't know how well Quickload predicts for Barnes bullets either, so that is obviously an unknown..
223 Rem data: http://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/223RemingtonWeb.pdf
5.56 data: http://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/5.56-Nato.pdf
The 223 pages lists 2 choices, 22.5 - 24.5gr TAC @ 2.250" or 23.5-25.5gr Varget. When I run through Quickload for a quick sanity check, they TAC looks ok, the Varget, a bit hot.
24.5gr TAC, 2.250", 30.8 grains of H2O case capacity generates 2777fps, 1062 ft-lbs, 52667 psi.
25.5gr Varget, 2.250, 30.8 grains of H20 case capaicty generates 2881fps, 1143 ft-lbs, but is showing 60,422 PSI, well over 223's 55k psi.
When you look at the 5.56 data, things get really interesting..
TAC is listed with 25.0 - 27.0 grains @ 2.240", LC09 case (I don't have any 09's but I'll speculate 30.9gr case capacity). So, I ran some numbers in Quickload to see what ballpark these are "playing in"....
25.0gr TAC, generates 2835fps, 1107 ft-lbs, 55,906 psi. (just over a 223 max)
25.5gr TAC, generates 2892fps, 1152 ft-lbs, 59,330 psi.
26.0gr TAC, generates 2950fps, 1198 ft-lbs, 63,044 psi.
26.5gr TAC, generates 3008fps, 1246 ft-lbs, 67,000 psi. (sounds hot)
27.0gr TAC, generates 3066fps, 1294 ft-lbs, 71,245 psi. WOW.. WOW..
Granted, this is all just theoretical data from Quickload.. Proof is in the testing.. typically, my TAC loads run hotter than Quickload's predictions.
Typical 62gr Nato SS109's (Prvi Partizan, American Tactical Imports, and & Lithuanian Military) out of my rifle give 2990fps, for 1231 ft-lbs, so I know I will stop when I reach 2990fps as my absolute ceiling, but may stop sooner if seriously flattened primers, etc.
So, while I don't reload by Quickload, I use it for sanity checking, and this was "out there" as far as pushing the envelope.
What do you guys load up your Barnes 62gr TSX bullets with and what velocities are you seeing out of your AR? Have you seen the latest 5.56 spec from Barnes? What do you think of it? Seems very hot, but I don't know how well Quickload predicts for Barnes bullets either, so that is obviously an unknown..
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