Cartridge ballistics

.223 Remington ballistics chart

The .223 Remington trajectory with a 73-grain match bullet: drop, wind drift and velocity from a 100-yard zero out to 800 yards.

Overview

The .223 Remington is the standard varmint, training and service-rifle cartridge, and with modern heavy-for-calibre match bullets it is a capable target round to 600-800 yards. A 1:8 or faster twist is needed to stabilise the 70-90 grain projectiles that make that possible.

Recoil is minimal and components are cheap, which is why it dominates club-level precision and gas-gun competition. The trade-off is a light bullet that sheds energy quickly and is pushed around by wind more than a 6.5mm or .308 at the same distance.

Typical uses: Varmint hunting, AR-15 service rifle, club-level precision, training and steel matches inside 600 yards.

Sample load

The trajectory below is calculated for this representative factory load in a standard ICAO atmosphere. Your rifle will differ — enter your own chronographed velocity and verified BC in the calculator for numbers you can dial.

Bullet
Hornady 73 gr ELD-M
Muzzle velocity
2,790 fps
Ballistic coefficient
0.223 (G7)
Zero
100 yd

Open this load in the calculator

.223 Remington trajectory table

Zeroed at 100 yd. Drop is bullet path relative to line of sight; elevation is the come-up to dial. Wind column is a 10 mph full-value crosswind. Italic rows are subsonic.
Range (yd) Velocity (fps) Energy (ft⋅lb) Drop (in) Elevation (MIL) Elevation (MOA) Wind 10 mph (MIL)
1002,5831,0820.00.00.00.2
2002,384922-3.70.51.80.5
3002,195781-13.61.34.30.7
4002,015658-30.72.27.31.0
5001,843550-56.33.210.81.3
6001,678456-92.34.414.71.7
7001,519374-140.65.719.22.1
8001,368303-204.17.224.42.5

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