I have long been a fan of Speer’s 62 or 64 grain 223 Remington Gold Dot ammunition for duty and other serious purposes, especially if barrier penetration is a goal. I’ve therefore decided to rely on the 75 grain version of the bonded soft point ammunition for certain purposes as well.

During a recent LabRadar chronograph session I fired 10 rounds from a bench using an Atlas bipod and rear “eared” bag for support of my recently-acquired Wilson Combat Protector S carbine* with 16" barrel. The average velocity was 2582 feet per second. The resulting group at 50 yards measured 0.513 inch center to center, or slightly less than 1 minute of angle.



* https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...020072094#3020072094

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sigfreund,

Does 50Y mean 50 yards?

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
Does 50Y mean 50 yards?

Yes, 50 yards. I was checking the zero as well as the velocities.
And thanks for pointing that out; it is one of my pet peeves about reports like this.

For many years I didn't allow guest hunters to use a .223 on whitetails at our place. However, a couple of years ago we had 2 different kids, less than 12 years old, want to hunt.
I had acquired a 700 SPS in .223 with the 20" bull barrel and sighted it in with the ammo you tested. One kid couldn't handle the recoil of a .243 so I took him out with my gun after allowing him to use it on our range.
With distances less than 100 yds, 3 neck shots yielded 3 deer which immediately dropped.
In addition to being accurate, it performs well.

quote:

Originally posted by bustabuddy:
In addition to being accurate, it performs well.

Thanks.
One real world report like that even with small samples is worth any number of paper groups or YouTube gelatin tests.

Another group today: six shots in two-shot strings, prone 50 yards, Atlas bipod for support. The group measured 0.514" CTC, or just under 1 MOA. Although fully satisfactory, I might have done better if I had not been shooting under time limits for each string. (Or maybe not. )

I initially tried the 75 gr ammo out of a mid-80s Remington 700 Varmint Special with 26" bull barrel. It shot 55 gr pretty well but couldn't get this stuff to group at all. Turns out those guns had a pretty slow twist (I think 1 in 12") so it made sense.
The SPS is much tighter and stabilizes that heavy bullet nicely. A few years back someone here gave a heads up for a sale from PSA on 64 and 75 gr Speer GDSP for 50 cents each plus free shipping. I stocked up.

Nice shooting.

Yes, the slow rifling twist barrels that were common decades ago do not stabilize heavier bullets well—if at all. According to Bryan Litz, the 75 grain Gold Dot bullet requires a minimum of a 1:10.5" twist for stability, and 1:9.4" or faster for optimum performance. Those rates are even a little slower than what some 75 grain .224 caliber bullets require. I suspect the GD is a little shorter than some similar bullets. My Wilson Combat that I was shooting has a 1:8" barrel.

What are you using for sights/optics and what range are you zeroed at? Always like seeing all my rounds in one ragged hole

quote:

Originally posted by Jester814:
What are you using for sights/optics and what range are you zeroed at?

Wilson Combat model Protector S with SAI Optics 1-6x24, reviewed here:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...020072094#3020072094

50 yard zero.

quote:

50 yard zero.

What is your pass-through with that ammo? I know for my 55 grain - which I also zero at 50 - the next pass through in the arc is right at 180-200 yards.

Just wondering what it looks like with the extra weight.

(And I realize it's not really an arc. )

If by “pass through” you’re referring to the trajectory at various distances, I haven’t fired many confirmation groups at longer ranges with an exact 50 yard zero. Also because of my location and its thinner atmosphere, precise figures wouldn’t be meaningful for most people.

But using the bullet data and “standard” atmospheric conditions of 59°, 29.92" station pressure, and 0% relative humidity, these are the figures the Applied Ballistics solver produces in inches with a sight height of 2.8 inches:

50 yards: ø
100 y: +1.34"
150 y: +1.01"
~179 y: ø
200 y: –1.20"
250 y: –5.57"
300 y: –12.40"
350 y: –22.07"
400 y: –35.00"
450 y: –51.70"
500 y: –72.75"

Elevations in Missouri vary quite a bit, but none is going to be enough for trajectories to be significantly different. Even at my elevation of 10,000+ feet above sea level, the difference in trajectory here at 300 yards from standard atmospheric conditions is only 2.4 inches.

Thanks, and yes, I meant the point where it would come back to absolute zero.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
I have long been a fan of Speer’s 62 or 64 grain 223 Remington Gold Dot ammunition for duty and other serious purposes, especially if barrier penetration is a goal. I’ve therefore decided to rely on the 75 grain version of the bonded soft point ammunition for certain purposes as well.

During a recent LabRadar chronograph session I fired 10 rounds from a bench using an Atlas bipod and rear “eared” bag for support of my recently-acquired Wilson Combat Protector S carbine* with 16" barrel. The average velocity was 2582 feet per second. The resulting group at 50 yards measured 0.513 inch center to center, or slightly less than 1 minute of angle.



* https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...020072094#3020072094

For whatever reason, when I read this post, I could’ve sworn it said a 500 yard group. I was like…holy shit, that’s some crazy shooting.