I put a new 16 inch 1in7 barrel on my coyote AR. Does any one have a pet hand load or factory load for 556?

a bulk Hornady 55gr SP with channelure over 25.1 gr or H4895

I ended up at 25.1 because I was dialing in a starting load of 25gr at it landed at 25.1 I figured close enough for a first try , it shot so well I taped off the adjustment on that powder measure and it does nothing but drop H4895 into 223 cases now.

V=https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1165324457/hornady-bullets-22-caliber-224-diameter-55-grain-spire-point-with-cannelure

Hornady #2266B

I have had these out to 500 yards on steel , at 400 on paper a rested group was a 10 round group 1/2 minute wide 2 inches by 1 minute tall 4 inches , I now think the vertical was probably my rice filled squeeze bag but I can't say for sure.

that said you may want a heavier bullet the 1:7 can stabilize some heavy 223 bullets , 69gr SMK might shoot half that group size but I buy the 55gr for about 85 dollars the thousand when I catch them on sale and 69gr SMK are twice that or more.

Thanks Pete, are you shooting those 55's from a one in seven barrel? I have several factory loads with 55 grain bullets that I'm going to try, I also found some factory 69 grain Federal with SMK at lunch today. They are a little pricey though. I'm going to spend some time shooting it tomorrow and see what it likes. I'm not looking for a bench rest gun, but would like to keep groups at an inch or less. If any one is interested I will post my results. By the way, the Hornady 165 SST is what my AR10 likes, cheap, accurate, and will ventilate a hog nicely.

I'm interested. Get it all figured out and tell me everything lol. Good luck!

77 grain Sierra and 23.5/24 grains of varget will shoot great in any rifle I've seen, those 69's will shoot great also. Can go up to an 80 grain with no problem. I rebarrel my competition service rifles with 7 twist and 6 1/2 twist for the 90 grain bullets. If you have a Wylde chamber 23.5 to 24 grains of Varget or Tac will shoot very well and meters great. I've shot my highest score at 600 yards with IMR 4895 and a buddy uses RE 15 to great effect. Disclaimer- As always start 10% below the charges I gave and work up looking for pressure signs.

the 400 yard group was a 1:8 20 inch barrel

before I tried 25.1 I had a load using 24.3gr that I shot at or just under an inch from my 1:7 chrome lined FN made barrel on a 16 inch Ar upper with MOE hand-guard and F-marked front sight tower

that load was running about 2700fps when I checked it with a borrowed lab radar which put it solidly into 222rem ballistics which is not bad but.
I was going to a Known Distance Appleseed even and didn't like the numbers on a 55gr at 400 yards that started at 2700 but they are not bad at all inside 250 yards but it looses fast after 300

the reason for the24.3gr load was I was using an auto disk powder measure and you have to work with the disk sizes you have. a double disk kit with two 0.88 disks stacked should by the book have been dropping 24.2gr H4895 but it was actually dropping 24.3gr which was 0.7gr below book starting but with H4895 you can reduce by up to 60% safely.

it shot great in the 1:7

the 25.1gr load shoots well with iron sights but I took the scope off that upper to put on the 20 inch free floated 1:8 223 wylde upper with target barrel I bought.

I wish I could say I had really good confirmed data and groups on the 16 in 1:7 but it had only worn Iron sights since I changed loads


what I can say is the bulk 55gr fmj American eagle XM193 shot about 1 1/2 inches from the 1:7 and it really doesn't do much better from a 1:8 or 1:9 besides mass producing the stuff I am not sure why but in several rifles the best we seemed to be able to get from the bulk AE or Rem UMC was 1.25 to 1.5 inches at 100 yards. I suspect they figure 1.5moa is good enough and the make more money running the machines faster than making tighter shooting ammo.

my dads neighbor shoots Bushmaster varmint special , he has a very nice trigger in it and 4-12 scope , he buys the UMC bulk and shoots it and he nor I could do any better than about 1.25 inches you might get 3 shot groups smaller but by the time you got to 10 it was always bigger. but he reloads that brass and can lay half inch 10 round groups with the 69gr SMK.

