hi all

having trouble finding a good load for my colt hbar elite.  i have used hornady 55 gr vmax loaded with h335 in my other 223 rifles but it will not shoot decent in the hbar.  tried powder range from 21 - 25 gr and nothing spectacular on any of them.  

you guys have any suggestions?  maybe a lighter projectile?  suggestions on that too.  i and dumbfound on this one.

thanks

Wouldn't go lighter.  Try a different powder or different bullet.  60 Vmax?  Plenty of options out there.  25ish grains of XBR pushing 52 SMK's or 55 Vmax works well in my 1/7.  21.9 N133/60 Vmax is great as well.  YMMV.

I like 24.5 gr TAC under a Hornady 68 gr OTM

humm i read in my hornady load manual after posting and they had a section for just ARs.  i will pick up some 68 grains and try them. lol here goes that love hate relationship with reloading.

I agree.  I've never loaded V-max but for FMJ my suggested load is 25.1 of H335.

I have just finished developing loads for the 55 gr. V-Max for an AR and a bolt gun.   For the AR, I found accuracy nodes at 23 and 24.2 gr. H-335.  For the bolt gun, Benchmark was the clear winner.  The flat base on the 55 gr. V-Max makes it a great bullet inside 300 yards.  For 60 gr. V-Max, the hands down best powder was N-135 in my guns.  23.0 grains in an AR made one small hole, but I'm looking for more velocity than that produced.  Good luck.

The load you quoted may or may not be the problem.
What constitutes poor accuracy or precision in a 55 gr load would be easy to debug if you use a similar 55 gr load in your same rig, then your loads in a different rig.

First of all, I am assuming you have had some level of performance set in your mind using this rig and 55 gr ammo from some other tests.
For example: from a rest, 10 rounds should go under 2" diameter or you may have an issue.

If for example, your loads in another 1:9 twist bbl work well, you would assume your rig needs debugging, not the load.
If another similar 55 gr load works well in your rig, then you know for certain you did something wrong or your components have an issue.

Just about any 55 gr ball ammo should answer your question with very little effort. Then you would know where to start looking before you jump in too many directions.

If you have another 1:9 bbl, or a cooperative friend, it will also answer itself faster than you can change load recipes.

Good Luck.

Try seirra bullets  52 gr flat base or 69 SMK too.I had better luck with the 50 gr.vmax in all my .223 rifles if you want to stick with vmaxs ;it was the hands down accuracy winner for me.But you know how it goes might work here but not there.H335 should be a good one to start with or tac too.

I have a Colt HBAR 16 inch Match Target with 1-9 twist.  I have been doing a little testing lately with several powder and bullets combos.  So far my Colt does not like anything heavier than 60gr, so far, not done testing yet.  What it does like is 53gr Sierra Match HP with Varget and 748.  I just loaded a bunch with Benchmark and am going to test them asap.  I have 55gr V-Max both with and W/O cannelure and I have yet to find a good load with them, not bad, but not good.

i have the same feelings about my loads, they arent bad, but arent particular good either.  

thanks for the info so far

26.0 grains of WW-748 and Sierra's 52/53 grain match bullets almost always groups well from any twist rifle. 69 grain SMK's with 24.5 grains of Varget, or RE-15 or VV-N140 will do likewise.

I have gotten good results with 55gr V-Max and 23.5 gr of IMR 4064

My Colt 6724 loves 21.8 VV 133 with 69 SMK

THE load;
Sierra 60 Varmiters
24.5 AA2460

awesome load

my pet vmax load for my Bushmaster 1:9 16" carbine

http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr350/plantone/bushmaster/reloading/55gvmaxvarget-1.jpg

Right now, my load for the 60 gr. V-Max is 24.0 grs of TAC very accurate. I am going to load some Hornady 68 gr. BTHP's with 23.4-23.6 grs of TAC and see how that shoots. What is interesting is that my 60 gr. loads shoot almost to the same spot as Black Hills 68 gr. ammo..

I have several 223 guns 1/7, 1/8, 1/9, 1/12, twist..........they all love 23-24grains of TAC with Sierra 52/53 gr match bullets.
Give it a try!

I'd try a 68 (or so) grain pill. It'll buck the wind a bit better than a lighter pill. Look for the best ballistic coefficient for the avaiable pills in the grainweight you want to shoot.



Run a ladder test to find the harmonic sweet spot for your barrel.



Let us know how that works out.