Ive been shooting 4451 behind a 90gr sierra that always shoots very well for me. I loaded up 50 more of primed brass I had laying around for 6 months but it was in the garage. Same load now it shoots 2" erratic groups at 200 and much worse at 300. I ran them over the chronograph and occasionally would get one 60fps slower. Usually held an es of 10 or better. However, I checked the lands again and Im .010 deeper than when I started this load but its only been 100 rounds! Did I ruin this barrel? Primers go bad? Should I start over or give it another chance?
243 possibly ruined primers?
- Thread starter vmaxpro
- Start date
It would be hard to believe your barrel would go south at 100 rounds. I would start over and pay attention
to every step in your reloading process. Use all new primers etc. You may have got some moisture in your
primers from being in garage but usually a primer goes bang or it don't. I would start over and write down
the distance to your lands and as the throat wears move your bullet accordingly with the throat wear.
to every step in your reloading process. Use all new primers etc. You may have got some moisture in your
primers from being in garage but usually a primer goes bang or it don't. I would start over and write down
the distance to your lands and as the throat wears move your bullet accordingly with the throat wear.
I'm confused . You say the loads ALWAYS shoots well then say it's only been 100 rds since you started this load . Granted 100 rds should be a good base line but conditions change , we change . I'd start over and write everything down , lot numbers , length , date , temp , rifle # etc
Now that you mention it, I did open a new box ill have to check the lot #. Ggmac, I guess for a gun I dont shoot much, mostly hunting, 100 seemed alot to me haha.
No changes to the gun. I have another post on the 6mm section showing some groups. Same hole at 300. Now its like 3" or worse
Something has changed with the gun, your load, bench set-up or the weather.
Ben
I question same hole (sub half inch) groups at 300.
Is the bolt face squared up with the chamber axis?
Remember the old Tiger Woods?....he managed to kicked ass reguardless of the equipment or conditions....then life slowed him down.
That and a pissed off wife with a golf club...
Not on a daily basis, but on calm days its printed excellent groups at 300. Consistent same hole groups at 100 though. I cant get anything under 1.5" now. I have another load for a different bullet Im going to try thats proven. If it doesnt shoot than its either an issue with me or the gun.
And overcast , no wind , no mirage day , great for groups at 300 yards for me.
But still use wind flags.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Id be willing to bet the weather is different now than it was 6mo ago.
I tore my hair out with a similar dilemma with a 223 and I questioned my shooting and the rifle.
Turned out to be dusty balance beam scales throwing inconsistent charge weights.
A brand spanking RCBS Chargemaster throwing the same weight charge got me back to bug holes again and proved the balance beam was all over the place. Anyways, it cleaned up fine and everything returned to normality. <phew !>
Id like to bring this back up for second, im pretty sure this is a stability problem, maybe? Shot it again this time it was 40 deg ( usually shot this load when it was warm) and it was terrible even at 100, with a couple keyholing now. Double checked my twist a little more carefully and its closer to a 9.75 then 9.25. So for this barrel I think Im going to stick with 87gr and under
JaoeyP
Silver $$ Contributor
I tried these in a 10" twist 243 and they wouldn't stabilize. Shot sub moa at 100, struggled to hit the target backer at 200. They are a very long bullet for a 10 twist. If this is what you're shooting, could be you were marginally stable, getting good groups originally, then the atmospherics changed enough that they destabilized.
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