Bullet manufacturer options

[lawman29]

Is this 200 yards?

No it's .20 inches at 100. I just plugged it into Berger's app to give him some thoughts to ponder. At 200 it calculates .80 inches of drift (whether those are exact I don't think matters...). I don't think we can stress enough the importance of "conditions", whether developing loads or competing. A flag has sure helped me, what's really fun is when you see the change, don't change your hold and the bullet drifts to where you predicted... There is another thread on 2 shot groups. I got started on that when Bart had posted comments some time back. Two shot groups also have an added benefit of taking "me" less out of the equation in reading conditions, I figure every shot after two adds to the probability of "me" missing a change, gun management etc. I prefer to shoot consecutive two shot groups with the same load.... My opinion is that the more shots you shoot in a group, the more the shooters ability influences the results as opposed to the load. The short range bench rest fellows that put 5 shots in a little bitty group do have a load that's in tune, but they're also really, really good.....

 

[STOMP442]

Shooting consistent .3s is very hard to do. It's even harder when you are not using the best components you can. Consistency is key and when you spend a little time with your Hornady bullets with a micrometer and scale you will find pretty quickly why Hornadys are cheaper than everybody else. There is so many things that can contribute to group size though that will throw you out of your .3s goal. Consistent cheek weld, trigger pull and wind reading all play bigger roles on target I think and they don't cost anything to practice.

 

[Bc'z]

OK. This is the sort of feedback I was interested in.

If anyone disputes this, I'd like to know.

I would place my equipment in the F class if I were pressed on the issue. I enjoy looking at customs, but I'm a window shopper. Again, time and expenditure restrictions are what they are. I wouldn't place in the top 25%, so perhaps I am right where I should be.

I shoot with a guy locally that uses 108eldm in his dasher both for sanctioned BR matches and club Fclass.
Last week we were squaded together and it was like he was pissed off at the Xring for 11 consecutive shots as I watched the screen, 9 one on.
He finished with 199 16X I believe for that relay.
We both knew it wasn't the load, gun or scope, that leaves him and or the bullet that threw the 9, conditions were relatively calm.

 

[DShortt]

I appreciate the input from everyone. There's a lot here to consider. I appreciate it.

 

[snert]

I have kinda reversed engineered my bullet selection. To me, cost is always a factor...a significant factor...that has to be pushed up against my tendencies for OCD. I do not compete...I just shoot for the fun of it and against myself, playing with old BR guns and varmint rigs. I hunt groundhogs and every three years do a PD hunt.

I have some 6MM custom bullets...all in small quantities...that I use to test my 6mm Bench type rifles for potential accuracy. I shoot a 6x50 (a long 6x47 Rem) and it will shoot better than me with custom Cheek bullets. However at 100 yards a silly little 55 gr NBT shoots just as good. It falls off badly out at 200 and worse at 300. But for "cheap" (they are not) 100 yard groups, it shoots well. In my 22PPC I shoot Bergers and they do as well as I can shoot. I think. I do not have any customs. But Berger shoots better than any Sierra or Hornady target bullet in this short range target application. BUT, I shoot vmax in the 22 PPC for groundhogs and it kills reliably (head/chest) to 500 yards. It is all in what you like, and need. In 20 caliber (Vartarg) thru a Bat SV/hart 10 twist I shoot 34 grain dogtown for PD and it certainly doesn't group as well as Berger 40 and Vmax 40 grain bullets. But it is CHEAP! No PD's complain. I developed a target load to test the VT using Berger 40's and the limiting factor is the LC brass. It shoots ok, good enough, but not Benchrest groups. It crushes groundhogs, and it shoots well enough to keep me interested. I will play more, cutting back on the load which I suspect is a little warm.
So, that big rant/tome to say...yes, customs help me determine what the accuracy potential of a good rig might be...but my wallet determines what I can pay for that fits into my moderated OCD.

Good luck with your experiments.

 

[Steve Donlon]

I don't think you can say across the board one brand of bullet is more accurate than the other brands. Sure custom bullets made for custom chambers should be more accurate but in my bench rest 30-06 after reading everything I could find by German Salazar I found that for absolute certainty that that the 210 Sierra MK bullet is the most accurate. Followed closely by the Berger 200 20x and Berger 215gr bullet. But, it depends on the barrel They could be so close at times with some barrels and no contest in others. But the chamber was made for those bullets.

 

[SteveOak]

One place Hornady gets a bad rap is their 22 cal 68gr BTHP Match. The PN for both bullets in the pic is 2278 and their description is the same, except for the cannelure which sometimes gets overlooked or omitted entirely. The one on the left is PN 2278B. The one on the right is 2278C.

Guess which one doesn't stabilize well in a 9 twist barrel. Then Hornady gets slandered for bullets that "won't shoot for shit" because people can't read (admittedly poorly presented) information.

 

[JoeDuke]

Wonder how many Hornady bullets were fired at the Tackdriver?

Zero!

 

[searcher]

I think it depends on what your accuracy expectations are. First, there is nothing wrong with Hornady bullets. I have shot incredibly small groups with the Hornady products I shoot mostly - the V-Max line in my various varmint rigs. For kicks, I have also shot them out of my bench rest rifles. For the price, they defy the notion that inexpensive bullets can't shoot very well. Lately, I've been shooting a lot of the ELD-VT bullets which have proven to be "pretty" accurate. That is just me. I don't know of anyone who shoots Hornady target bullets in matches, though that doesn't mean they can't shoot pretty darned good. And for all I know there are people out there that win with them doing something. I know I could beat a number of people in a typical club match using V-Max bullets in my accurate rifles. I once shot a sub 1/10" five-shot group with a 58 V-Max out of my .243. I have shot enough of them to know that was more the anomaly than the norm. Personally, when I compete, I want to use the best bullet I can find that works in my rifles with the most consistency. But if were just having fun, I could be very content using various Hornady bullets.