Let me preface this thread by saying that while my shooting is nothing to brag about the shooting that I did yesterday was some of the best I've ever done....Yeah, yeah these aren't bughole groups but for me to consistently shoot sub MOA (for the most part) during a single range session is a big deal. The older I get the less likely it is to happen..... 
The rifle is a Savage short action with a pre-fit 28" Criterion bull barrel screwed into it.
I am never afraid to include my bad groups. Everything that went down range yesterday from the 6XC is pictured......(well except a few sighters)
My wife could sense that I was getting an itchy trigger finger and she understands my need to spend a little time at the range every now and then. So off I went expecting the range to be packed.....but just as I was pulling up the last 2 guys that were there were packing things up. Sweet....the whole works to myself!
Here are the 2 targets that I shot today......
Groups 1-3 were 105 Hornady Match hollow points with 38, 39 and 40 grains of H4350 respectively.
Groups 4-6 were 105 Amax with the same powder charges as the above load.....#6 turned out pretty nice.
Groups 7-9 were 107 SMK's with the same charges as above......
The SMK 39 and 40 grain loads were starting to show signs of pressure....I could see some brass swipe on the case head, the bolt lift was getting a little sticky and the primers were flattening some.
Now I'm not sure what was happening with the last two groups but there could have been some eye fatigue involved from looking through the scope.....Or maybe the barrel was getting too dirty or a little too warm....which probably wasn't the case since I didn't let it get hot at all. I suspect that maybe the SMK isn't going to let me push it as hard as the other bullets but I still need to chrono these loads to verify the velocities. Group #7 looks pretty good but that's only 38 grains of H4350.
The rifle still needs to be bedded and the trigger needs some help. Those two things might not make a huge difference but any little bit will help.
But I felt pretty good about the results. With a little more tweaking it looks like any of these bullets will shoot....especially the Amax's.
I'd appreciate some feedback on these groups guys.....are there any glaring details you can point out that might eliminate some problems?
The rifle is a Savage short action with a pre-fit 28" Criterion bull barrel screwed into it.
I am never afraid to include my bad groups. Everything that went down range yesterday from the 6XC is pictured......(well except a few sighters)
My wife could sense that I was getting an itchy trigger finger and she understands my need to spend a little time at the range every now and then. So off I went expecting the range to be packed.....but just as I was pulling up the last 2 guys that were there were packing things up. Sweet....the whole works to myself!
Here are the 2 targets that I shot today......
Groups 1-3 were 105 Hornady Match hollow points with 38, 39 and 40 grains of H4350 respectively.
Groups 4-6 were 105 Amax with the same powder charges as the above load.....#6 turned out pretty nice.
Groups 7-9 were 107 SMK's with the same charges as above......
The SMK 39 and 40 grain loads were starting to show signs of pressure....I could see some brass swipe on the case head, the bolt lift was getting a little sticky and the primers were flattening some.
Now I'm not sure what was happening with the last two groups but there could have been some eye fatigue involved from looking through the scope.....Or maybe the barrel was getting too dirty or a little too warm....which probably wasn't the case since I didn't let it get hot at all. I suspect that maybe the SMK isn't going to let me push it as hard as the other bullets but I still need to chrono these loads to verify the velocities. Group #7 looks pretty good but that's only 38 grains of H4350.
The rifle still needs to be bedded and the trigger needs some help. Those two things might not make a huge difference but any little bit will help.
But I felt pretty good about the results. With a little more tweaking it looks like any of these bullets will shoot....especially the Amax's.
I'd appreciate some feedback on these groups guys.....are there any glaring details you can point out that might eliminate some problems?
