Shooting Sports - March - GECO .223

[ FIREARMS PRODUCT ]
GECO TARGET
223 REM
63-GRAIN
FMJ/BT
SRP
£60 (per 100)
The Right Stuff
223 Rem aficionado Pete Moore checks out a rather useful
load for paper punchers from Geco
CONTACT:
RUAG Ammotec
UK Ltd, 01579
362319 (for your
nearest stockist)
The Geco, 63-grain 223 Rem Target is a great round and one that will doubtless be
appreciated by Service Rifle and Practical shooters
G
eco, that’s just cheap stuff; if
you want real quality German
ammo then get RWS! That
bald statement might have been
true 10-years ago, but Geco which is
owned by RWS has really upped its
game in the last few years. In the
old days we Brits just saw the
standard soft point in 243 and 308
Win, good ammo and well priced but
it never got the pickup I felt it
deserved!
Today they have two new hunting
lines; Express with its hollow point
ballistic tip and Plus which is a
protected hollow point. I have used
both and was impressed. However,
the subject of this test is nothing to
do with shooting animals. Given the
global popularity of the 223
Remington in both sport shooting
and military usage you’d be a fool
not to make something to suit. So
what we have here is the Geco
Target.
sold to the military and police. This is
further strengthened by the fact that
the primer is staked in and lacquered
around the edge to make it
waterproof. The headstamp however
is all civilian with Geco and 223 Rem.
The load uses a mid-weight
63-grain FMJ, boat tailed bullet and is
crimped in the case and also sealed
in the neck with a Bitumen-type
compound. The base of an FMJ like
this is usually exposed lead, but in
this case there’s a brass disc, which I
assume is there to stop melting of
the core, which could cause
inaccuracies. Pulling a cross section
gave an average weight of
63.2-grains, which is pretty good. The
powder is a fine flattened ball-type not
dissimilar to BLC2 and comes in at
an average of 23.9-grains.
ON THE RANGE
I shot the Target through a Browning
A-Bolt Target Varmint with a 22”
barrel and my own, accurised Ruger
Mini 14 (18.5” tube), both rifles
offering a 1-9” twist rate, which is
ideal for this weight. Accuracy was
good with both guns shooting around
.75” and the Browning occasionally
dropping to .65”. Geco claims a
velocity of 3117 fps from a 24”
barrel, though neither gun was
capable of this with an average
speed of 2888 fps from the A-Bolt
and 2832 from the Ruger.
No problems with feed or primary
extraction in either rifle, which is an
important factor if you shoot a
straight-pull. Overall no complaints, a
quality round in a popular calibre and
weight that won’t break the bank.
STRIPPER CLIPS
FOR
Useful
specification for
the target shooter
AGAINST
Nothing
VERDICT
Geco have once
again produced
a hi-quality
round of ammo
76
Packed in very non-military red
boxes of 50, the ammunition gives a
clue to one of its intended end
users as inside are 5 x 10-round
chargers, for easy loading into
223/5.56x45mm magazines via a
guide. This on its own will please
the more Practical shooters who use
AR15s and similar straight-pull
service-type rifles. I’d guess that this
same load in different packaging is
SHOOTING SPORTS MAGAZINE
In the UK the 223 Rem Geco Target load will,
probably find more favour
amongst the Practical and Service Rifle
communities who use mann-opp AR15s
(picture John Mason)