.223 Dia. Bullets vs .224 Dia. Bullets 45 gr. SP/HP

[Sidewinder]

I just passed on 500 reasonably priced Hornady .223 dia. 45 gr. Soft Point Hornet bullets. My concern was that my Thompson Center Contender barrels are grooved at .224 diameter. I know some of the .22 Hornet barrels...before WWll had .223 diameter grooved barrels. But, I've read that all of the later barrels are grooved at .224 diameter.

 

I know it's only .001, but some say I might not be able to get accuracy, Others say accuracy may be fine, or all over the place...like a roll of the dice. What do you guys that have loaded .223 dia. bullets and shot them in a late model .224 dia. barrel have to say? I didn't have the option of loading a few to see how they grouped.

 

Right now, I'm holding out for some reasonably priced (10 to 12 cents each) .224 45 grain soft point or hollow point Hornet bullets.