I don't count anything less than a 5 shot group most with the AR are 10 shot groups

did you free float the barrel?

in Appleseed we shoot just shooter rifle sling to 400 yards I was having problems when I put the sling on the sling mount off the front sight tower I got diagonal stringing from the pull on the barrel
I have since put a sling mount in the middle of the hand guard and it doesn't seem as bad.

as long as the bullet is well centered in the bore I don't think 1:7 vs 1:8 makes much difference , my 1:8 being a 4 inch longer barrel gives it some more speed also they should be very very close.

trigger , free float then optics are the places to put money in an AR to improve accuracy

My rifle has a 556 chamber and has a free floated barrel. The trigger is factory-ish, I added a Joe Bob's grip screw and spring kit, I also drilled and taped for a take-up adjustment screw and polished the engagement surfaces. You listed trigger first in your list. I have never shot an AR with an after market trigger. What is your preferd trigger. As for a scope I will use a 1x4 set at four power to pick my load, but most of the time the rifle will wear a thermal scope. Using two inch orange dots as targets I can get a good enough site picture to see if it is a usable load.

It has been several years sense I have reloaded for a 223 or any thing else. I have been wanting to dust off my reloading gear. I still have a few pounds of 748 but H4895 sounds like a winner.

Pete you and K52 make me want to build a target rifle now.

H4895 is a great powder I choose it because I started loading fro my M1 before I started 223 or 308 ,but in the the target game as I understand it Varget is the go to replacement for H4895 for long range.

both are considered "extreme" powders meaning they have very little change in pressure and velocity over a wide range of temperature.

in 223 they are so close in velocity it is only a few fps until you get to heavy bullets

but in 308 varget can get you more velocity.

but it's unlikely the difference will even be seen at 100 yards , but at 600 yards a 1/4 minute or even 1/8th minute can make the difference , technically in a score one bullet width can be the difference in a win or 2nd place. 1 bullet width at 600 yards say for the simplicity 1/4 inch would be 1/24th moa

the down side of the target rifle is carrying it around is no fun my next AR build is going to be an lighter wight build I think a free floated barrel of a medium contour is easily capable of being an MOA gun even with a lighter barrel

my 300 blackout is a medium contour 16 inch barrel weighing in at 7 pounds 6.5 oz

my 223 wyld is a 20 inch very heavy bull barrel and weighs in a 10 pounds 4.8 oz

you wouldn't think the approximately 3 pound difference would feel like so much but it does a few miles in

I am running a hardened and polished trigger with a spring kit it breaks about 3.5 pounds I hold the trigger fully back till I inhale then let it forward to reset if you shot off the reset there is just a little less creep before the break.

when you have a short reset , short pull and sloppy trigger discipline doubles sometime happen I have seen it but holding the trigger fully back till the inhale does a few things , it helps ensure you follow through on the shot , it avoids doubles , and it lets you let of just to reset so you get the most repeatable trigger pull even if not the best trigger.

I want to try an even better trigger at some point but I am always on a budget a set of 3.5 pound springs with a chromed or hardened trigger group and you can have a solidly decent trigger for 40 dollars where most of the "good" triggers are 100 to 200

while I am really not a trigger snob , I can appreciate the difference moving from a plain mill spec 7 pounds of grit to 3.5 pounds of crisp.


equipment is good but fundamentals are important I can shoot a completely stock military trigger well enough and I do that some times I have a stock no modifications iron sight AR I bring out some times to make sure I don't get lazy and forget the fundamentals just because I have a nice trigger. but it takes more concentration on a perfect strait back squeeze.

your trigger may even be better than mine , but I list it first because it can make a big difference for the least money for a lot of people.

