Apex .223 barrel

[Thunder53]

OK, this Apex thing is costing me money.

The UPS guy just dropped off the new Apex .223 barrel (in addition to the SML and regular ML barrels).

Any wisdom on what seems to shoot best through it, etc.??

Are they accurate?

Maybe I should have asked these questions before

buying it.

 

[Al-53]

if your going to load some..I like the 55 grain V max hornady with Varget powder or IMR 4895 powder...great accuracy...and zips...great chuck and coyote load...if you just want to plink buy some bulk..but good ones..no surplus...Federal Eagle is good bulk ammo or remington..you get some decent brass after to load...do you know the twist of the barrel...is it 1-7 or 1-9 or 1-10 those are common barrel twists for that caliper...

shooting some nice loads from  the Apex will impress you...there are a ton of good loads...and yes they are accurate...just finicky on windy days...light bullet...barnes makes some heavy bullet heads...I never shot any...I like Hornady..speer and sierra bullets but the Barnes would be very nice..

 

[Underclocked]

According to CVA website it 1-10 so the 55 grainers will probably work the best. Anything over 62 will not stabilize well. The 50 grain Zmax/vmax with 24.5 grains of TAC has worked well in a few different guns for me.

 

[Thunder53]

Yes, 1-10 twist.

I'm not going to reload at this point.

I bought the barrel for a couple of reasons.

First, I always wanted a .223 for coyotes, etc. and just general fun, reasonably inexpensive, range shooting.

Second, my wife and daughter like to shoot at the range. They enjoy shooting my SIG 9mm, and had fun with a friends .223 AR.

The Apex should be a good gun with really light recoil for them to blaze away with.

I did just see some Federal American Eagle 55 gr FMJ on sale for $6.49 for a box of 20, which seems like a good price. IS IT?

For coyotes I'm going to try some of the Hornady Superperformance Varmint loads with the 55 gr Vmax.

Going to put a Bushnell Legend Ultra 4.5-14x44 scope on it (thank you Carlos/Greg!)

 

[Al-53]

the federals are good...good plinkers....Hornady's varmit loads are top performers....

If you ever do get any surplus ammo..make sure you clean right away...some are very corrosive...

if you belong to a club...find someone who does reload and save your brass...6 out of 10 who shoot .223 relaod...

your family will love shooting it....no recoil...if you like shooting it..which you will..buy bulk...

here is an idea of bulk ammo  http://www.slickguns.com/product/federal-556x45-55-gr-fmjbt-xm193-500-rounds-14995

 

[Underclocked]

Gun should be a blast and cheap to shoot. Last year I shot more .223 than I did 22lr because it was cheaper and more available. Plus I reload but with an AR its more because I want to than saving money for plinking loads. The Federal bulk 100 box at Walmart worked well for off the shelf loads. Being a single shot I would think you could run steel case since it won't harm your extrator like it does semi's.

 

[Thunder53]

the federals are good...good plinkers....Hornady's varmit loads are top performers....

If you ever do get any surplus ammo..make sure you clean right away...some are very corrosive...

if you belong to a club...find someone who does reload and save your brass...6 out of 10 who shoot .223 relaod...

your family will love shooting it....no recoil...if you like shooting it..which you will..buy bulk...

here is an idea of bulk ammo  http://www.slickguns.com/product/federal-556x45-55-gr-fmjbt-xm193-500-rounds-14995

That is a cheap price, but CVA CS told me I shouldn't shoot the 5.56 from their .223 barrel.

I'm far from an expert on the difference between .223 and 5.56, but I thought it was mostly the powder load, the 5.56 being more powerful??

yes/no?

Any other differences?

BTW, the Federal Eagles come in both FMJ flat base and FMJ BT, any difference?

 

[Al-53]

yes shoot the 223...I may have linked to wrong item...but you get the drift in buying bulk...the boat tail will fly a bit better..the boat tail is for accurate bullet stabilization..a lot of match and varmit type bullets use a boat tail...

i seen some bullets the other day they were barnes .458 socoms..for .45 cal...they were boat tailed..I had never used on a muzzy...so I had to ask some one here if they would work...the muzzy does really get up to the velocities that would use the advantage of a BT...a SML would get the Vel...

 

[patocazador]

If you're shooting coyotes for the fur, use the FMJs. Those HP varmint bullets rip a big exit hole in a coyote. You need to aim well to hit them in the head, neck or back with the FMJs though or he may run off with not much of a blood trail.

 

[Underclocked]

you are correct to only use .223 not 5.56 in that barrel but the difference is slightly higher operating pressure and the .223 has a shorter chamber throat.

 

[Thunder53]

yes shoot the 223...I may have linked to wrong item...but you get the drift in buying bulk...the boat tail will fly a bit better..the boat tail is for accurate bullet stabilization..a lot of match and varmit type bullets use a boat tail...

i seen some bullets the other day they were barnes .458 socoms..for .45 cal...they were boat tailed..I had never used on a muzzy...so I had to ask some one here if they would work...the muzzy does really get up to the velocities that would use the advantage of a BT...a SML would get the Vel...

On boattails,

The Barnes Spitfire MZ 245 gr boattail in the Harvester Yellow crush rib boattail sabot is the most accurate bullet I've shot out of both my Optima and Accura MR using 100 gr of BH209.

Hammered my buck pretty good this year too.

THANKS for all the feedback guys!