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Posted: 9/4/2012 8:36:54 PM EDT
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What is a good weight bullet for 16" 1:9 twist AR 15 for target accuracy past 100 yards?
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Quoted:
What is a good weight bullet for 16" 1:9 twist AR 15 for target accuracy past 100 yards? The problem isn't accuracy, it's the wind. Don't worry about that much until you're shooting past 300 yards with 69 grain bullets. Shoot a variety of bullets so you can gain experience with their behavior. |
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Hornady Hp's, SMK's and Nosler cust comps in the 68-70gr weight should all be good ones to try. I have also had good luck with Hornady 52gr A-max bullets in 1-9" twist barrels. They are listed for the 22-250, but work very well in a 223 and they like to go fast :) |
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Quoted:
wasn't sure because I had Hornady 68 bthp key holing so I wasn't sure if the heavy bullets would stabilize in this set up thanks Have you shot this load over a chronograph? What is the load (gunpowder charge, etc.)? The 68 grain Hornady should fly just fine from a 9 twist barrel, unless you are shooting it at ultra slow speeds. My experience with this bullet is nonuniform accuracy from lot to lot, and I haven't bought any in a long time, so maybe they are better now. If you bought seconds from Midway, then nothing would surprise me. |
| Hornady 60gr Vmax, best groups I've ever shot were with this bullet out of a 1:9. There's vids of guys taking them to 600. The 68BTHP gave me fits, no keyholing but barely MOA so I abandoned it, Hornady's match 75BTHP factory loads shot just under MOA, but I found my V-Max load before I bought a box of bullets to develop a load with, and being the V-Max is cheaper and shooting .6-.7" groups @ 200yds I didn't see the point in further development. |
| I shoot my 1:8 twist Wilson Combat 18" barrel out past 600. The heavy 77-78 bullets are the best past 400 but I shoot more of the 68g Hornady BTHP under 400yards iwth good results. The 1:9 should easily stabilze the 68g and some even stabilize the 77's in the longer barrels. Probably not a 16" barrel though. As mentioned the Hornady 60g V-max is an accurate bullet. It's not as long so it won't be great when windy but awesome at shorter ranges. I also like the Barnes TTSX and TSX in 62 and 70 grains. These are very long bullets that buck the wind well. With no lead in them they have to be long. Finicky at mag length so work up a load. My best is 23.2g of XBR8208 at 2.60 mag length on the Barnes. Rockin steel plates at 500 with no problems. |
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I'm going to ask a question that might seem just plain dumb.
Are your targets standing up square to the world, or do they lean forward or backward? How bad are the keyholes? Are they very small and elliptical holes, or large, from the bullet entering the paper completely sideways? Just for grins, look at the barrel twist, you'll find it stamped on the lower surface either under the handguards or just behind the flash hider. |
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haha Aero yeah target is squared up and when they keyholed it was full outline of bullet on the paper. Stamped 1:9 twist
But with Varget they didn't do it but supposidly TAC is used in the Black Hills 68 match ammo that is why I started with it first but with no luck |
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The only idea I have is to try a different box of the Hornady 68 grain bullets, or simply switch to Sierra 69 grain bullets, which have always been reliable for me.
Maybe weigh those 68's you have and measure the length of a couple to find out whether the wrong bullet is in the box. |
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Aero: went back and found the target from those 68s. Accuracy was all over the place and not even consistantly bad so shot some with target at 15 yards and this was the result
And strange the ones right below were 23.4 and 23.7 gr TAC and the keyhole ones were 24.4 and 24.6 gr 
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Quoted:
Aero: went back and found the target from those 68s. Accuracy was all over the place and not even consistantly bad so shot some with target at 15 yards and this was the result And strange the ones right below were 23.4 and 23.7 gr TAC and the keyhole ones were 24.4 and 24.6 gr https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/s720x720/253001_614327422746_1231930005_n.jpg That bottom bullet looks way too long to be a 68 grain HPBT. Did you buy these bullets as seconds from Midway or another distributor? |
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Quoted: wasn't sure because I had Hornady 68 bthp key holing so I wasn't sure if the heavy bullets would stabilize in this set up thanks Is it possible that this was from a low powered load. You may not have driven that bullet fats enough to stabilize. There should not have been a problem with a 68 in the barrel you describe. By all means follow the above advice to try a variety of bullet weights and profiles to discover what your individual rifle likes best.
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Check your muzzle device and barrel crown for damage. I shoot the Hornady 75gn HPBT regularly from two of my 1:9 twist rifles with excellent results. You should not be getting any keyholing from a 1:9 with those bullets unless something is seriously wrong. Do any loads shoot well for you?
An interesting bullet to look at for the ranges that you're talking about is the new(ish) 53gn Vmax. Better BC than any of the other Vmax bullets and so light that you can really zip them out there. Good BC combined with excellent velocity makes for minimal wind drift. At 300yds, it's basically zero. The velocity advantage is 300fps using Sierra data for 53 and 69gn bullets for like rifle types (Hornady doesn't publish AR data for bullets lighter than 68gn or bolt gun data for bullets heavier than 60gn :( ) |
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I'm still learning but would the 16" barrel have something to do with it? Since I can't get more velocity vs longer barrel lengths in the AR?
I had been eying the 53 Vmax as Hornady told me that would be excellent bullet because of BC and how fast you can shoot lighter bullets. Checked crown and muzzle break are in great condition. With 60vmax I was getting MOA at 200 without messing with seating depth Thanks everyone |
| BH: FWIW, my 5.56 barrel has a 1in8 twist. It does very well with Sierra 53 gr Matchkings and Berger 52 gr Targets, both flat based bullets. Accuracy with heavier 62 and 69 grain boattails is not as good. I'm thinking the heavier bullets need the 1in7 twist to do right. - CW |
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WOW totaly sidways bullets,,, Thanks for sharing,, I have had great Luck shooting 69 Gr Nosler Custom Competitions, as well as Hornady 60 Gr V Max with different Powders Tac, H 4895, Varget, R 15 one thing,,, to think of,, is faster is not more accurate,, might want to look up the ladder method of finding the best load range for your gun. |
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I shoot a 16 inch 1 in 9 trist AR; Hornady 68 gr HPBT shoot lousy. Sierra 69 gr MK less than MOA, same as the Sierra 52 gr MK. 60 gr Sierra HP also shoots very well. 75 gr Hornady at 100 yds just start to Yaw, not a round hole. Every barrel is a little different, you have to find out what your barrel likes. |
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Quoted:
I'm still learning but would the 16" barrel have something to do with it? Since I can't get more velocity vs longer barrel lengths in the AR? I had been eying the 53 Vmax as Hornady told me that would be excellent bullet because of BC and how fast you can shoot lighter bullets. Checked crown and muzzle break are in great condition. With 60vmax I was getting MOA at 200 without messing with seating depth Thanks everyone If the charge weight you gave us is accurate, then the only thing left to suspect is the quality of the bullets you bought. That charge of gunpowder is very nearly a maximum charge with a 68 grain bullet, and the speed should also be high, even from your 16 inch barrel. That very long hole at the bottom of the target tells me you have a box of bullets that is either mismarked, has different weights mixed in, or has defective bullets. |
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