Rem 700 VSSF .223 Load

[Hunter]

Hey Gents. Getting a Remington 700 VSSF in .223 noticed it has a 12" twist in its 26" barrel. Will heavier bullets like the 75 grain V Max shoot well in this rifle? Its a slow twist, but a long barrel. Anybody got one and willing to share favorite load info? THANX, H.

Information

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[Litt'le Lee]

26.5 gr. of W748 and 52 gr Speer Match BTHP rem 7 1/2
this load will shoot !!-plus it's ball powder and meters well

[HighPowerShooter]

26.0gr Varget, CCI BR-4 primer, 52gr SMK seated 0.020" off the lands....

[drshame]

Remember, it' a high end varmint gun capable of excellent accuracy within its' design.
Mine prints consistent sub 1/2 moa...and even about 1/4 MOA when I do my part with match handloads.

The 1/12 twist requires a lighter bullet, imho, and the 52 grain Sierra MK's work very well in mine.
I've had very good success with both Varget in my single stage reloading system and H335 in my Progressive.
Watch the primers for flattening, and back off the "top end" loads to eliminate excessive recoil.
My 700VSSF is sitting in a Choate Ultimate Varmint stock and greatly benefited from the Jewell HVR trigger set lighter than stock.

The .223 VSSF is capable of very good, tight groups. But don't push it past the lite bullets' limits..probably 200-300 yards.

I did not find it did well with heavier bullets like 77's or even 69's....but maybe you can get them to work better. I've heard 40's do well too.

[hagar in SC]

It will shoot the 60 grain Sierra and the 64 grain WW PP bullet well. I use 25 grains of 2520, LC cases, Rem 7.5 primer.

[snakehunter]

I have a Savage 12FV with a 9 twist and a NEF Handi Rifle witha 12 twist, both in 223 Rem and they both shoot the 52 and 53 grain Hornady Match projos very well. However, while the Savage shoots the 69 grain Federal Match ammo just as well, the NEF is all over the board with it. I even get some keyholes.

[Larry Gibson]

Hunter

"Hey Gents. Getting a Remington 700 VSSF in .223 noticed it has a 12" twist in its 26" barrel. Will heavier bullets like the 75 grain V Max shoot well in this rifle? Its a slow twist, but a long barrel."

No, the barrel still isn't long enough.

"Anybody got one and willing to share favorite load info?"

Lot's of good load info available with 50-55 gr bullets which is the ideal weight range for this twist. I've been shooting a M700V in .223 with 12" twist since '74. Shot the throat out and set the barrel back 2" in '89. She's got maybe one more squirrel shoot left in her before a new barrel. Not bad for over 15,000 rounds and still holding in the .7"s. I've tested quite a few bullets over the years but always go back to the hornady 55 gr SX for everything from sqirrels to coyotes. It is always extremely accurate and gives superb terminal ballistics across the effective range of this cartridge. The newer bullets look slicker, cost more but they don't shoot or kill any better. Caveat; for pure accuracy though one of the match type bullets are more accurate. I used to shoot in the .2"s with the old Speer 52 gr Gold HP Match bullets.

I also have come to favor H335 for this cartridge with 50-55 gr bullets. It always meters accurately and is accurate. I have shot 200+ rounds without any degredation of accuracy. With the 55 gr bullet work up to 26 gr if the rifle has a tighter SAAMI chamber. Work up to 26.5 gr if it has a milsurp chamber. Velocity should be 3200-3300 fps. Use primers for ball powders like the WSR, Rem 7 1/2 or the CCI 450.

Larry Gibson