Manual says 23.5-25.5 of Varget but these are expensive bullets and I don't want to waste a box of 50 working up a good load if anyone has a good suggested starting point maybe I can work up the load with half a box instead. Looking for accuracy here not top velocity unless they come together.

NM BCG, 5.56 chamber, 1:7 twist, DD 16" CL CMV barrel, midlength gas system is the gun spec's

Thanks,
EWP

I have found that Varget shoots best for me at 25gr + , you can always pull the bullets & reuse the powder from the loads that are not accurate in your gun.

My AR has the same specs and shoots a variety of factory loads very well.  But I worked up a lot using the 62 gr. TSX and used Varget to charge 5 rounds each ranging from 23.5 - 25.5 in 0.5 gr. increments.  None of them grouped worth a damn.  (2.5" - 3.0" groups, consistently).  I measured everything meticulously every step of the way, so I can't figure out if I did something wrong or if my rifle just hates TSX bullets for some reason.  But to be sure, I bought a box of 70 gr. TSX and am going to give it another try just to see if that makes a difference.

That sounds like the Armscor 62gr bullets I have, they shoot patterns instead of groups. I've tried H335 and BL-C2 with no luck at all but haven't given up completely since I haven't tried an extruded powder with them yet since my gun shoots 55 gr Hornady FMJBT they same way with 25gr of H335 that everyone else loves but with 25 gr's of Benchmark they shoot MOA or better.

I loaded 20rds of the 62gr TSX with 25gr of Varget @ ~2.250" (I use a comparator for measurement so the OAL are different on some of them) in once fired WCC NATO brass to see how they do, I also have 100 of the 70gr TSX to try if the 62gr's don't work out. Damn these Barnes bullets are expensive at over $30 for just 50 bullets, I hate to waste them all just trying to work up a good load or find out my gun doesn't like them.

The 62 grain TSX bullets are capable of excellent accuracy.  The 10-shot group pictured below was fired from an AR-15 at a distance of 100 yards.  Varget is just not the best choice of powders for this bullet.

I got the 75s and they didn't like varget either. I'm going to try a load up with TAC, maybe this weekend. I was pretty surprised since a lot of reviews on midway are claiming great accuracy.

The bummer is that I bought Varget because the Barnes manual cited it as the most accurate in the loading data for the 62 gr. TSX.

Well what powder did you use? You just gonna leave me in suspense and keep it a secret?

Also interested.

Just curious though. I got moa with 25 gr varget. 1/9 20" Rock River Coyote. That was good enough  For what I wanted it for.

Yeah.  Dang Molon! Give it up.

I have gotten best results with 25.5 grains of Varget.  Out of a 1:9 twist barrel I can get 5 shots inside 3/4 inch at 100 yards.  Incidentally, I have given up on the 70 grain TSXs out of a 1:8 barrel using BLC(2) and Varget.  About 2.5" is the best I can get.  The same barrel will put five 75 grain Scirroccos in .6 inches with 24.0 grains of Varget.

I've never messed with solids, but I've read that they are more finicky about seating depth than lead core bullets.

I'm going tomorrow to try out the 62 grain min to max loads in .05 increments at the range tomorrow morning.  I'll post results.


I loaded up 50 rounds in .05 increments and will shoot 5 round groups out of a heavy barrel 1/9 16" RRA upper with RRA lower and NM trigger.  Using a 4x14x40 Mueller ATV scope.  I'll be shooting the other 5 round groups out of a Colt HBAR Match Target with a 20" 1/7 Colt heavy barrel and a 4x20 scope.

Going to sight each scope in at 25 yards and hope to hit a bit high at 100 so I can me back dead on at the 200 yard range for deer season.

Here ya go.

If you're saying that you are going to zero for point of aim equals point of impact at 25 yards, then you're going to be way high at 100 yards and even higher at 200 yards.

What do you suggest to sight it in at?  I was figuring to get the windage dead on at 25, then play with the elevation at 100 to knock it down a bit but want to be dead on at 200 yards, though I don't have a range that I can shoot 200 with.

Give the 50 yard zero a try.

Now one of us bright bastards is going to be looking at all his powder under a magnifying glass trying to find the match.

According to that chart, if he wants to be dead on at 200 he needs to be about an inch low at 50, not zeroed at 50.

