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Mossberg MVP Bolt Action - Ammo Reviews

Water Monkey

The man, the myth, the monkey
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I've been doing some research trying to identify some factory loads which produce consistent results from other owners of the MVP series which shoots .223/5.56 with a 1:9 twist

Below are some preliminary research numbers from people posting pictures of groupings and distances. Obviously other factors are involved in shooting tight groups:

Manufacture / Weight / Info / MOA / Yards
Hornady / 55gr / VMAX Varmint / Sub / 200
Hornady / 40gr / VMAX Varmint / Sub / 100
Hornady / 75gr / .223 Superperform / 2 moa / 300
PMC / 55gr / FMJ .223 / 1-2 moa / 100
Privi Partisan / 55gr / FMJ 5.56 NATO / 1 moa / 100
PPU / 69gr / Match .223 / Sub / 100
Free. Munit. / 55gr / FMJ 5.56 NATO / 1-2 moa / 100
Fiocchi / 69gr / Exata Match .223 / 2-3 moa / 100
Federal / 69gr / Match Grade .223 / Sub / 100
Federal / 55gr / XM193 5.56 NATO / 1 moa / 100


From the research it seems the MVP really loves the Hornady Vmax in both 40gr and 55gr

I've seen an overwhelming amount of love for the Vmax and consistent shot groups in MOA or sub. Pretty interesting.

1:9 twist rate tends to favor grains in the 40 60 range. But I've also seen some reports of 69 match grade factory loads really showing tight groups out to 200 - 300 yards.

I'm sitting on Privi 5.56 NATO 55gr, PMC XTac 55gr 5.56 NATO, Federal XM855 62gr, PMC Bronze .223 55gr. Based on the data I'm probably going to pick up some Vmax

I'll be posting results when I pick up my rifle and sight in probably around June or July 2014.


EDIT

I can't make this table do any better ugh.
 
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Hit the range today to log in some bullet path zeros with my MVP with the Nikon P223 600 BDC scope. Due to the fact that the P223 prefers a zero with a 55gr polymer tip bullet I set my standard zero with the Hornady VMax 55gr factory load.


After I verified my Zero this morning I decided to see how well the Hornady Factory load grouped with 3 min between each shot to allow the barrel to cool off:

14335490050_25ae9c73a1_c.jpg


That’s a 5 shot group and I totally felt when I pulled the flyer. Measured with a ruler and it seems to be about 1.45 MOA.


I then determined the zero of other factory loads in relation to the Hornady Vmax 55gr standard zero:


Freedom Munitions Vmax 55gr .223 - 1 click down, 2 clicks right


Federal 62gr M855 5.56 NATO - 2 clicks right


PMC XTAC 5.56 NATO 55gr - 5 clicks down... though I have to re-verify it. I’m thinking it’s 4 clicks down.


Prvi Partizan 55gr M193 5.56 NATO - 4 clicks down, 1 click right


Black Hills 68gr Sierra Match King HP .223 - 1 click right


After that I checked the zero at 50 yards as stated in Nikon’s Spot On program by adjusting the height. As you can see with this photo the Nikon Spot On program and trajectory information is really close... Top right was Hornady Zmax (same as Vmax) with 3 shots!

14521076602_9f208d03a6_c.jpg



Finally I decided to compare some groups out, I took my time with most of the shots... except the Hornady Zmax (wind was kicking up and being unpredictable). Groups as shown are as follows


14522133255_f852b81332_c.jpg


Top Left - Hornady Zmax 55gr .223

Top Right - Black Hills Sierra Match 68gr HP .223

Middle - PMC XTAC 55gr 5.56 NATO

Bottom Left - Prvi Partizan 55gr 5.56mm NATO

Bottom Right - Federal 62gr M855 5.56 NATO Green Tip


Really impressed with the Prvi as it gave me a .90 MOA at 100 yards. Black Hills and Hornady were when the wind was kicking up but still decent groups of 1 MOA (Black Hills) and 1.9 MOA Zmax. The Federal Green Tip is god awful to zero and groups like crap (3rd shot not even on paper). PMC XTAC performed as expected a decent plinking round.

Didn't get a chance to go out to 200 yards to test out the BDC on the P223. Bunch of dedicated old timers (no offense to some gray beards here) were hogging up the 200 line. I'll hit it in a couple of weeks.
 
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pretty cool. usually though , for bench shooting bolt guns most people don't even consider 3 shot groups for proving a rifle or ammo accuracy. 3 shot is great for sight in but a minimum of 5 shot is required for proving accuracy at 100 yards......for people who are serious about it. Looks like its decent though. A bolt gun should be able to shoot circles around an AR for reference, how does the trigger feel on it ?
 
3 shot group is because I was running out of ammo and the wife was calling me to come home lol.

But I did do one 5 shot group :)
 
3 shot group is because I was running out of ammo and the wife was calling me to come home lol.

But I did do one 5 shot group :)
and a fine group it was !, not going to say anything about the wife part but your man card might be on the line
 
Thanks for all the stats and pics. My current rifle is a Smith and Wesson. Sport. But I'm kind of using it to test and try all my accessories. I don't expect it to be a tack driver. But once I decide what i like I plan to build a nicer, more capable rifle.
 
The sport is a very accurate rifle. I was hitting quarters at 100 yards with irons. Don't sell that rifle short.
 
Nice review and post of ammo stats. I had the chance to shoot the MVP at the range a few weeks ago and the guy had 55 gr V-max's that shot sub MOA, I was throughly impressed. He used the
Nikon P-223 3-9 scope as well. I know Nikon has these on Promo right now too.
I like the M-223, glass is a bit more brillant IMHO.

