Hornady 55gr Z-max question

[armyguy209]

Ok so I just loaded up 30 rounds of .223
LC asst brass
CCI41 primers
H335 powder
55gr Zmax bullets

I loaded up 5 of each load from 22.5-25.0 in .5 increments. I used the hornady manual for OAL which is 2.25. I have them all loaded and am going to the range in just a few to work up a good load.

I remebered I had a box of factory 55gr .223 zombie max ammo in the safe. I decided to check them out for OAL. Long and behold Hornady seats theirs to 2.22-2.23 OAL and I noticed that the cannulure on them was barely showing, whereas mine is showing quite a bit more.

Once I work up this load, should I seat them down to 2.22-2.23 when I load a bunch of them up or just leave them at 2.25? Also, will it make a big difference in groups or pressures?

I will post my groups later when I get back along with FPS I am getting on the chrono.

[mark501w]

If they fit your gun you should be fine.

[Davisje011]

If it Fits, it Ships.

[ExtremeX]

I think ur pinching pennies with the COAL... you should be fine

I've loading those z-max bullets with the cannlure hidden to completely exposed well outside the case neck.

I like the 55gr ZMAX, I got them shooting well with BL-C2 in my long barrel AR. It was a light load, but very accurate.

[armyguy209]

Thanks guys..range report is in. They all shot well. Groups were not as tight as I'd like but not bad. It was really windy out today but I am not sure how much that affects accuracy at 100yrds.

22.5-
1-2634fps
2-2727fps
3-2799fps
4-2730fps
5-2714fps

23.0-
1-2698
2-2807
3-2735
4-2720
5-2801

23.5-
1-2829
2-2813
3-2793
4-2831
5-2824

24.0
1-2829
2-2820
3-2842
4-2813
5-2791

24.5-
1-2866
2-2858
3-2871
4-2853
5-2866

25.0-
1-2976
2-2885
3-2908
4-2948
5-2922


The last target I was just screwing around with my last set of reloads(25.0gr H335/CCI400/LC brass/Hornady 55gr FMJBT) and shot 20 rounds to warm up the barrel prior to shooting my Z-max loads. Just for size factor, the red bullseye on these targets is the size of a penny. They are the small 8" stick on targets.

One thing I have noticed now is that as much as I love reloading, and as much as I prefer shooting bulk loads, I am really getting into accuracy. I love to be challenged and I am considering seeing what I can do with some match loads...lol Onto the pics.....Seems the best groups were 23.5 and 24.5
From top left of 22.5 to bottom left of 24.0


Top left of 24.5(two in bullseye) and top right of 25.0

[armyguy209]

I am also curious, what size scope would make hitting that penny sized bullseye the easiest from 100 yards, as well as from 200 yards? The scope I have now is a 3-9x-40mm Nikon P223 mounted on top of my 16" POF P415.

[afrancke]

That scope is more than adequate, at least as far as magnification goes. Your technique needs work to shrink the groups, however. Are you shooting off a bench in a rest, prone with a sling, or what?

[ExtremeX]

Also curious what you were using for testing… bench with rest, bipod, rear bag…

Looks like your 55gr FMJBT load was shooting just as well if not better than the z-max.

So there is some room for improvement for that Z-Max load, or some improvement on your technique.

I wish I could find some more Z-Max bullets; I used to load them in bulk on my progressive with acceptable results.

[armyguy209]

Yeah it was hard to find the Zmax but I have enough to last me a while. As far as the shooting goes, I was using the Caldwell bean bag rests. They work pretty good but the rear is hard to use because of my buttstock. I guess it is not that bad being able to hit a penny from a football field away or just outside of it but I would prefer to try and get all 5 rounds in there. These aren't match loads. The brass is mixed year lake city brass processed in bulk on my 1050. I don't mess with the flash holes or primer pockets. I loaded them on my 1050 but put the powder charges from my chargemaster 1500. I could probably get a little more accuracy by sorting the brass by year. I am going to try that next time and see what happens.

[ExtremeX]

Yeah it was hard to find the Zmax but I have enough to last me a while. As far as the shooting goes, I was using the Caldwell bean bag rests. They work pretty good but the rear is hard to use because of my buttstock. I guess it is not that bad being able to hit a penny from a football field away or just outside of it but I would prefer to try and get all 5 rounds in there. These aren't match loads. The brass is mixed year lake city brass processed in bulk on my 1050. I don't mess with the flash holes or primer pockets. I loaded them on my 1050 but put the powder charges from my chargemaster 1500. I could probably get a little more accuracy by sorting the brass by year. I am going to try that next time and see what happens.

I still think you can tighten those up a bit more...

I don't trickle my charges with ball powders... I used BL-C2 for those in the picture thrown and loaded on my RCBS Pro 2000 progressive.

I do sort my brass by headstamp... above was all PMC or FC 223 brass... don't remember, but I don't match prep anything... clean, size, trim, load...

If I use stick powders, trickle, and all that good stuff its pretty easy to get into the 3/4 MOA area but for the time it takes, I'm happy with a quick and dirty 1 MOA.

[damndave]

The OAL is fine. Don't worry about the cannelure. I have some loaded with a lot showing and some with none showing at all.

[armyguy209]

Well once difference between the FMJ's that I loaded and the Z-max is that I used CCI400 primers on the FMJ's and CCI41 military primers on the Z-max. I wonder if that would make much of a difference.

[afrancke]

I am terrible shooting off the bench - I really could use some instruction on that. If I were you, I'd sling up and shoot prone for groups. Alternatively bipod, still prone. I suppose it could be the gun, too - but you ought to be able to get sub 2 MOA even with a pretty lousy AR, I would think.

[armyguy209]

Thanks for the help guys. I am going to fine tune it a bit. I am going to use CCI400 primers next time and use all of the same year LC brass. I might try to get out next week. I will probably try to use my 55gr V-max for testing purposes so I dont waste my Z-max. They are the same bullets just different colored tips and I have way more V-max than I do Z-max.

It could also have to do with my technique. We will see, but I will report back next week.

[mark501w]

Get an adjustable front rest, fill your bags with sand.