ADI World Class 223 Rem 55gr BlitzKing – Superb 20 Round Box

Description

ADI World Class 223 Rem 55gr BlitzKing is Australian factory ammunition loaded around an American bullet, and it is a good deal more interesting than that description suggests. ADI make the powder that goes into it, and if you handload in the United States you have almost certainly used that powder under a different name.

• Who Makes ADI World Class 223 Rem 55gr BlitzKing
• Specifications and Performance
• Field Notes

Who Makes ADI World Class 223 Rem 55gr BlitzKing

ADI is Australian Munitions, part of Thales Australia, loading at Benalla and Mulwala in Victoria. They are a defence supplier first and a commercial ammunition maker second, which is why the quality control reads more like a military specification than a sporting one. Their published data gives a corrected maximum average pressure of 55,000 psi, a number most commercial makers do not bother printing.

The powder connection is the part worth knowing. ADI manufactures the propellants that Hodgdon sells in the United States as the Extreme series, so the powder inside ADI World Class 223 Rem 55gr BlitzKing comes off the same line as the Varget and Benchmark sitting on a lot of American reloading benches. Australian ammunition, Australian powder, and a temperature-stable burn rate that holds up across a wide range of conditions.

The bullet is a Sierra BlitzKing, a polymer-tipped varmint design built on a thin jacket for rapid, violent expansion. Sierra publishes a G1 ballistic coefficient of 0.271 for the 55 grain version.

Specifications and Performance

ADI publishes a target corrected average velocity of 3,220 fps measured at fifteen feet. That works out to roughly 1,267 foot-pounds at the muzzle for a 55 grain bullet, which is toward the top of what standard pressure 223 Remington produces with this bullet weight.

The BlitzKing is built to come apart. A thin jacket over a lead core with a polymer tip to initiate expansion means the bullet dumps its energy quickly and fragments rather than passing through, which is exactly what you want on prairie dogs and foxes and exactly what you do not want on anything you intend to eat or that requires deep penetration.

That fragility is also a safety feature of sorts. Rapid expansion means less ricochet risk than a full metal jacket of the same weight, which matters when you are shooting across open country.

• Caliber: 223 Remington
• Bullet weight: 55 grain
• Bullet type: Sierra BlitzKing, polymer tipped
• Muzzle velocity: 3,220 fps (target corrected average at 15 feet)
• Muzzle energy: approximately 1,267 ft-lbs (calculated)
• Ballistic coefficient (G1): 0.271 (Sierra published for the 55gr BlitzKing)
• Maximum average pressure: 55,000 psi
• Case: brass, boxer primed
• Packaging: 20 rounds per box, 200 per case
• Made in Australia by Australian Munitions
• UPC 9332153003166

Field Notes

This is a varmint load, not a deer load. A thin-jacketed 55 grain bullet at 3,200 fps is designed to fragment on impact, and most jurisdictions that permit 223 for deer specifically require a controlled expansion bullet rather than a varmint bullet. Check your regulations.

Twist rate is not a concern. A 55 grain bullet stabilizes in anything from the old 1:12 through the modern 1:7, so ADI World Class 223 Rem 55gr BlitzKing will shoot in essentially any 223 rifle including AR-15s.

Availability is the real variable. ADI ammunition reaches the United States in batches rather than continuously, so if a particular rifle shoots it well it is worth buying more than one box at a time.

Want the heavier match option? ADI also load a 223 Rem 69gr Sierra MatchKing for precision work. For a different approach to the same cartridge, Remington 223 45gr JHP is a bulk varmint option. Load and pressure data are published by ADI World Class.

For varmint hunters who want factory ammunition built to a defence contractor standard, ADI World Class 223 Rem 55gr BlitzKing is worth trying. MAG5 Firearms stocks it in the 20 round box.