M-2233-12RAT1.jpg
 
Hey congrats WM, that's awesome on the baby news! Thanks for the reports on the rifle and ammo. I haven't been posting but have been following along.

Welcome aboard bman940!
 
Thanks mike. I'm at a pistol course today. Partner drills moving from barricades, medical, family planning for home invasion, shooting from vehicles.
 
Nice review and post of ammo stats. I had the chance to shoot the MVP at the range a few weeks ago and the guy had 55 gr V-max's that shot sub MOA, I was throughly impressed. He used the
Nikon P-223 3-9 scope as well. I know Nikon has these on Promo right now too.
I like the M-223, glass is a bit more brillant IMHO.

M-2233-12RAT1.jpg

Oooh!

I like the looks of that 16s it's sit'n on...
 
My wife is pregnant and wasn't feeling well.
nice, welcome to no more sleep for a while......and knocking up a woman automatically renews your man card for 4 years no questions asked.....might require a picture thougho_O
 
OK hit the range again on Thursday on my day off. Had some interesting results… one of which I had to re-zero because I swapped out the plastic trigger guard for an aluminum one… apparently messing with some screws was enough to screw things up lol. Anyway I rezeroed on the P223 with Hornady Z max. I then went to the board and attempted to verify the zero of different ammo in relation to the zero with Hornady Z max I set on my P223:

Weather Stats:

84*F
Wind - 5mph coming from my back to the target
Humidity - 60%

Overcast most of the day


100 Yards:

Hornady Z Max:

14440502018_ef59b501ed.jpg

Original 3 shots were on the lower part of the target. I realized I was using the bag a bit different than I had before so I altered it back to how I set the rifle on the bag last 2 shots in the red. I considered the zero verified on the scope.

Black Hills Sierra Match King HP:

14623877831_19a79a4ae9.jpg


I'm out to lunch on this still. My original notes say on click to the right. But then again I had to adjust my original zero too so that will play a part in screwing up my notes. But the grouping wasn't as great as it was in the past. I don't have much of this ammo left but I' not sure I'm going to keep it in the stable as the higher grain ammo isn't very well stabilized in this 1:9 twist barrel… you'll see it later on at 200. As of right now my notes say just one click to the right to get this at 100 yard zero. I'm thinking 2-3 clicks right but I need more time with this ammo.

PMC Xtac 5.56 NATO:

14627104335_cbe28bc6a5.jpg


Original notes say 5 clicks down. I found that to be too much so 4 clicks down got me where I need to be. I'm also thinking one click to the right. I have a ton of this ammo so I will be playing with this to find the zero since it will be my main plinking round. I've also noticed the primer on this ammo is harder than the rest. Of all ammo this is the only one that randomly give me light primer strikes. Had one this day.

Prvi Partizan 5.56 NATO:

14440708887_58ca62dcb9.jpg

I don't know. Last session this thing was grouping like a beast .9MOA. This session it's all over the place. I have ample stock in this ammo as well so I need more trigger time to see what the zero is and if this will actually group or not at 100 yards. Right now I have the zero set at 4 clicks down and 1 click to the right. Seems it should be 2-3 clicks right.

Freedom Munitions Vmax new manufacture:

14627103695_7c55b74313.jpg

Welcome to the surprise of the day…. I really couldn't get this ammo to group the last 2 sessions. Low and behold this ammo came out like a champ!! Shooting a little over 1 moa. Zero is exactly as the Hornady Z Max zero so no adjustments to be made. It made it's round to 200 with this performance. If it is consistent in the next session I will put stock in this ammo over the Hornady as it's sooooooooooo much cheaper.

Federal Hydra Shok SP:

14647030193_42276925d5.jpg

This was another surprise… seemed to group fairly well. In a previous 3 shot group it was much tighter. I'll attribute it to a hot barrel. Zero is the same as Hornady Z Max. I took this out to 200 yards for S&G. Curiosity got me.

200 YARDS

I have the Nikon P223 3-9x BDC 600 scope. I wanted to check out how well the BDC compensator works in conjunction with the SPOT on program.

Freedom Munitions Vmax

14440500118_4ce9fe2cfe.jpg

I was pleasantly surprised and getting more confident that the Freedom Munitions is more consistent than I gave it credit for in the past. BDC reticle was clear at 200 yards and so was the 2" circle I was aiming at with 9X

Black Hills Sierra Match King HP:

14623876091_347f753c29.jpg


eehh Not a huge fan right now. BDC 1 on the Spot on Program says 180 yards so I was aiming between BDC 1 and BDC 2 to compensate… I'm guessing why it's not grouping well my hold over may not have been the same each shot… I'm blaming user on this one but I'm still out to lunch on whether this ammo is grouping well in the barrel. Next time I'll just use BDC 1 and see if my shots tighten up.

Federal Hydra Shok SP:

14440707427_13d06d5d5f.jpg


I ran out of bullets (i.e. miscounted my stash on the way out the door). So I had 4 rounds to fire. Not bad, not great either. BDC 1 says 197 yards. I'd say the Spot on Program is accurate in that assumption. I'd hit steel no problem with it.

Prvi Partizan 5.56 NATO:

14440454960_6efde45e66.jpg


BDC 1 says 201 yards. I'd say that's accurate. I was also rushing some of the shots as the cease fire call was upon me and I wanted 5 shots before I headed down. I bet I can tighten up my groups once I find 100 yard zero and take my time between each shot.

Federal M855 5.56 NATO 62 gr green tips:

14627102275_23f80c0892.jpg


I've been having one hell of a time with this ammo. It spreads wider than JLo with a back up dancer at 100 yards but I was curious at 200 yards if it could stabilize…. my original assumption seems to be correct. the MVP literally hates this ammo. The picture says it all.
 
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