I am running a 2-7 a 3-9 and 4-12 on different guns

the 2-7 is my go to for most things because how often do you really shot past 250 yards
at 400 yards it would probably work fine, I leave it on 2 if hunting if I need more than 2 power I will have time to move it.

the 3-9 is fine to about 500 before it gets might hard to see some targets

the 4-12 seems to see fine to 880 haven't really tried looking any farther and I am still working on the load to take to the half mile target in my 308 bolt gun.

I like the medium range target with 2 diamonds for sighting in at http://www.6mmbr.com/targets.html the red prints black in my black and white laser printer I aim for the bottom tip of the diamond

the thermal sounds cool , what thermal do you run , I would like to try one some day.

I have a 1:8" 20" barrel that shoot .25" at 100 yards with 24 grain of IRM6064 and a 69 grain SMK

Pete, I'm with you on the budget, that's the reason for my home brew trigger. That and I like to tinker.

I have the Pulsar XQ38 Apex. For the money it is a lot of scope. Even though it has the 320 core instead of the more expensive 640 core. The price difference between the XQ and XP models is double, with less than a quarter better performance. I have no trouble finding and confirming my target with my scope out to ranges well beyond that which I will take a shot. I did have some trouble with my scope in the begining, but Pulsar made it right with no fuss. The biggest problem is now I want a second scope for scanning, its tough using your rifle for a monocular. My next is going to be a Flir 1.5x6 with 60hz refresh. This scope is less money than the one I have and and with flirs new 12 micron core will have better resolution. I will be able to use it on a rifle or as a hand held spotter. Get one with 60hz refresh rate, it will use more battery life but you arn't waiting for the picture to catch up to you. I would stay away from the ATN's, and if you win the lottery buy a Trijicon.

If you are going to shoot with a sling for support like we do in service rifle competition a float tube is needed. When you sling up you will affect the impact of the bullet unless you have a float tube. All things considered if you are shooting good ammo your best bang for the buck lies in your trigger. I like the Rock River two stage match trigger, first stage is 3 1/2 lbs. and the second stage is a lb. and it very smooth with no gritty travel like most stock AR's.

As far as loads go, these rifles are very easy to get to shoot well as long as you use good bullets. A 55 gr. FMJ is not a good bullet. I have taken the tours at Sierra bullet factory several times and they will tell you that is one of the least accurate bullets there is for the AR. They have to start the jacket at the tip when making FMJ bullets and the most accurate bullets are made starting at the base. The only reason they make them is the public demand is so great. Also a great resource is Sierra's phone line to talk with one of their "bullet experts." You can find the number on their website and those guys will help you build a load for your rifle, it doesn't matter whose bullets you have. Doesn't cost anything and they know their stuff.

budget is the reason I shoot the 55gr Hornady SP with a CZ primer at 2.2 cents with the tax , about 7.5 cents in powder and about 9 cents in bullet and that I use the same for hunting and targets at about 20 cents a round I get to shoot more.

I am seeing bulk fmj ammo at 32 cents a round now but to get performance equal to what I load I think I would probably have to spend more like 60 cents a round saving 2/3 sounds good.

my friends who don't reload 223 provide me with sufficient brass that I should not run out.

I was able to get some shooting in this after noon. I shot some 55 grain ballistic tip mystery loads, probably with 748. They shot around an inch and a half. Then I shot some factory Black Hills 60 grain V Max. My rifle didn't like those at all, close to four inch groups. The next load was the factory Federal 69 grain SMK that I bought last week. This round shot a little better than the 55 grain ballistic tips, but not by much. I ended up leaving it zeroed for the Federal. I also was able to get my thermal zeroed with a round that would shoot minute of coyote. The first chance I get I will do some more experimenting and use a 18x to see what the rifle will do. Shooting with 4x isn't the way I remember it. I looked on line at the Hornady 55 sp, I like cheep and good. I would like to try some H4895, but I will probably use up my 748 first.

If you have not tried an adjustable gas block I highly recommend it. Your rifle cycles nice and smooth, it doesn't beet up your brass, and it drops it in about a one square foot space.

I want to thank you guys for sharing your experience with me.