24 grains of Varget with the 62 grain bullet gave me a 5 round string of an inch an a half.  If it wasn't for a flyer it'd have been half inch.  25 grains of Varget gave me an inch and a half group.  20 mph winds at the range, so I'm happy.  I'll most likely be loading the 25 grains as I'd rather have the increased bullet speed than gain a half inch or so of accuracy.

Both of those charts are wrong, look at the scope height a 0 yards, most are at 1.5" and neither one of those charts are close to that.

With a scope height of 1.5" and a Velocity of 2,967 FPS(24" barrel) you would need to be .29" low at 25 yards to have a 200 yard zero, at 200 yards you would have a velocity of 2,357 FPS & 765 ft/lb of energy and a wind drift of 4.32"(10 MPH wind) based on the proposed data for the Barnes 62gr TSX.

Say you loose 100FPS per 2" of barrel that puts you at 2,567 FPS(16" barrel) and you would need to be .07(dead on) at 25 yards for a 200 yard zero, at 200 yards you would have a velocity of 2,008 FPS & 555 ft/lb of energy with a wind drift of 5.35"(10 MPH wind) based on the data proposed for the Barnes 62gr TSX.

Figured using Point Blank software and Data from Barnes Manual I have for this bullet.

Load Data
~~~~~~~~~

Name: .224 Cal, Barnes TSX, 62 grn
Ballistic Coeff: 0.287
Bullet Weight: 62
Velocity: 2567
Target Distance: 200
Scope Height: 1.500
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 200

Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Range  Elevation  Velocity   Energy     ETA         Drop      Max Y  10mph Wind Deflect
 0 yds   -1.50 in  2567 fps   907 fpe  0.000 sec    0.00 in  -1.50 in    0.00 in
25 yds    0.07 in  2493 fps   856 fpe  0.030 sec    0.17 in  -0.56 in    0.08 in
50 yds    1.30 in  2420 fps   806 fpe  0.060 sec    0.68 in  -0.43 in    0.26 in
75 yds    2.16 in  2348 fps   759 fpe  0.091 sec    1.56 in  -0.19 in    0.65 in
100 yds    2.62 in  2278 fps   714 fpe  0.124 sec    2.85 in   0.15 in    1.24 in
125 yds    2.65 in  2209 fps   672 fpe  0.158 sec    4.56 in   0.61 in    2.01 in
150 yds    2.24 in  2141 fps   631 fpe  0.192 sec    6.71 in   1.19 in    2.96 in
175 yds    1.36 in  2074 fps   592 fpe  0.228 sec    9.33 in   1.92 in    4.07 in
200 yds   -0.00 in  2008 fps   555 fpe  0.264 sec   12.43 in   2.79 in    5.35 in
225 yds   -1.89 in  1944 fps   520 fpe  0.302 sec   16.06 in   3.83 in    6.85 in
250 yds   -4.35 in  1880 fps   487 fpe  0.341 sec   20.26 in   5.04 in    8.56 in
275 yds   -7.47 in  1819 fps   455 fpe  0.381 sec   25.12 in   6.47 in   10.58 in
300 yds  -11.28 in  1759 fps   426 fpe  0.424 sec   30.68 in   8.13 in   12.88 in
325 yds  -15.82 in  1700 fps   398 fpe  0.468 sec   36.96 in  10.02 in   15.44 in
350 yds  -21.11 in  1643 fps   372 fpe  0.513 sec   43.99 in  12.18 in   18.25 in
375 yds  -27.16 in  1588 fps   347 fpe  0.559 sec   51.77 in  14.60 in   21.28 in
400 yds  -33.98 in  1534 fps   324 fpe  0.607 sec   60.34 in  17.30 in   24.53 in
425 yds  -41.78 in  1481 fps   302 fpe  0.656 sec   69.88 in  20.34 in   28.11 in
450 yds  -50.57 in  1431 fps   282 fpe  0.708 sec   80.41 in  23.74 in   31.99 in
