Went out again on a non windy day, same friend's hand loaded rounds (he just started doing 223 recently), this time at 100 yards, same bench rest.
That's a 1.25" group
Now the Wolf Gold 223 55gr didn't do bad either considering I paid $300 shipped for a case of 1,000. Managed to score 5/5 hits on a 5" plate at the 200 yard line.
Put the AK back to stock (wood furniture, stock sight) and did a few shots at 100 (not seeing all that well with this). Still, pleasantly surprised.