What grain bullets for savage axis 2 in 223

[jimbo4]

What grain would be good in a savage axis 2 in 223? It is 1 in 9 twist.I think.

 

[Aletheia]

I have no idea what will work best in your new rifle; only testing will tell. All rifles are individuals (including any two Savage Axis) and "prefer" different loads. I'd start my testing with a variety of 50 grain loads.

 

[Blue68f100]

I have one AR with a 1:9 twist. It shoots best with the lighter bullets , 52-55gr . It does shoot the 65 gr SGK well but it's the heaviest bullet it likes and the groups starts to open up, still 1 MOA. I use this 65gr SZGK as my varmint round. The 52 gr SMK shoots the best. I have 2 powders that give me sub MOA with this bullet, TAC, and Varget. Will note that OAL of these 53gr does not leave a lot of bullet in the case, when loaded as Sierra recommended OAL. Will be fine for a bolt gun though. You will need to find out what your Max OAL will be with the bullet of your choosing. Mine has min spec chambers and are tight, so some AOL had to be adjusted for my gun.

 

[horsey300]

What grain would be good in a savage axis 2 in 223? It is 1 in 9 twist.I think.

Length will matter more than weight, 53 vmax, 62 anything (ish) 64 nosler, 65 Sierra, 70 Speer, but not necessarily a 70 mono or nosler. Jbm has lengths and a stability calculator to do most of the guess work for you, but those are what my 9 twists like.

 

[Axis II]

In my 223 axis 55gr v max or nosler ballistic tips touch holes with benchmark and cci450 primers. And yes they are 1/9 twist.

 

[Laphroaig]

I don't have an Axis 2 but I do have a 1:9 Model 10 PC. I've shot a lot of 55's and 60's, and it will group 77 SMK's at least up to 500 yds. Not 80 SMK's tho.

 

[jleyring]

 

[jimbo4]

Thank you guys. I have some 53 v max to try out

 

[Skeptic13]

I have a mossberg mvp that is a 1:9 twist and it shoots 55gr, 60gr and 62 gr handloads really well. I am sure it will shoot the lighter bullets as well I just don't like to shoot them. Every rifle shoots a little differently. I would start with the sweet spot weights in the twist rate chart and then once you have them dialed in experiment with weight outside the norm. You might find you rifle shoots the lighter or heavier bullets well.

 

[entropy]

1:9.25. My Axis (now my son's) shoots 40, 50, 52, 55, 60, and 62 grain bullets very accurately. I haven't tried anything heavier, it might shoot those well also.

 

[AJC1]

The standard bullet I start testing a 223 is the 69 smk. If it's a 1:7 ar then maybe the 77 smk but even then the 69 still a great place to start. If your shooting something other than paper or steel I got nothing.

 

[BWS]

I got a flatback #16 weather warrior (stainless) when they first came out 20 or 30 something years ago.

That thing shoots cheap factory 55's into tiny groups. Handloading.... it seemed to prefer cheap 55g TNT's.

Good luck with your project.

 

[cfullgraf]

With a 1:9 twist, 62 to 65 grain bullets will probably be the maximum weight that would stabilize. At 68 or 69 grain bullet may work but you'd have to try it.

Anything lighter should work fine.

But as already said, it is really bullet length that determines whether a bullet will stabilize at a particular twist. Longer bullets require a faster twist. Problem is, the exact twist rate may not be exactly what is advertised so one barrel may perform differently than a different barrel even though they are listed as the same twist rate.

 

[SameOle]

I don't remember where I saw the below but it is what I use as a go by.
Barrel Twist Rate 1:14" 1:12" 1:9" 1:8" 1:7" or 1:6.5"

Max Bullet Weight 55gr FB 65gr FB 73gr BT 80gr BT 90gr BT VLD