475 yds  -60.54 in  1384 fps   264 fpe  0.761 sec   92.13 in  27.56 in   36.26 in
500 yds  -71.71 in  1338 fps   247 fpe  0.817 sec  105.04 in  31.81 in   40.87 in
525 yds  -84.06 in  1295 fps   231 fpe  0.874 sec  119.13 in  36.49 in   45.77 in
550 yds  -97.60 in  1254 fps   217 fpe  0.932 sec  134.41 in  41.62 in   50.92 in
575 yds -112.70 in  1216 fps   204 fpe  0.993 sec  151.25 in  47.31 in   56.48 in
600 yds -129.33 in  1181 fps   192 fpe  1.056 sec  169.62 in  53.55 in   62.37 in
625 yds -147.50 in  1149 fps   182 fpe  1.120 sec  189.53 in  60.35 in   68.55 in
650 yds -167.38 in  1120 fps   173 fpe  1.186 sec  211.15 in  67.76 in   75.05 in
675 yds -188.98 in  1093 fps   164 fpe  1.254 sec  234.49 in  75.80 in   81.84 in
700 yds -212.47 in  1069 fps   157 fpe  1.323 sec  259.72 in  84.50 in   88.91 in
725 yds -237.79 in  1047 fps   151 fpe  1.394 sec  286.79 in  93.86 in   96.24 in
750 yds -265.06 in  1027 fps   145 fpe  1.466 sec  315.80 in 103.92 in  103.84 in
775 yds -294.32 in  1008 fps   140 fpe  1.540 sec  346.80 in 114.69 in  111.67 in
800 yds -325.53 in   991 fps   135 fpe  1.615 sec  379.75 in 126.18 in  119.72 in

Moving Target Lead Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Range       5 Mph     10 Mph     15 Mph     20 Mph     25 Mph     30 Mph     35 Mph     40 Mph     45 Mph     50 Mph     55 Mph     60 Mph
 0 yds    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft    0.00 ft
25 yds    0.22 ft    0.44 ft    0.65 ft    0.87 ft    1.09 ft    1.31 ft    1.52 ft    1.74 ft    1.96 ft    2.18 ft    2.39 ft    2.61 ft
50 yds    0.44 ft    0.88 ft    1.32 ft    1.76 ft    2.20 ft    2.64 ft    3.08 ft    3.52 ft    3.96 ft    4.39 ft    4.83 ft    5.27 ft
75 yds    0.67 ft    1.34 ft    2.01 ft    2.68 ft    3.35 ft    4.02 ft    4.69 ft    5.36 ft    6.03 ft    6.70 ft    7.37 ft    8.04 ft
100 yds    0.91 ft    1.82 ft    2.73 ft    3.63 ft    4.54 ft    5.45 ft    6.36 ft    7.27 ft    8.18 ft    9.09 ft    9.99 ft   10.90 ft
125 yds    1.16 ft    2.31 ft    3.47 ft    4.62 ft    5.78 ft    6.93 ft    8.09 ft    9.24 ft   10.40 ft   11.55 ft   12.71 ft   13.86 ft
150 yds    1.41 ft    2.82 ft    4.23 ft    5.64 ft    7.04 ft    8.45 ft    9.86 ft   11.27 ft   12.68 ft   14.09 ft   15.50 ft   16.91 ft
175 yds    1.67 ft    3.34 ft    5.01 ft    6.68 ft    8.35 ft   10.02 ft   11.69 ft   13.36 ft   15.03 ft   16.70 ft   18.37 ft   20.04 ft
200 yds    1.94 ft    3.87 ft    5.81 ft    7.75 ft    9.69 ft   11.62 ft   13.56 ft   15.50 ft   17.43 ft   19.37 ft   21.31 ft   23.24 ft
225 yds    2.21 ft    4.43 ft    6.64 ft    8.85 ft   11.07 ft   13.28 ft   15.50 ft   17.71 ft   19.92 ft   22.14 ft   24.35 ft   26.56 ft
250 yds    2.50 ft    5.00 ft    7.50 ft   10.00 ft   12.50 ft   14.99 ft   17.49 ft   19.99 ft   22.49 ft   24.99 ft   27.49 ft   29.99 ft
275 yds    2.80 ft    5.59 ft    8.39 ft   11.19 ft   13.99 ft   16.78 ft   19.58 ft   22.38 ft   25.18 ft   27.97 ft   30.77 ft   33.57 ft
300 yds    3.11 ft    6.22 ft    9.32 ft   12.43 ft   15.54 ft   18.65 ft   21.75 ft   24.86 ft   27.97 ft   31.08 ft   34.18 ft   37.29 ft
325 yds    3.43 ft    6.86 ft   10.29 ft   13.72 ft   17.14 ft   20.57 ft   24.00 ft   27.43 ft   30.86 ft   34.29 ft   37.72 ft   41.15 ft
350 yds    3.76 ft    7.52 ft   11.28 ft   15.04 ft   18.80 ft   22.56 ft   26.32 ft   30.08 ft   33.84 ft   37.60 ft   41.36 ft   45.12 ft
375 yds    4.10 ft    8.20 ft   12.30 ft   16.40 ft   20.50 ft   24.60 ft   28.71 ft   32.81 ft   36.91 ft   41.01 ft   45.11 ft   49.21 ft
400 yds    4.45 ft    8.90 ft   13.35 ft   17.80 ft   22.25 ft   26.70 ft   31.15 ft   35.60 ft   40.05 ft   44.50 ft   48.95 ft   53.40 ft
425 yds    4.81 ft    9.63 ft   14.44 ft   19.25 ft   24.07 ft   28.88 ft   33.69 ft   38.51 ft   43.32 ft   48.14 ft   52.95 ft   57.76 ft
450 yds    5.19 ft   10.38 ft   15.57 ft   20.76 ft   25.95 ft   31.14 ft   36.33 ft   41.52 ft   46.71 ft   51.89 ft   57.08 ft   62.27 ft
475 yds    5.58 ft   11.16 ft   16.75 ft   22.33 ft   27.91 ft   33.49 ft   39.07 ft   44.65 ft   50.24 ft   55.82 ft   61.40 ft   66.98 ft
500 yds    5.99 ft   11.98 ft   17.96 ft   23.95 ft   29.94 ft   35.93 ft   41.92 ft   47.91 ft   53.89 ft   59.88 ft   65.87 ft   71.86 ft
525 yds    6.41 ft   12.81 ft   19.22 ft   25.63 ft   32.03 ft   38.44 ft   44.85 ft   51.25 ft   57.66 ft   64.07 ft   70.47 ft   76.88 ft
550 yds    6.84 ft   13.67 ft   20.51 ft   27.34 ft   34.18 ft   41.01 ft   47.85 ft   54.68 ft   61.52 ft   68.35 ft   75.19 ft   82.02 ft
575 yds    7.28 ft   14.56 ft   21.84 ft   29.12 ft   36.41 ft   43.69 ft   50.97 ft   58.25 ft   65.53 ft   72.81 ft   80.09 ft   87.37 ft
600 yds    7.74 ft   15.48 ft   23.22 ft   30.96 ft   38.70 ft   46.44 ft   54.19 ft   61.93 ft   69.67 ft   77.41 ft   85.15 ft   92.89 ft
625 yds    8.21 ft   16.43 ft   24.64 ft   32.85 ft   41.06 ft   49.28 ft   57.49 ft   65.70 ft   73.91 ft   82.13 ft   90.34 ft   98.55 ft
650 yds    8.70 ft   17.40 ft   26.09 ft   34.79 ft   43.49 ft   52.19 ft   60.88 ft   69.58 ft   78.28 ft   86.98 ft   95.67 ft  104.37 ft
675 yds    9.19 ft   18.39 ft   27.58 ft   36.78 ft   45.97 ft   55.17 ft   64.36 ft   73.56 ft   82.75 ft   91.95 ft  101.14 ft  110.34 ft
700 yds    9.70 ft   19.41 ft   29.11 ft   38.82 ft   48.52 ft   58.22 ft   67.93 ft   77.63 ft   87.33 ft   97.04 ft  106.74 ft  116.45 ft
725 yds   10.22 ft   20.45 ft   30.67 ft   40.89 ft   51.12 ft   61.34 ft   71.56 ft   81.79 ft   92.01 ft  102.24 ft  112.46 ft  122.68 ft
750 yds   10.75 ft   21.51 ft   32.26 ft   43.02 ft   53.77 ft   64.53 ft   75.28 ft   86.03 ft   96.79 ft  107.54 ft  118.30 ft  129.05 ft
775 yds   11.29 ft   22.59 ft   33.89 ft   45.18 ft   56.48 ft   67.77 ft   79.07 ft   90.36 ft  101.66 ft  112.95 ft  124.25 ft  135.54 ft
800 yds   11.84 ft   23.69 ft   35.53 ft   47.38 ft   59.22 ft   71.07 ft   82.91 ft   94.75 ft  106.60 ft  118.44 ft  130.29 ft  142.13 ft

You're clueless.  You might want to reread the name of this website.

OK...I am with Molon on this one...

I have five boxes of these bad boys to shoot thru my Lilja 20" barrel.

I have Varget, BL-C (2), H335, TAC, AA2520...

But is your powder Benchmark?...for the groups that you have posted?...I take that back..some N500 series powder?

Thanks...

Closer . . .

N140....off to buy a jug...:-)